Our sons and daughters, fathers and mothers...
Our
sons and daughters have always risen to the occasion by leaving the peace and
tranquility of the Sonoma Valley to defend our freedom. The citizens of our
local community have served on the battlefields of all our country's wars and
conflicts, from the American Revolution to Operation Iraqi Freedom. Many of
them never returned. Excerpts from the letters they wrote home perhaps best
reflect the strong love for those left behind and for the country they so
bravely served. The words also vividly describe the horror and the human
sacrifice of war, and the powerful bonds created among diverse people serving
together under extreme conditions.
...are our Legacy. THEY SHOULD BE REMEMBERED.
Emotional,
heartfelt words like these, and the names of the many brave local veterans who
wrote them, should never be forgotten. Our freedom and the quality of life we
enjoy today would not be possible without their sacrifice.
We
are keeping their memory alive with the Sonoma Veterans Memorial Park and
Cemetery, designed by Robert Behrens, located north of Historic Sonoma Plaza
and adjacent to the Sonoma Valley Veterans Memorial Hall building.
The
centerpiece is the “Star of Honor”, a black granite fountain inscribed with the
names of all Sonoma Valley veterans from the American Revolution to the year
2076.