Miramar National Cemetery will break ground on San Diego's first Gold Star Families Memorial Monday, honoring the families of those who have lost a loved one while they served in the country's armed forces.
The Woody Williams Foundation — a nonprofit named after the United States' last living World War II Medal of Honor winner who died in June 2022 and is now focused on creating Gold Star Family memorials around the nation — joined with a local committee to plan and fund the memorial. It will be located at the Memorial Walk at Miramar National Cemetery.
"I am truly honored to walk with the city of San Diego, Gold Star Family members, and the local community to bring this Gold Star Families Memorial Monument to San Diego," said David Myers, chairman of the San Diego Gold Star Families Memorial Monument committee.
Myers, along with an all-volunteer committee, worked over the last five years bring the project to fruition. Support was provided by individual donors and through various fundraising events — which will continue until the monument's completion. Its dedication is tentatively scheduled for Veterans Day, Nov. 10.
The committee also included a local Gold Star Family member, Tony Cordero, who was 5 when his father was shot down over Vietnam.
This monument will be the first Gold Star Families Memorial Monument in the area, despite having over 130 similar monuments across the United States and San Diego having one of the largest military presences in the country.
"We owe it to San Diego, home to so many active military, veteran and Gold Star families, to honor, recognize, and serve the families who have sacrificed so much in the name of freedom," said the late Woody Williams.
