For press inquiries or to schedule an interview, please contact Elizabeth Murray, Managing Director of the San Francisco War Memorial & Performing Arts Center.

SAN FRANCISCO, November 10 , 2011 – The Native Sons of the Golden West today presented an oversized check in the amount of $10,000 to MajGen J. Michael Myatt, USMC (Ret.) and Trustee Wilkes Bashford, Co-Chairmen of the Working Committee for the San Francisco Veterans Memorial Project.  This donation represents donations totaling $5,000 from members of the Native Sons of the Golden West and a matching donation of $5,000 from the Native Sons San Francisco Hall Association.

Thirty-five members of the Native Sons of the Golden West attended the check presentation in the Memorial Court between the War Memorial Opera House and Veterans Building, the site for the future San Francisco Veterans Memorial. The Native Sons of the Golden West is one of the oldest historic preservation groups in California.  Since 1875, the Native Sons has actively worked and raised funds to preserve the history of the State of California.

The San Francisco Veterans Memorial Project is headed by former Secretary of State George P. Shultz and former Secretary of Defense William J. Perry, who co-chair the Veterans Memorial Steering Committee, which is raising private funds for the design, installation and maintenance of the Veterans Memorial.  The Steering Committee has raised nearly $1.8 million towards the $2.5 million project cost, which includes a $500,000 maintenance endowment.

The original 1920’s plans for the War Memorial Complex called for a veterans’ memorial in the Memorial Court, the landscaped area between the War Memorial Opera House and Veterans Building, which was designed by San Francisco landscape architect Thomas Church . The Memorial Court contains soils from battlefields throughout the world where Americans have fought for their country.

The San Francisco Arts Commission conducted a national design competition for the Veterans Memorial.  Three artist teams were selected as finalists in November 2010, and in July 2011, the War Memorial Board of Trustees endorsed the design proposal submitted by Susan Narduli and Andrea Cochran.

The San Francisco Veterans Memorial is planned to be formally dedicated on Veterans Day, November 11, 2013.

For more information please visit www.sfveteransmemorial.org.

Help Keep the Promise! Donations can be made online at:
www.sfveteransmemorial.org
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Previous Press Releases:

• August 23, 2011 - War Memorial Trustee and SF Veterans Memorial Working Committee Co-Chairman MajGen J. Michale Myatt meets with cast of "Heart of a Soldier" Opera
• August 9, 2011 - Invitation to Preview "Heart of a Soldier" Opera about a 9/11 Hero and Vietnam Veteran Rick Rescorla.
• July 14, 2011 - War Memorial Board of Trustees Announces Winner of theSan Francisco Veterans Memorial Design Competition
• May 31, 2011 - San Francisco Veterans Memorial Final Designs to be Unveiled June 7, 2011 at private reception
• November 10, 2010 - Announcement of Design Finalists (PDF)
• November 10, 2010 - Design Finalists' Biographies (PDF)
• May 10, 2010 - SF Examiner (PDF)
• April 26, 2010 - Project Launch (PDF)