Hermosa Beach veteran Ken Marks approached the Parks and Recreation Commission in 1992 with a proposal to build a veterans memorial in the city. Soon a committee of local veterans and citizens was formed to develop plans for the project. After many meetings the committee settled on a site, consulted experts for the memorial's design and began to raise money for construction. By 1994, at a cost $25,000, the city's functional sundial memorial was built next to the Hermosa Beach Community Center.
The local Vietnam Veterans of America, South Bay Chapter 53, is a sponsor of the memorial. Members meet at 8 a.m. on the first Saturday of each month to clean and repair the sundial, as well as enjoy some camaraderie and breakfast. Local veteran and Chapter 53 member Steven Crecy heads the clean-up project. There is also an evening remembrance ceremony held at the sundial memorial every Veterans Day.
For more information about local veterans events and gatherings, such as the monthly memorial cleanup, or to get in touch with South Bay's Vietnam Veterans of America, call 310-540-8820.
