An Iwo Jima memorial buried for decades and discovered by a Camp San Luis Obispo employee in 2010 has been fully restored by the San Luis Obispo County chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
The five-sided, raised red star is about 10 to 12 feet wide and is surrounded by four cypress trees, representing the branches of the U.S. military.
The memorial includes a rock formation noting “Iwo Jima Memorial” and a 1951 plaque inscription that reads: “Dedicated to the Men of the United States Navy, Marines, Army and Army Air Corp … Men Who Served and Gave Their Lives for Our Freedom.”
A re-dedication was the highlight of a Memorial Day weekend ceremony held Friday at the camp.
Employee discovered buried memorial in 2010
The memorial was buried at a former entrance station site on the base years ago.
Former Camp SLO employee Ron Stanovich began working to preserve the monument in 2010, according to Carrie Lovell, a spokesperson for the La Cuesta Daughters of the American Revolution, a nonprofit, non-political, volunteer women’s service organization with chapters and membership nationwide and around the world.
Military humvees had been driving over the structure during practice jumps in a field, where Stanovich noticed a red corner piece sticking out of the ground. He unearthed it and from 2010 to 2017 worked to reassemble the red concrete structure.
“I wanted to make sure it didn’t get destroyed,” Stanovich, a retired base plumber, told The Tribune in a phone interview. “I knew that the base was a communications training site back in World War II and that the star represents the badge symbol of a group of servicemen who were stationed here and served in Iwo Jima.”
Stanovich said that some of the men who were stationed at Camp SLO didn’t survive the 1945 battle on the Japanese island.
Volunteers help to complete project
Seeking a service project in April, the Daughters of the American Revolution took on the effort and coordinated with the camp to fully restore the cracked and deteriorated monument, finishing the project this week.
The group received donated materials of cement, paint, flags, rocks and more from Lowe’s in Paso Robles.
“This offered us a purpose to be together and accomplish an important restoration in a safe environment,” said Leslie Lechner, the nonprofit’s chapter regent.
Major Deborah Claffey told The Tribune the memorial is one of many at the base, including Italian prison of war, plane and infantry memorials, now displayed in a mall on the base.
But the Iwo Jima project was forgotten for years, in a different base location, before Stanovich began his work as a personal project to remember the history.
At Friday’s ceremony, Lt. Brian N. Wintzer, the garrison commander, urged attendees to “never, ever stop searching for the missing,” saying that the whereabouts of 80,000 service members remain a mystery.
“What can you do today to honor (service members) so we can live free?” Wintzer said in the re-dedication ceremony.
This article is written by Nick Wilson from The Tribune (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) and was legally licensed via the Tribune Content Agency through the Industry Dive publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to [email protected].
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