Fallen heroes memorial planned for Rose Garden at San Mateo’s Central Park

Ellen Mallory, a city planning commissioner and member of the San Mateo County Historical Association board, is on the committee attempting to decide which names will be etched on the memorial to be located near the popular park’s rose garden.

“Architectural students at the College of San Mateo are competing to design the memorial and we have received many entries and are reviewing them,” Mallory said. “The only restriction for the design is that no water be used. No fountains.”

Mallory said the committee needs the public’s help in coming up with the names of those to be memorialized.

“Many names of those killed in more recent conflicts are easily obtained, but we are having trouble with World War II,” she said. “They didn’t digitalize back in those days.” In addition to the usual sources, such as the Department of Defense, Mallory asked that “family or friends of those who died come forward and help us root out some names.”

The names will surely include Sgt. Joe Artavia, who was killed in Vietnam in 1968 while serving with the 101st Airborne Division, known as the “Screaming Eagles.” His death led the City Council to adopt Artavia’s unit, Company A, a move that formed a lasting bond between San Mateo and the division. In 1978, a parade in San Mateo drew about 8,000 spectators in a rare welcome home for soldiers from Vietnam. That was just the start of San Mateo saying “Thanks for your service.”

On July 4, 1981, the city held a two-day party to honor veterans of that divisive war. Then U.S. senator S.I. Hayakawa attended the event and said “The Vietnam veterans have suffered a raw deal all the way.” A picnic at Central Park was the main feature of the weekend party, which was dubbed “Vietnam Veterans Recognition Days.”

In 1991, San Mateo renewed its adoption of the Screaming Eagles when the division was sent to fight in Desert Storm and in 2001 it reaffirmed its tie. The San Mateo Library has a display about the special bond, including news articles, photos and letters.

Mallory’s committee might look to Redwood City as a template for honoring those who were killed in action. That city has three monuments in front of City Hall that honor the dead of World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam. Sequoia High School has an impressive monument that lists the names of those killed in war. More than 700 people attended the 2005 dedication of the monument that measures 6 feet tall by 54 inches wide. The monument became reality largely through the efforts of Dee Eva, class of 1961, who lost three friends in the Vietnam fighting.

The Sequoia monument inspired Christian Clifford, a teacher at Serra High School in San Mateo, to gather the names of Serra grads who served in the military (Full disclosure: He is the writer’s son). The names are on a plaque on the school’s Wall of Honor. Clifford, who served in the submarines, said he wanted to pay respect to the men’s “faith, wisdom and service.” The names include his three brothers who served in the Marine Corps.

The Rear View Mirror by history columnist Jim Clifford appears in the Daily Journal every other Monday. Objects in The Mirror are closer than they appear.