Medal of Honor monument going up in downtown LA
A first-of-its-kind monument dedicated to Congressional Medal of Honor recipients is about two-thirds finished in downtown Los Angeles.
The Eugene Obregon/Medal of Honor monument originated as a tribute to a Obregon, who grew up in East L.A. World War II veteran Bill Lansford heads the foundation that's building the monument at Alameda Street near Cesar Chavez Avenue.
Lansford says Latino Medal of Honor recipients haven’t received the recognition they deserve. He said the group decided to highlight the bravery of Eugene Obregon, a graduate of Roosevelt High School, "who died during the Korean War defending, protecting his best friend, who happened to be a young, 19-year-old Marine from Grand Prairie, Texas."
A sculpture going up next year shows Obregon taking enemy fire while protecting a wounded soldier. Lansford said the monument’s been expanded to honor all recipients of the medal. It’ll include a wall etched with the names of the 3,400 soldiers who’ve received the nation’s highest military decoration since the presentation of the first Medal of Honor about 140 years ago.
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- Obregon/Medal of Honor monument
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