San Fernando Valley : VFW Short of Funds for Memorial at Train Station

They have approval from Metrolink and other appropriate government agencies.

But with Veterans Day approaching, the more than 80 members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 9266 have raised only half the money they need for a simple flagpole and small granite memorial they would like to place at the Chatsworth Metrolink Station.

The station is not scheduled to open until this fall, but Northridge-Chatsworth VFW post members had hoped the memorial could be built before Veterans Day on Nov. 11.

“So far, most of the money that’s come in has been from other VFW posts,” said George Pakkala, post quartermaster. Members include such World War II veterans as a pilot shot down in the Pacific and a sailor who was wounded in the Solomon Islands as well as a retired major general who commanded a 2nd Infantry Division regiment in the Korean War.

“Our goal was to raise $10,000 to cover all the costs, but we’ve only got about $5,000,” Pakkala said.

The memorial will not be extravagant. A 40-foot flagstaff will fly the Stars and Stripes. Next to that will be a 3-by-3-foot granite marker with a bronze plaque bearing a tribute to all American veterans.

The memorial’s purpose is simple, Pakkala said: “It will commemorate the services of American veterans. It will give a focus and understanding of some of the tumultuous years of our nation’s history. And it will make a statement about our community.”