A traveling photo exhibit made a stop on Monday in Alpine to honor military members who died in combat since the 9/11 terror attacks.
Tom Williams is a Camp Pendleton Marine whose parents came up with the idea for the photo exhibit as a way to thank those who voluntarily gave their lives to serve this country.
"We should talk about them — say their names because you can bet that these guys don't want us to be timid and shy and forgetful," Williams said.
The exhibit includes a California section where 710 military members from the state are honored in 23 panels. Seventy-seven of those service members are from San Diego County.
Some of those include Rafael Peralta, who joined the Marines after graduating from Morse High School in San Diego. He died in Iraq in 2004 and was awarded the Navy Cross for saving the lives of two of his comrades.
Another honored service member is Joseph Perry who was an Army sergeant. Perry, who grew up in Alpine, died in combat in Iraq in 2006.
"The mission of Remembering Our Fallen is to establish a national memorial, one for every state and U.S. territory, and have a national unveiling in Washington D.C.," Williams said.
Vietnam veteran Dan Foster established the "Alpine Wall of Honor" six years ago, outside the local community center.
"It means everything to me, and it means so much to everybody else," Foster said. "It's a very powerful statement that this town of Alpine cares, that we care and its huge, and its touched a lot of lives."
The photo exhibit and Wall of Honor is open to the public on Saturday at the Alpine Community Center at 1830 Alpine Blvd. It is a free event.
