CARMICHAEL, CA (MPG) - Carmichael's Vietnam Monument was last weekend central to Memorial Day commemorations. Flags, flowers, and memories were shared by more than 100 visitors.

US Army Brigadier General Don Currier (retired) gave the address. “The vast amount of this country’s success has come because of sacrifices made so we could have our freedoms,” considered Currier. “This great nation did not happen in a day; it took more than 200 years -- and the blood and toil of those who came before us.

“Heroes aren’t found in sports arenas or movies,” he continued. “They’re found on battlefields. We all benefit from these heroes, and from the pain shouldered by their families.”

Reverend Kathleen Marie gave the invocation. The La Sierra High graduate is sister to Thomas Pigg, one of 15 Vietnam war dead commemorated by the steel monument. “My brother’s death greatly affected our family,” she recalled. “Though (most of the family) is gone now, they went bearing the pain of his loss.”

A first-known monument to Vietnam War losses in California, Carmichael’s memorial stands in Koobs Nature Area. Dedicated in 1972, it honors La Sierra High School alumni who fell in the long conflict.

Those commemorated are Robert D. Anderson, Mark W. Burchard, Robert S. Byrnes, Jerry Cowsert, Kenneth R. Escott, Gary R. Field, Herbert Frenzell, Frank Thornburg, Ralph Guarienti, Larry H. Morford, Thomas C. Pigg, Randall B. Rainville, Kim Richins, Jeffry Tharaldson and Robert A. Willis.

Koobs Nature Area is located at 5325 Engle Rd, Carmichael. Access is available first Saturdays monthly, March through October. For information go to Koobs Nature Area’s Facebook page.