Written by William Hekman
On Veterans Day, Santee unveiled a new memorial for veterans, along with the renaming of the bridge the memorial is next to. The memorial is on the corner of Fanita Parkway and Mast Boulevard, right next to the Santee Lakes Park. The bridge was renamed to Veterans Memorial Bridge.
The ceremony to commemorate the new memorial started at 11:11, and was attended by hundreds of Santee residents along with veterans from all around, including the commanding Colonel from Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. Santee Mayor John Minto was also in attendance, along with State Senator Brian Jones and Assemblyman Randy Voepel, both residents of Santee. The project was designed by Dustin Trotter and Michael Ranson. Trotter is a member of the Santee City Council and is the owner of TDT Construction. The memorial was built in two months and the construction was done by Trotter’s business along with the help of private donors and fundraisers. Trotter wanted the memorial to be a place to recognize veterans, and had been thinking about this for five years, “We have such a vast military community here, veterans and active duty… it’s such a privilege to bring this to our community and it is overwhelming the amount of positive response we’ve gotten from this.”
Two things notable about the memorial. The memorial is 11 by 11 by 11, a great way to recognize Veterans Day. The second is that it is the first veteran memorial to recognize the Space Force.
Photo Cred: Scott Lagace
