News

We’re Getting Close!

This…

memorial site under construction

Photo courtesy of Michael Lamb, Historic Landscape Architect, Presidio Trust

Will soon look like this…

Artist’s rendering of Memorial design by Art Zendarski shows memorial wall, tree, and circular bench.

Artist’s rendering of Memorial design by Art Zendarski shows memorial wall, tree, and circular bench.

Progress on the construction of the Memorial is becoming increasingly visible and more striking every day, as you can see from the construction photographs that follow. The initial landscaping, irrigation system, and electrical and lighting features have now been completed, and concrete has now been poured for nearly all of the major structural elements. This includes the main curved Memorial wall, which will ultimately be sheathed in black granite panels inscribed with iconic images from the Korean War. These panels are now being fabricated at the Coldspring Company in Minnesota, and will soon be shipped to the Presidio for installation on the wall. Here is one of the laser-etched panels in Minnesota, awaiting shipment:

completed memorial panel showing Major General Smith

Major General O.P. Smith, CG, 1st Marine Division,
among the graves of the fallen, Hungnam, Korea, December, 1950

All this progress is due to the creative plan conceived by the talented Presidio Trust design team, and the supervision and execution of that plan by the Plant Construction Company management team and their capable crew.

photo of Presidio Trust design team

Presidio Trust Design Team:
Genevieve Bantle, Paul Scardina, and Michael Lamb

photo of construction management team

Plant Construction Company Management Team:
Marty Shoemaker, Mitch Magoshi, and Rick Flaster

photo of Construction Manager Mitch Magoshi

Construction Manager Mitch Magoshi

The Plant Construction Company team is enthusiastic about the project. As Construction Manager Mitch Magoshi put it, “We know how meaningful this Memorial is for the veterans and their families, and it’s meaningful for all of us who are building it, too. It’s a challenging project for me and my colleagues due to the complex design and high level of detail. This keeps things interesting!”
All elements of the project are on or ahead of schedule, and will be completed prior to the Opening Ceremony on August 1. One of the final steps will be the construction of the Donor Wall of inscribed tiles and bronze plaques, on the outer perimeter of the Memorial site along Lincoln Boulevard.

image of wooden forms under construction

May 6: Building the wooden forms in preparation for pouring the concrete

photo of truck pumping concrete into form

May 11: Concrete is pumped high over the site and down into the main Memorial wall form.

construction site photo

May 6: Putting the last of the wooden form on the main Memorial wall. (In the background is the Monterey cypress tree in memory of Corporal Santiago “Jimmy” Rosas: see story on pages 6 & 7.)

construction photo

May 11: The crew directs the concrete into the wall form.

side by side photographs of wall front and back

May 19: The wooden forms now removed, the concrete cures and grows stronger in the sun. Once the wall has reached its full strength, the inscribed black granite panels will be secured in place on the concave front surface.