Korean War Memorial

The front gate sets the tone.  Government property: no sports, partisan gathering, any sort of damaging activities including pets outside the vehicle, boisterous activities, or firearms.  Open 8-5 daily.

Don’t hold up at the gate too long; there’s more to see.  There’s a line of pines down the center divider. Each one has their own plaque and at the end, a dedication stone to the California Submarine Veterans.

Following the road in to the right, there’s a prominent sign five feet from a basin of flowers.  The Blue Star Memorial gives tribute the Armed Forces.  Don’t stop yet; past the road sign and the 30 or so pines, there comes the stone wall.  This feels more like the entrance.

San Joaquin Valley National Cemetery

Through the stone wall, more pines, more plaques, here an (SSN-589) Scorpion.  Flagging down a grounds keeper, there’s a push to check the view from above, “Keep to the left and follow it up and around.”  Atop the hill, high above, the National flag overlooks the land.  There’s Santa Nella, the Reservoir, and Interstate 5 all in arms reach.

A walk around shows that there are two important aspects of the site: to honor our brethren in services past, and to have a resting place for the service men and women in arms.  Had there been a particular individual, the kiosk in the courtyard would search the database, print the information, and refer a location.  The area is paralleled between memorial plaques and the memorial park. 

The grounds are kept like a golf course: lush in color, well maintained, and for visits only.  Take time when visiting as there is much to be missed.  Next to the Administration building is a good place to start.  There are displays of contributions, works along the wall, plaques, and the memorials are kept nearby.

The memorial of the 2,495 men, inscribed on the stone walls, lost during the Korean War stands as a monument to their sacrifice.  War does not quite all.  So, the memorial stands for more.  Addressing the need for National Cemeteries, President Abraham Lincoln’s 1863 Gettysburg Address is on display.  Across the memorial, there is poetry, dedications, and symbolism, and if for nothing else, there is the view.