Although some plaques are simpler in their wording, the one located at the bottom of Mount Soledad is a tribute to an important local landmark in La Jolla.
The plaque reads:
Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial Cross
Dedicated in 1954 in honour of all branches of the Armed Services of U.S.A. servicemen and women.
This plaque dedicated November 11, 1989
Mt. Soledad Memorial Association
City Beautiful San Diego
This cross was dedicated in 1954, but there is a whole lot of history behind it. In 1913 the locals built a basic redwood cross to put on top of the mountain that remained for around a decade, until vandals took it down.
A new cross was built in 1923, made of wooden and stucco. This was there for almost 20 years and became a popular place to gather and for celebrating Easter Sunday. In 1952 it was destroyed again, this time by a windstorm.
The Mt. Soledad Memorial Association was formed within a year of the storm. During 1954 a concrete cross was built and dedicated on Easter Sunday — April 18 of that year. This was to honor Veterans from World War I, II and the Korean conflict.
With the help of American Legion Post 275 of La Jolla, the memorial was set up to honor those who served and later individual veterans.
In 1999 they began building walls around the cross with the first two built in 2001. These are individual plaques made out of black granite each with a photo of the Veteran and details about their time in service
More walls were added to the memorial and now thousands of veterans are recognized, according to reports. The site recognizes veterans from different generations and conflicts, as well as those currently serving. The Memorial Association states there are now over 6,600 granite plaques on the walls.
Mount Soledad has had many legal issues throughout the decades. A 1989 lawsuit, Paulson v. Abdelnour, seeking the removal of the cross, attracted controversy toward the site. The issue reached the U.S. Supreme Court; in July 2006 then-Justice Anthony Kennedy issued a stay against a district court’s order that would have compelled the city to take the cross down.
The dispute was settled for good in federal court in 2016 — a year after the U.S. Department of Defense sold the memorial and the property attached to it to the Memorial Association for $1.4 million.
The plaque has become an important part of the landmark’s history. It was dedicated on Nov. 11,1989 during the development of the memorial. That basic wooden cross has certainly developed into a place where families and visitors can reflect on individual veterans.
Read more history stories here, and do you have a story to tell? Send an email to DebbieSklar@cox.net.
Sources:
- California Court of Appeal, Paulson v. Abdelnour, ruling issued on Nov. 30, 2006.
- Mount Soledad Memorial Association, “Our History.”
- Mount Soledad Memorial Association, “About The Memorial.”
- Pacific Justice Institute, Petition for a Writ of Certiorari to the United States Court Of Appeal For The Ninth Circuit.
- CBS8, “Department of Defense sells Mt. Soledad Memorial,” July 20, 2015.
