Del Valle
Del Valle Park is home to Veterans Memorial Plaza, where annual Memorial Day observances honor Lakewood residents who have died while in military service to our nation.
At the center of the plaza is a Korean War-era F3D Skyknight jet fighter in a setting that evokes the flight deck of the Navy aircraft carrier from which this plane once flew. Nearby, a granite tower lists the names of Lakewood residents killed in the Vietnam War. Dennis Lander’s poem “The Boys of Del Valle Park” is inscribed on an adjacent tower. Surrounding the plaza are commemorative bricks placed by the family members of veterans to honor their sacrifices, as well as commemorative bricks of community members showing their support for veterans and the city.
The veterans memorial at Del Valle Park originally honored Lakewood residents who fought in the Korean War. In the mid-1960s, Memorial Day observances, jointly sponsored by the city and Lakewood’s veterans organizations, began the tradition of recognizing the young men of Lakewood who had fallen in Vietnam. Today, the members of the Lakewood City Council still solemnly read their names on Memorial Day.
Del Valle Park—named for a hero of the fight for Central American independence—also includes the Lakewood Youth Center, built with the generous contributions of community members in 1958. In the summer months, the grove near the Youth Center becomes the site of Lakewood’s popular Concerts in the Park series. Nearby is a children’s playground that reflects Lakewood’s aerospace heritage.
Scenes on the wrap
War worker. Nearby Douglas Aircraft Co. employed thousands of women during World War II to build the planes that helped win the war.
Memorial Day. Collaged in a photograph of a Memorial Day parade in 1949 in Lakewood Village are World War II veteran Sam Sachs (left) and Vietnam veteran Dennis Lander (right).
Those who served. Members of today’s military and veterans of past conflicts pay tribute to those who made the ultimate sacrifice. Behind them are verses from Dennis Lander’s poem “The Boys of Del Valle Park.”
Skyknight jet. The Korean War-era jet that stands over the Lakewood Veterans Memorial once served as a park climbing structure for children.
Remembrance. The words engraved on the Lakewood Veterans Memorial remind visitors that our community shares a deep pride in our nation and those who have joined the military services.
Past and present. A young sailor of today’s Navy and Nicholas Karthas, a veteran of the Navy of World War II, represent the continuity of military service to our nation.