Memorial Wall for Fallen Soldiers Depends on Final Fundraising Push

LOS ALAMITOS, CA A memorial dedicated to servicemen and women killed overseas on post-Sept.11 missions is nearing completion in Long Beach, but organizers are still short of their funding goal to pay for the tribute and are hoping for additional contributions before its Memorial Day unveiling.

"We are reaching out to our community to assist us with funds to complete this wall," said Laura Herzog, founder of Cypress-based Honoring Our Fallen. Honoring Our Fallen is a nonprofit that helps organize Hero Missions to honor fallen soldiers as they are flown into the Los Alamitos Joint Forces Training Base to be returned to their families. The organization also provides ongoing support to grieving military families.

"There will be ongoing costs to maintain the wall, so an account (we've established) will pay off the initial costs and then be used to maintain the wall and be able to, unfortunately, add names as needed."

The Honoring Our Fallen Memorial Wall will occupy space at the entrance to Rosie The Riveter Park, at Clark Avenue and Conan Street. Groundbreaking occurred last May and a ceremony marking its completion is set for the afternoon of May 30.

The names of nearly 6,900 U.S. Armed Forces members killed during Operations Enduring Freedom, Freedom's Sentinel, Inherent Resolve, Iraqi Freedom, New Dawn and related combat deployments will be inscribed on the wall. The names will be listed in order of the date each service member was lost, beginning September 2001.

The family of a young Marine killed in combat donated $17,000 to cover up-front construction costs. However, another $18,000 is needed to clear remaining costs and maintenance expenses for the year, according to Herzog.

Honoring Our Fallen has set up a GoFundMe page where donations can be made: https://www.gofundme.com/9-11MemorialWall.

The nonprofit has a number of other programs to which it devotes resources. Since 2012, members have organized flag walks on Memorial Day weekend at Riverside National Cemetery, where tens of thousands of miniature flags are placed alongside graves as part of the weekend commemoration.

City News Service