A tradition of planting trees in honor of service members killed in combat has returned to San Diego after more than 40 years.
Just after the Marine Corps Recruit Depot officially opened in 1921, the American War Mothers and Gold Star Mothers planted trees to honor the sons they lost in World War I.
Marines aren't the only ones remembered in the garden. MCRD Community Liaison Officer Carl Huenefeld said there is an Army private honored on the base.
“It turns out that it was one of these two groves that Gold Star Mothers and American War Mothers had planted,” Huenefeld said. “They planted and they put a marker recognizing PFC James K. Arrowsmith, who died in 1944 in Italy.”
The tree planting tradition continued through World War II, Korea and Vietnam. Then in the early 1970s planting in the garden stopped. Huenefeld said he does not know for certain why the tradition stopped.
“For a service that is as proud of its service as ours, I wish I could tell you why it lapsed in the 1970s," Huenefeld said. "Something having to do with the Vietnam war, I presume.”
Brig. Gen. James Bierman presented Monteen Purdie with a Gold Star Mothers of America pin for the loss of her son. Purdie turns 100 on Memorial Day. She lost her son in the Vietnam War.
“I’m so honored, after so much time, to get the chance to present you with this pin on behalf of the Gold Star Mothers of America and to thank you on behalf of the American people for your sacrifice,” Gen. Bierman said.
Gold Star Families are families who have lost a service member to combat, and Blue Star Families are relatives of living service members and veterans. In the garden, one tree is planted to honor Blue Star families. A different tree is planted for Gold Star Families.
Organizers wanted to re-start the tradition as close to Memorial Day as possible.
“We didn’t want to let Memorial Day go without recognizing the sacrifice of our military and the people that they leave behind,” Huenefeld said.
The grove is visible from Barnet Street, just west of the Pacific Coast Highway.
