People from all over the world have seen the veterans memorial plaque on the Seal Beach pier. Few probably know how it got there, thanks to a veteran of World War II named Bill Thomas.
On Memorial Day, Monday, May 31, 2004, a 36 x 32-inch bronze plaque was unveiled and dedicated at the Eisenhower Park in Seal Beach, California by the members of American Legion Post 857 and the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4048.
More than 500 spectators came to view this once-in-a-lifetime event. The colorful ceremony in beautiful weather included the U.S. Marines Color Guard, and a bugler who played “Taps.” Various dignitaries as speakers, and two entertainment groups also participated.
The creator and designer of the Plaque was U.S. Armyveteran Bill Thomas of Rossmoor.
The Plaque’s design consists of the American Flag in full color superimposed over the outline of the United States of America. The large circle in the middle of the Flag denotes the world our people serve in. Within the circle is a 10-part pie-chart, which acknowledges all the men and women, the living and the deceased, the prisoners of war and the missing in action (POW’s and MIA’s) and the six branches of service.
The inscription at the top states, “In Commemoration of all the Military Veterans of the USA of the past, present, and future who served in the six branches of the service since the Revolutionary War.”
In the very center are the emblems of the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
The Plaque is mounted on a four-foot high concrete pedestal in full view of all passing by. It is greatly admired and repeatedly photographed by visitors to the Seal Beach pier.
This all came about in early 2000 when several sculptors were asked to create a design to convert a part of the existing Eisenhower Park into a Veterans Memorial Park. The cost would be about $200,000.
“One sculptor’s design showed our Flag at half-staff,” Thomas said. “A flag at half-staff usually denotes death. This is supposed to be a living memorial. I realized that the sculptors had not really been given a central theme to concentrate on.
“I began experimenting with conceptual sketches and ultimately determined there had to be one really significant theme that was truly meaningful, symbolic, and applicable to all veterans of all wars going all the way back to America’s origin.”
Thomas searched through numerous atlases and maps for an American Flag that would fit perfectly over the outline of the United States of America.
“I made as good a mockup as I could and went to visit Chuck Zeitman, owner of a Printmasters’ Print Shop in Los Alamitos,” Thomas said. “Chuck responded wholeheartedly to the concept and worked up a few sketches over the next few days. I was excited and delighted with his masterpieces until I counted fourteen stripes of the flag instead of thirteen, one for each of the thirteen original colonies.”
Zeitman drew up a new design.
“I attended the Veterans meetings and showed them the revised layout,” Thomas said. “With nearly everyone’s approval, the design was supposedly turned over to the sculptors. I eventually learned one of them had gone to Europe, another was busy on a new project, and a third was nowhere in our area.”
Weeks turned into months and now it was Nov. 8, 2001, nearly a whole year had gone by with no further planning of the proposed memorial park to be completed with statues, monuments, and horizontal columns, benches and walkways, etc.
“Over the next few weeks, I decided that to get the proper memorial park designed, built and financed at $100,000 more or less and would take at least two years to complete,” Thomas said. “Why not at least have a plaque made up and have it mounted in a very short time and at a greatly reduced cost while more of the Veterans are still alive. I contacted six plaque manufacturers in our area and went on the Internet to see what other information I could learn about the proper construction of a bronze plaque and got some more bids.”
Thomas presented all the latest information he had received to the two Veterans’ organizations and was encouraged to proceed and get final estimates and approvals.
“Family and friends made suitable donations along with the assistance of the Seal Beach Lions Club organizing a Long Beach hockey game fundraiser to raise the $6,000 to pay for the Plaque,” Thomas said. “I had vowed the Plaque would be ready for mounting before Monday, Memorial Day, 2004.”
The Veterans Memorial Plaque has been in place, admired and photographed ever since.
