Filipino American WWII Veterans Memorial

Description:

Designed by Cheri Gaulke and unveiled by Eric Garcetti, president of the Los Angeles City Council, in November 2006, this is the first monument dedicated to the 250,000 Filipinos and 7,000 Filipino American soldiers who fought in WWII for the United States.

LocationMem:

Lake Street Park, Historical Filipinotown

Historical Filipinotown, Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California

Institution:

Los Angeles City Council

Official/Unofficial:

Official

Group Acknowledged:

Filipino veterans

Filipino American veterans

Historical Subject:

Located in the heart of Historic Filipinotown, the monument commemorates Filipinos and Filipino Americans who fought in World War II to reclaim their homeland from imperial Japan. Additionally, it commemorates the veterans' subsequent immigration into the United States and their continued fight for equality in their new home.

Physical Aspects:

Five unidentical slabs of polished black granite arranged in a row with two larger slabs laid horizontally behind them. Each of the five slabs has a large letter inscribed that creates the word "valor". The fourth slab has an inscribed map of the Philippines, and the third slab has an inscribed quote by Faustino "Peping" Baclig:

Bataan was not our last battlefield. We are still fighting for equity.

The backs of five slabs contain inscriptions describing the Filipino and Filipino American histories regarding colony and commonwealth; invasion and resistance; Bataan and Corregidor; sacrifice and liberation; and equity and justice. Inscribed on the two larger slabs facing away from the monument are two words synonymous with one another: "KAGITINGAN" and "VALOR."

Date of Dedication:

November 2006

Place Location:

Files: