OXNARD : Work to Begin on Veterans Memorial

Construction will begin in Oxnard’s Plaza Park this weekend on a memorial to 132 local soldiers--including one from the Persian Gulf War--who have been killed since the city was incorporated in 1903.

The memorial will honor soldiers from Oxnard who gave their lives while serving during World War I, World War II, and the Korean, Vietnam and Persian Gulf wars, said Oxnard City Councilman Manuel M. Lopez, chairman of the Veterans’ Memorial Committee.

The soldiers’ names will be inscribed on a series of black granite panels mounted on five 10- to 15-foot-high pyramids--one for each of the wars in which local residents have served. According to project designer Elizabeth Nevandro-Perez, an Oxnard architect whose design was chosen from 29 entries, the circular path around the pyramids represents history repeating itself.

Nevandro-Perez wrote on her entry that the monument’s design was not nearly as important as what it stands for. “It’s up to the people who come--how they are going to think of it--but I hope they understand it as I meant it, as a hope for the future.”

Plaza Park was chosen as the site of the memorial because it is the only local landmark that has been around as long as the city itself, Lopez said.

“Anyone who served in any of the wars would have known Plaza Park,” Lopez said, adding that the Selective Service System’s offices used to be located across the street from the park.

The Veterans’ Memorial Committee has selected Nov. 11, Veterans Day, to publicly dedicate the monument. Families of those who died have been invited to attend, as have local dignitaries, Lopez said.

Much of the project’s estimated $100,000 price tag is being funded through donations, Lopez said. A fund-raising walk-a-thon will be held at 8 a.m. Saturday at Oxnard State Beach, followed by a barbecue.

The cost is $15 per person and can be paid Saturday, Lopez said.