{"id":434586,"date":"2026-08-16T14:26:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-16T14:26:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/434586\/"},"modified":"2026-08-16T14:26:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-16T14:26:10","slug":"a-visible-place-for-remembrance-reflection-and-community-gathering-lakeside-advances-plans-for-veterans-wall-of-honor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/434586\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cA visible place for remembrance, reflection, and community gathering.\u201d Lakeside advances plans for Veterans Wall of Honor"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the quiet East County community of Lakeside,\u00a0a Wall of Honor<\/a> is taking shape to recognize and honor residents who served in the military.<\/p>\n

The proposal was brought forward by Richard Abraham, a U.S. Navy veteran and longtime Lakeside resident who has made it his mission to create a dedicated place to honor military service close to home.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important for civilians to have a place where they can go to recognize and honor the veterans in their community,\u201d Abraham said.<\/p>\n

The memorial\u2019s proposed design calls for a polished concrete wall and two benches, decorated with plaques honoring veterans on the wall\u2019s interior curve and an illuminated sign labeled \u201cLakeside Veterans Wall of Honor,\u201d positioned in front of the town\u2019s community center at Lindo Lake Park.<\/p>\n

Home to about 22,000 residents, the unincorporated community is home to a Veterans of Foreign Wars clubhouse \u2014 a meeting place for veterans where the nonprofit also offers resources and holds events.<\/p>\n

The proposed monument would give Lakeside veterans and the community \u201ca visible place for remembrance, reflection, and community gathering\u201d at a site frequented by locals and visitors, Abraham said.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor many Lakeside families, military service is part of their history, but the names and memories of those who served are often scattered across family records, photographs, and personal recollections,\u201d he said. \u201cIt would make visible the service of neighbors, relatives, and generations of veterans whose stories are part of the town\u2019s history.\u201d<\/p>\n

An estimated 1,700 military veterans reside in Lakeside, according to the most recent census data, but Abraham said that number is likely much higher.<\/p>\n

The memorial could accommodate up to 13,000 name plaques for honorably discharged veterans who lived in Lakeside at any point of their life, after service documentation is verified.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor veterans, it\u2019s just somewhere where we can just meet and have a moment to sit there and reflect,\u201d said Wendy Calderon, Post Commander for Lakeside\u2019s VFW.<\/p>\n

The project has an estimated cost between $300,000 to $400,000 and is still moving through the county review process. Once construction starts, organizers estimate it could take up to four years for the memorial wall to be completed.<\/p>\n

The San Diego County Parks and Recreation Department is supportive of the project, but is still working through specific planning details, according to Sean Hill, the department\u2019s chief of operations for the East County region.<\/p>\n

San Diego County Supervisor Joel Anderson said he supports the proposal and contributed $3,000 towards the project\u2019s design through the Neighborhood Reinvestment grant program.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know this memorial will stand for generations as a place of reflection, gratitude, and remembrance,\u201d Anderson said in a statement.<\/p>\n

After construction is completed, families and community members will be able to sponsor plaques to honor eligible veterans, which would include their name, branch, years of service and the war or wars they served in. The cost of each plaque has yet to be determined, but it would cover the cost of engraving and any remaining funds would be reserved for the wall\u2019s maintenance.<\/p>\n

The group is accepting donations to fund construction once the project clears the county review process. They plan to fund construction entirely through donations, Abraham said, noting they are still fundraising to pay for the preliminary rendering and pre-construction costs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In the quiet East County community of Lakeside,\u00a0a Wall of Honor is taking shape to recognize and honor…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":434587,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[7,3053,27015,181,23,1703,100,74,84,76,75,1696,513],"class_list":["post-434586","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego","tag-california","tag-east-county","tag-lakeside","tag-latest-headlines","tag-local-news","tag-military","tag-news","tag-san-diego","tag-san-diego-county","tag-san-diego-headlines","tag-san-diego-news","tag-top-stories-sdut","tag-veterans"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434586","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=434586"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434586\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/434587"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=434586"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=434586"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=434586"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}