Veterans Memorial at Saddleback College

Veterans Memorial dedicated at college (OC Reg)

Though it's just burnt-orange bricks and meticulously made waterfalls from afar, the monument up close is the visualization of the struggles and victories of those who live and those who died for this country.

The quad at Saddleback College was standing-room only Thursday – over 500 people strong – for the dedication of that monument, the college's Veterans Memorial, a football-shaped sculpture 14 feet high and 90 feet long highlighted by water features and life-size silhouettes of a soldier in full gear.

Each brick was created on campus, and the installation was completed with the help of people at the college and in the community.

The official unveiling of the $400,000 sculpture, designed by Saddleback art professor Richard White and ceramicist Fred Olsen, was attended by representatives for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, lawmakers, active and former members of the armed services and college students and staff.

A flag donated by the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 785, which was flown over Washington, D.C., and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, was raised over the monument during the dedication. That flag will have a permanent home in the college's Student Center.

Originally conceived in 2004 and intended to be a memorial for those who lost their lives in the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the scope of the project was expanded to include veterans and active service members.

Construction began about two years ago and though the monument has been unveiled, about $75,000 of its cost still needs to be raised, mostly through families purchasing bricks, stones or benches to commemorate loved ones.

"This is about the veterans; you don't want to put a lot of your own ego into it," White said. "We tried not to. We wanted to make it something people could put their own meaning to."

Jason Huebner of Laguna Niguel, who served in the Navy during Operation Desert Storm, said the sculpture lets veterans know their efforts don't go unnoticed.

"Anything we can do to not forget our past is going to help us in the future," he said.

Laguna Niguel resident Raymond Constantino, a veteran who recently completed two deployments in six years with the Navy, attends Saddleback and praised the college for keeping servicemen and women in mind.

"It's absolutely an honor to be recognized, especially at a college that I go to," he said. "It's good to remember the people that served, the people that are serving and the people that will be serving."

As the ceremony came to a close, people walked through the monument, took pictures and read the inscriptions of those whose names have been recorded in the bricks.

"I'm really proud we did it," said Michael Milberg of Mission Viejo, who helped craft the structure. "I'm kind of surprised all of these people came to see what I worked on."