Memorial Wall Unveiled On Camp Pendleton

By Alison St John / Reporter

Published February 1, 2012 at 12:18 PM PST

This story was published more than 12 years ago.

The new memorial wall on Camp Pendleton, Feb 1st 2012

Memorial Wall Unveiled On Camp Pendleton

A memorial wall was unveiled today on Camp Pendleton for Marines from the base who have lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan.

More than 1,100 names are engraved on the curving stone wall. They are the Marines who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan since 9/11.

It is a much larger memorial than the plaques embedded in the garden outside the headquarters of the First Marine Division, marking those who died in Korea and other, earlier wars.

Lt General Thomas Waldhauser paid tribute to those who have died.

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“1.6 million service members have deployed to fight the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan,” he said. “ All of the soldiers, airmen, Navy and Marines have been volunteers. They left their families behind, knowing full well that serving their country could come at the expense of their lives.

Waldhauser said the first names on the wall are a six man unit from Camp Pendleton who died in Pakistan in 2002, the very first combat casualties of the war.

The money for the memorial, $65,000, was raised privately by six North County Rotary Clubs. Linda Sundram of the Camp Pendleton Rotary Club spearheaded the fundraising effort.

The wall is not yet full. After the names under the year 2011, space stretches out across the empty stone.

Corrected: December 13, 2024 at 5:34 PM PST

An earlier version of this story said the names on the memorial wall were all Camp Pendleton based Marines. The Marine Corps later released a correction, stating these are of all Marines.

Alison St John

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Alison St John currently serves as a general assignment reporter and occasionally co-hosts KPBS Midday Edition. She fell in love with KPBS Radio when she arrived in San Diego in 1985 and first heard NPR. She has been a voice on KPBS Radio since 1989, and has served as a news reporter for radio, TV and the web, as well as anchoring, hosting, producing and editing. Alison has reported on stories about North County and was based in the KPBS' North County Bureau. Alison covered the metro beat during the critical period of the San Diego City pension crisis, and the education beat while Alan Bersin was the controversial Superintendent of San Diego City School District. She covered health when the industry was converting to managed care and told welfare reform stories in the late 1990s when Clinton was “ending welfare as we know it.” She has covered land use issues extensively, looking at the challenges of meeting a growing population while preserving community character, and developing a better transportation system to meet environmental concerns. She has done many stories on the military in San Diego, and the series she edited on the challenges veterans face returning from active duty to civilian life won “Best of Show” from the San Diego Society of Professional Journalists. She occasionally hosts the KPBS Roundtable and KPBS Midday Edition. Alison has won awards from the San Diego Press Club, the Society of Professional Journalists, the Associated Press TV and Radio Association, and the California Golden Mike Awards. Alison was born in Tanzania, brought up in Scotland, and earned her degree in psychology and sociology from Durham University in England. Her postgraduate diploma is in student counseling. She worked in England, Nigeria, Switzerland, Belgium, India, and Japan before moving to the United States in 1981. She now lives in Oceanside and enjoys how her community is growing and changing.