Council approves tribute design

NEWPORT BEACH — The city will begin raising money for a monument to the Camp Pendleton Marine unit it adopted in 2003, after a council vote Tuesday to approve a design for the monument and the suggested location at Castaways Park.

The bronze and granite monument designed by South Dakota artist Benjamin Victor will commemorate members of the 1st Battalion, 1st Marines, who died in combat as well as honoring the battalion’s special relationship with the city. The unit is now deployed in Iraq.

Although the homeowners’ association board for the Castaways subdivision, adjacent to the park, voted last week not to support the location for the monument, none raised opposition Tuesday. Board members have said the park already has too many memorials in the form of trees and plaques.

Councilman Keith Curry, who proposed the memorial to the battalion, told the council he’ll work with the residents on their concerns about existing memorials.

The monument is a 9-foot-high granite slab being entered by a life-size bronze Marine who is looking back. The slab represents a corridor, and on the opposite side from the Marine it will bear the names of the battalion’s members.

Victor, the artist, said he came up with the design after interviewing about 200 soldiers from various eras of military conflict.

“I’ve set aside a lot of large projects to work on this project because it’s something that’s close to my heart,” he said.

American Legion Post 291 in Newport Beach announced Tuesday it will donate $5,000 toward the monument, which is expected to cost about $100,000.

Curry said the gift will kick off the fundraising, adding, “The enthusiasm that we’ve seen in the community so far is very, very strong.”