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Headlands Owner
DANA POINT-After a year of clamoring for a Dana Point veterans'
memorial, community leader Marc Eric Ely-Chaitlin's proposal may
finally be coming to fruition. In a bid to win community support
for their project, representatives of the Headlands Reserve, owners
of the 121 acre headlands that give Dana Point its name, have
tentatively agreed to place a memorial to U.S. veterans on the
headlands property.
Sanford Edward and Kevin Darnall, representatives of Headlands
Reserve, have been meeting with veterans, veterans groups and
community leaders, to discuss plans for the last remaining undeveloped
tract in Dana Point. Joe Woods, leader of the VFW post in Dana
Point, expressed his support for the proposed memorial, "Dana
Point needs a veterans memorial. I don't know why we don't have
one, but there are almost 9,000 veterans and their families in
this area who would appreciate a place to remember their loved
ones and comrades, both those who came back, and those who did
not."
While many veterans' and community leaders have agreed that a
veterans' memorial would be a welcome addition to Dana Point,
no one has been able to come up with a suitable site. Mr. Ely-Chaitlin
had supported the location of a veterans' memorial in the Dana
Point Harbor, especially since the county announced plans to revamp
the 30-year old marina, but when Headlands Reserve representatives
approached him regarding the proposal to locate a memorial on
the beautiful headlands, he agreed that the site combines the
reverence and respect that such a monument deserves.
Last month representatives of the VFW, the American Legion, and
other Dana Point community groups, including Marc Ely-Chaitlin,
president of the Mildred Rose Memorial Foundation, began working
with the owners of the headlands project, to incorporate a veterans
memorial in the developers plan for the property. "We're
very enthusiastic about the idea of a veterans' memorial, because
it would go well with the proposed lighthouse, the Harbor Point
Park, and our overlooks above the harbor," said Sanford Edward,
of Headlands Reserve, "plus, even though many people in Dana
Point will be enjoying the beach and harbor below the headlands,
we have heard from lots of other people that a veterans' memorial
visible from the harbor would be beautiful."
Bill Manes, leader of a state-wide organization called the Veterans
Group, who lives in Dana Point, noted, "The [headlands] is
a perfect site for a veterans' memorial because this is some of
the most spectacular land in southern California. This memorial
will lend an air of reverence to the area, and will help local
people to better enjoy the unique setting by creating a sense
of our local heritage." Long-time Dana Point resident Marc
Ely-Chaitlin, who said he never served in the armed forces, indicated
that by locating the veterans' memorial on the historic point,
"it will sort of make the headlands belong to everyone, by
honoring those veterans who made personal sacrifices for our homeland."
Although plans for the memorial are still on the drawing board,
veterans' and community leaders have been in talks with the Headlands'
owners, regarding the design and funding of the memorial. Plans
at this stage are focusing on the idea of a memorial garden, or
a flagpole, perhaps combined with a stone or bronze memorial inscribed
with names of the people from Dana Point who gave their lives
for their country. "We are still open for the best way to
remember our veterans'" Mr. Edward said. "And we look
forward to talking with more people in Dana Point about other
ways we can make this a memorial everyone in Dana Point can be
proud of." The only thing that stands in the way of realizing the establishment of a veterans' memorial on the headlands, however, is the City of Dana Point. The city's plan designates this area as private open space. The next step for the advocates of a veterans' memorial is the Dana Point city council. If the city council members can be convinced to give the property owners' a chance to proceed with their development, which is vastly scaled down even based on the city's own general plan, then the veterans' memorial, and the Harbor Point Park, may be constructed and opened to the public. "We think the city council will like our ideas," says Manes. "We just dedicated this kind of monument in Brea with the names of all the soldiers from Orange County who died in combat. It would be great to have one here in Dana Point."
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