To care for Fresno’s military vets, city leaders propose a veterans memorial district
Fresno has a long tradition of honoring its veterans.
Our city is not only home to the California Veterans Home, a senior care facility for those who bravely defended our nation, but also hosts the largest Veterans Day Parade west of the Mississippi River.
Yet, as we approach Memorial Day, a solemn holiday to remember the lives lost protecting our nation, its freedoms and way of life, I believe that the city of Fresno must do more to honor our commitments to its veterans.
The first step is by establishing and supporting the upcoming Fresno Veterans Memorial District and delivering badly needed investments into community assets that benefit all Fresno residents while honoring our veteran community.
First, a bit of history.
The men and women of Fresno who helped liberate Europe and the South Pacific during World War II returned home and established posts of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, using their common bonds of war to forge lifelong relationships.
These posts were not just a place to commemorate the sacrifices made in combat, but to foster a sense of community for our veterans, their families and the community.
Seventy-one years after the attack on Pearl Harbor and America’s entrance into World War II, our veterans posts are dilapidated, owing to heavy use by local veterans of World War II, Korea, and Vietnam, along with the residents who lived in and around the communities.
These residents rely on VFW posts for community meetings and events that bring neighborhoods together and keep them safe.
Similarly, Fresno’s Veterans Memorial Auditorium and Museum, a community jewel constructed during the depths of the Great Depression, has fallen into such disrepair that it almost serves as an insult to those who have served our country.
Meanwhile, as Fresno’s veterans sacrificed their lives in service to our country, many now find themselves in dire need of social services to ensure a long, healthy life in peace.
Our veterans deserve nothing short of the best, and it is my hope that we as Fresnans — and more importantly, as Americans — will give them the investment they deserve.
That is why I, along with my colleagues on the Fresno City Council, late last year began the work of forming the Fresno Veterans Memorial District.
The goal of this district, much like a similar district in Clovis, is to invest in veteran-centered facilities.
It will also go one step further, connecting veterans — from those who served in World War II to those who recently returned from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq — to critical veterans and social services to ensure their health and well-being is taken care of long after they exit the service.
The starting point is to authorize the formation of the Fresno Veterans Memorial District and launch Measure V for your approval this November.
From there, we will begin to assess the condition of our city’s various veterans community facilities in dire need of improvements and investment in the short- and long-term.
The time is now and our veterans deserve our support. I hope you’ll join me in charting the right direction for the Fresno Veterans Memorial District and support the upcoming Measure V.