Mt. Diablo Beacon Will Be Lit On Memorial Day By Local Veterans

DANVILLE, CA — Members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 75 and other local veterans organizations will gather Monday night at the Veterans Memorial Building to light the Mount Diablo Beacon, a light that sits atop the mountain’s summit.

The veterans groups will join Danville Mayor Robert Storer at 8:20 by the flagpole to press a remote button that will light the aviation beacon. The ceremony will feature a rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner sung by Christina Karbowski, and remarks by Mayor Storer and VFW Post 75 Commander Neil Giles. Robbie McHale will play taps.

The Veterans Memorial Building will also be open to the public from 7 to 9 p.m.

The Beacon was originally installed and illuminated in 1928 to aid in transcontinental aviation, according to Save Mount Diablo. It is one of the four guiding beacons that Standard Oil installed along the West Coast, and is the only one known to still be operational. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Beacon’s light was extinguished during a West Coast blackout to avoid a potential attack. It stayed dark until Pearl Harbor Day in 1964, when it was relit in a commemorative ceremony. Since then, Pearl Harbor veterans and their families have gathered to relight the flame each year.

Since 2022, it has also been lit each Memorial Day and Veterans Day.

Earlier in the day, the Viet Nam Veterans of Diablo Valley will hold their 31st annual Memorial Day Remembrance at Oak Hill Park. The public event will begin at the All Wars Memorial at 10:30 a.m. with a concert by the Danville Community Band. Mayor Robert Storer will make welcoming remarks, followed by recognition of each branch of the U.S. military, and remarks by guest speaker and Medal of Honor Recipient Retired Maj. Jim Taylor. See here for a full event program.