Wall Of Freedom to be Unveiled

After three years of hard work and perseverance, the Grand Terrace Veteran Wall of Freedom Committee has collected enough donations and veteran contributions to now unveil the letter construction of the wall on Veterans Day 2015. The unveiling of the wall will be introduced by the San Bernardino County 3rd District Supervisor James Ramos, who will be the main speaker at the event, as he was one of the key supporters of asking for financial support from the San Bernardino County Board ($40,000), early this year. With contributions of nearly $100,000 overall, the construction of the wall was started in late September with an unveiling date scheduled for this Veteran’s Day at Pico Park in Grand Terrace. The ceremony will begin at 11 a.m. on Nov. 15. As this Veteran’s Freedom Wall is dedicated to all veterans who have served their country, each name added to the wall will always be remembered into infamy, once engraved and placed on an individual letter of the wall. As Americans celebrate this special day, we must always remember how and when this special day was created to be observed. Back when World War I, known at that time as “The Great War” officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, in the Palace of Versailles outside the town of Versailles, France, it was known that the fighting had ceased seven months earlier when an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect. It went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. For that reason, Nov. 11, 1918, is generally regarded as the end of “The War to End All Wars.” In Nov. 1919, President Wilson proclaimed Nov. 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day with the following words: “To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations…” These words will definitely be remembered on this memoirs’ day as well. God Bless America!