California Veterans Memorial Dedication (1998 Video)

Lee Bennett: Self

Quotes 

• Lee Bennett : Governor Wilson, distinguished guests and to all of you - California's veterans - and especially to the busload of veterans who made the trip this morning from the Veterans Home of California at Yountville. Good morning and thank you for being here on this chilly morning for the memorial dedication. I am both honored and humbled to stand here before you. Although he has already been recognized, I want to especially note the presence of a very honored guest this morning, who is seated behind me - Gerald Turnipseed, a World War I veteran from the Yountville Home. He is ___ years of age and I am so glad you could be here for this dedication. My job this morning is to introduce Governor Wilson and I am honored to do that, but before doing so, I would like to make a few brief remarks. Shortly after I received my appointment as the undersecretary of veterans affairs, I visited the veterans memorial at the former McDonnell Douglas Aircraft Company - now Boeing Aircraft - in Long Beach. I was impressed with the memorial but what really caught my eye were 26 words etched in granite that will be with me forever. They read: YOU HAVE NEVER LIVED 'TILL YOU NEARLY DIED. FOR THOSE WHO HAVE HAD TO FIGHT FOR IT, LIFE HAS A FLAVOR THE PROTECTED WILL NEVER KNOW. I try to remember those words each day as my staff at the Department of Veterans Affairs and I carry out our work in serving those who have served our country. Although those 26 words are not inscribed on this memorial, they are in my mind as I think of the sacrifices that California veterans have made as far back as 1850 and that future veterans will make to ensure that we - all of us - enjoy the freedom of living in a democracy. This memorial will not only honor the military service of California veterans, but it will also serve as a reminder that the values we hold so dear are preserved at a price. On behalf of the Department of Veterans Affairs and the veterans of this great state, I would like to express my thanks and appreciation to all who worked so hard to make this day come about. To the former members of the California Veterans Memorial Commission, and specifically to the chairman of that commission, Ray Sisk, who poured his heart and soul into this project and in raising funds to build the memorial, I thank you for all that you have done. And to the project director, Michael Kilbane, who worked tirelessly to ensure all of the pieces of this beautiful memorial come together, as designed, we couldn't have pulled this off without you. I won't try at this time to go down the list of all who have worked so hard on this memorial, mainly because I would have to be here a lot longer than the time I have been allotted, but there are a few who deserve special recognition - the construction company that oversaw the project - John Otto Construction - did a fantastic job as did their construction foreman, Tim Cruchley, who put his all into this project along with several others that he was working on at the same time - thank you Tim. To Vanir Construction, our project manager, and specifically, Harry Hallenbeck, the project architect, along with Tom Dole, of the Department of General Services, and the project artists and sculptors, our heartfelt thanks and appreciation for all of your efforts. To the veterans organizations and to the individual veterans and their families, thank you for your strong support and for your generous donations - for the pavers, the granite benches, and for contributing to the enhanced computer kiosk registry program. I want to thank the private sector businesses that have contributed to this project - specifically, I want to acknowledge the California Association of Realtors who sponsored the flagpole for the California Bear Flag, AMVETS, who sponsored the U.S. flag, as well as the other individuals and organizations that sponsored the service flags surrounding the memorial. I thank Governor-elect Davis for bringing forward donations from the Building and Construction Trades Council and the Plumbers and Pipefitters Union who sponsored the POW/MIA flagpole. And I might note that these were not small contributions. The donation for the U.S. flag, sponsored by AMVETS, was 50 thousand dollars, and the California flag and each of the service branch flags were sponsored with a 25-thousand-dollar contribution. Lastly, I want to thank the members of the legislature and Governor Wilson for their strong support for the veterans memorial project. Before I do the job I was asked t do - introduce the governor and I am going to do that - I would like to do two things. First, as the Wilson administration draws to a close, I want to take this opportunity to thank the governor for all that he has done for California's veterans and I would like to mention a few examples: Governor Wilson said early on that he would support our veterans and be there for them - and he did that by signing 133 separate pieces of legislation into law over the last 8 years that benefit veterans or their families. He said he would give veterans and veterans issues higher priority in his administration and he did that by making the Department of Veterans Affairs a cabinet level agency and elevating the director of veterans affairs to the secretary of veterans affairs. He also administratively created and later signed legislation into law to create the first ever deputy secretary for women veterans - a position that very few states have - to reach out to women veterans to inform them of their benefits they have earned and to help them secure those benefits. He said he would build California veterans homes in the southern portion of the state - where most of our veterans reside - and he did that. He signed into law legislation that authorized four 400-bed veterans homes in southern California to match the 1600 bed maximum capacity in northern California. He authorized construction of the first 400-bed home in Barstow that opened in February of 1996. The second home is under construction in Chula Vista in San Diego County and will admit its first veterans residents in April of 2000. And I am confident that the third and fourth homes - one slated for Lancaster in L.A. County and the other to be built in Saticoy - Ventura County - will be constructed during the Davis administration. Thank you, governor, for your strong support for our veterans. The second thing I would now like to do is ask Admiral Bud Sparks, chairman of the California Veterans Board, to join me at the microphone for a few brief remarks and to make a very special presentation. As the admiral is making his way to the podium, I will tell you that Admiral Sparks is retired from the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve, after 50 years of service. He was appointed to the California Veterans Board by Governor Wilson in May, 1995, and he has truly done an outstanding job as a board member and its chairman for the past year. There is something else about Admiral Sparks that I admire and respect. He started out as an enlisted man and served in every enlisted rating up to chief petty officer before he received a direct commission as an ensign and then promoted through the ranks to admiral. That's pretty damn impressive!

  Bud Sparks : In addition to its responsibilities as the policy board for the Department of Veterans Affairs, those of us who serve on the California Veterans Board see ourselves as ambassadors from California's veterans community to the executive branch and state government in general. We are privileged, in our travels around the state, to observe the contributions made by veterans, from every walk of life, to the communities and state in which they have made their home. Among the more pleasant aspects of service on the board is the opportunity to recognize, in an official way, those contributions. Each year, in about mid-year, the California Veterans Board selects a veteran of the year. The individual selected is a person whose sustained efforts to serve either other veterans or the wider community are so significant as to be compelling. We make our selection in mid-year in anticipation of announcing it at an appropriate Veterans Day observance. This year's recipient was unavailable on Veterans Day, so, we are stealing a little bit of this celebration's thunder for the purpose of public appreciation for the work of this veteran. Beginning with his sponsorship of the first ever Vietnam Veterans Employment Fair during his tenure as mayor of San Diego, Pete Wilson has been a persistent advocate for veterans. While a member of the United States Senate, his work on the Armed Services Committee helped achieve America's victory in the Cold War. That victory, please God, will result in the creation of fewer veterans in the future. As Secretary Bennett has pointed out, during his tenure in the corner office, Governor Wilson has signed into law 133 veteran related measures. Through those actions, elder-care for veterans has been improved, educational opportunity for the spouses and children of deceased and disabled veterans has been expanded, and the ability of a California veteran to acquire affordable housing has been improved. In a public career of remarkable distinction and longevity, this record of achievement on behalf of veterans is a hallmark. All veterans hope that it served as a model for duplication. It will never be eclipsed. With Secretary Bennett and on half of my colleagues on the California Veterans Board, I am delighted to ask the governor to come forward for well deserved recognition.

  Lee Bennett : And now it is our pleasure to introduce the Governor of California - Pete Wilson.