War memorial to be dedicated in Irvine

With U.S. military personnel continuing to serve in Iraq and Afghanistan, veterans groups and families will gather Sunday in Irvine to dedicate what may be the nation’s first permanent memorial to men and women lost in those wars.

The Northwood Gratitude and Honor Memorial, which began as an informal monument built of wooden posts, photos and hand-written notes, now features a series of five granite-faced sentinels etched with the names of 5,714 service members killed in operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. Names will be added as the conflicts continue.

Members of the board that established the monument at Northwood Community Park insist that the panels contain no errors.

“It really was a labor of love,” memorial co-chairman Dale Jelinek said.

Ensuring that all names and ages were correct was no small feat. Three percent of all Department of Defense casualty records contain errors, according to Orange County veterans advocates. As a result, thousands of hours went into checking service members’ names, ages and dates of death with hometown librarians, school administrators and families.

Memorial caretakers also scrutinized military records, newspaper clippings, online references and other sources to keep errors from being carved in stone.

“You can imagine that it’s hard enough to lose a loved one in the war,” Irvine resident and memorial co-chairwoman Pam Rogan said. But imagine how distressing it would be for them to fly all the way to California and find that “their son’s or daughter’s name is spelled wrong,” she said.

The dedication was scheduled to be conducted by Gold Star Families and friends of the fallen.

Unlike many veterans memorials, the tribute at Northwood Community Park does not display military unit or rank alongside a name, just the age at the time of death.

“This is not about rank, this is about them as brothers and sisters, sons and daughters,” Jelinek said. “From the very outset, the goal has been to recognize that this spans all generations.”

Many were men and women in their late teens and early 20s.

“These young guys are dying right now at 18 years old and not really considered men yet,” said former Marine Bill Sandlin, first vice commander for Orange County’s American Legion chapter. “It’s kind of sad, but I really appreciate what Irvine has done to help [the memorial] happen.”

The city of Irvine approved a permanent memorial, along with $150,000 to help build it, in 2009. The structure’s sentinels will be softly illuminated at night, recalling the candles that lighted the temporary memorial. An etched panel on each sentinel face carries space for 350 names. Seventeen panels have names on them; three panels remain blank.

Plans for the memorial have allowed for placing additional panels along the low circular stone walls, if need be.

“In standing here, looking at these panels, I find myself personally inspired,” Irvine Mayor Sukhee Kang said recently. “Their sacrifice will forever be remembered by the public and whoever comes to see this memorial.”

sarah.peters@latimes.com