A new exhibit hall to commemorate all Santa Barbara residents who have served in the armed forces was opened Wednesday by the Pierre Claeyssens Veteran’s Museum and Library at the Veterans Memorial Building on West Cabrillo Boulevard.
The foundation also used the grand opening as an opportunity to personally thank the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors for its unanimous decision to continue funding three Veteran Service Officer positions by presenting each board member with a personalized plaque and an autographed copy of With Their Eyes Turned Skyward by Karen Ramsdell and Michel Nellis.
The exhibit features framed photographs, medals and other military decorations of local veterans who have served in any conflict, including World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan. The veterans being honored are from all branches of the military and all ranks, from private to four-star general — including former President Ronald Reagan.
“We’re really trying to encompass all of the wars and be inclusive of all local veterans,” museum director and Vietnam veteran John Blankenship said. “Some veterans are reluctant because they see all of the medals up there there, so we have to convince them that it is not about how many medals you have or whether you have been shot.”
Blankenship said the exhibit is only the beginning, and he hopes to see it grow as more and more veterans are recognized. Dr. Adam Lewis, who serves on the museum’s executive committee and does research for the displays, said he goes through each veteran’s service record to make the exhibit as accurate as possible.
“We are trying to make sure that when we put something up there, the family of each veteran can look at it and say, ‘That’s really the way it was,’” Lewis said.
Before awarding the plaques, Vietnam veteran Peter Bie discussed the necessity of veteran’s services, pointing toward issues such as an alarmingly high suicide rate among veterans, and the excessively long wait time to make claims in the current system.
The awards were then presented to Supervisors Salud Carbajal and Steve Lavagnino and representatives from the offices of Janet Wolf, Joni Gray and Doreen Farr by Sgt. Maj. Robert Forties, a decorated World War II veteran.
Carbajal expressed gratitude toward the rest of the board for unanimously supporting the issue of veterans services.
“We may have our differences, but I’m glad we can come together on this issue and give these veterans the services they rightfully deserve,” Carbajal said.
Despite the fact that these officer positions have been cut in the past due to budget restraints, they are now part of the permanent annual budget and are here to stay, according to Lavignino.
“I think it’ll be a cold day in hell before we cut that position,” he said.
— Noozhawk intern Patrick Kulp can be reached at pkulp@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
