Tag Archives: Lafayette Crosses

In SF and the East Bay, Honoring the Fallen

San Francisco’s Presidio will host a tribute to fallen soldiers, Monday, with a parade beginning 10:30 a.m. at the Main Parade Ground, Sheridan Ave. and Montgomery St., followed by an 11 a.m. program with special tributes to Americans killed in Iraq and Afghanistan and to the Buffalo Soldiers. That night, I’ll join Sen. Mark DeSaulnier at the vigil at the Lafayette Crosses.

Guests for the Presidio memorial include Congresswoman Jackie Speier, State Sen. Leland Yee, Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera, Daly City Councilman David Canepa and Buffalo Soldiers Museum and Library Director Ulysses Moore. Raymond Wong will perform the duties of master of ceremonies, coordinated by San Francisco Veteran Affairs Commission President Wallace Levin. Following the program, the Presidio Main Post Chapel will host a 1 p.m. interfaith service, 130 Fisher Loop at Sheridan Ave.

In the evening, Monday, the East Bay will gather at the Lafayette Crosses, Deerhill Rd. across from the Lafayette BART station, for a vigil honoring the nearly 5,000 servicemen and women killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. The program will focus on ending the nation’s dependence on oil and support for alternative energy. Guest speakers include Sen. DeSaulnier and me.

I hope you will join the San Francisco program, coordinated by my friend and colleague Wally Levin, for an impressive tribute to the African American horsemen who patrolled the west following the Civil War, 450 of whom rest in the Presidio.

In the evening, we will again honor the dedicated soldiers who have given their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan. I earnestly pray for the day when we are able to honor their sacrifice with shovels in the ground, as more Americans willingly put their lives at risk to rebuild our war-torn world.



Adriel Hampton is a journalist, Gov 2.0 and new media strategist, public servant, and licensed private investigator. He is running for U.S. Congress in the 2009 special election for California’s 10th District.

Memorial Day at the Crosses

I just returned from a Memorial Day vigil at the Lafayette crosses.  Built by members of the community over the past two years on a steep five-acre hillside that overlooks the freeway and BART station, the crosses exert a magnetic draw on Memorial Day.  Today, the total number of crosses stood at 4,084.

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About 100 people came together near dusk to honor the soldiers represented by those crosses on the hill, soldiers who have given so much for their country.

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Tony Thurmond, Democratic candidate for AD-14 (l.) and a spokeswoman from Rep. Barbara Lee’s office (CA-09)(r.)

Gradually, a theme emerged from the series of speakers there on that hillside:

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We are incredibly grateful to our soldiers and service members for the sacrifices they have made. Going forward, we can best honor the dead by bringing our troops home from Iraq so that no more are killed, by ensuring that our troops are never again heedlessly sent into harm’s way, and by working tirelessly to make this the kind of country for which they gave their lives, one that provides respect, fairness and opportunity to all.

Penny

Online Organizing Director

California Democratic Party