Ceremony for long-awaited Poway Veterans Park set for Thursday
By Nathan Scharn, UNION-TRIBUNE
Saturday, November 6, 2010 at 6 a.m.
POWAY — Paratroopers, hummers and soldiers in uniform will swarm the Poway Veteran’s Park to raise their flags Thursday, culminating years of work by Poway veterans to get the park built. …
“It’s going to be one of the best days of my life,” said Dennis Rasmussen, who served two Vietnam tours with the Navy. It will be “a place for veterans to go reminisce and start the healing process from Vietnam and some of the wars. ... It’s just going to be a beautiful day for me.” “In my generation, when we came back from Vietnam we weren’t too welcome,” Rasmussen said. “I swore this wouldn’t happen for my kids,” he said, referring to all those serving in the military. “I’d do anything and everything I can for these kids.”…
It was talked about for years, but it was not until Councilman Jim Cunningham began backing it that the idea gained the momentum to become a reality, Rasmussen said.
Cunningham attributed the completion of the park to the veterans’ hard work. The councilman’s wife, Christine Cunningham, has logged hours working with orders for commemorative tiles, to be placed on the wall of honor in the park.
“We have been remarkably moved by this,” Jim Cunningham said. “It’s been quite a great experience for our family.”
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