For a decade, Long Beach City College’s Walk of Remembrance served as both a Memorial Day tribute and a public lesson on the meaning behind the holiday. This year, the annual display was replaced with a student barbecue event.
The memorial display, known as the Walk of Remembrance, featured rows of hundreds of miniature American flags, photos of fallen service members submitted by veterans and their families and a Lone Soldier Table, which symbolized service members who never returned home.
Rachele Ross, a financial aid specialist in the Veterans Services Office, said the memorial also gave veterans and staff members an opportunity to publicly honor people they had personally lost during or after service.
“It allowed our veterans to memorialize people that they knew, that they lost and loved,” Ross said.
Veterans Services Staff members said the removal of the Walk of Remembrance represented more than the cancellation of a campus event. For many, the display served as the only visible reminder on campus of the meaning behind Memorial Day.
Ross said one of the event’s primary goals was helping students understand the distinction between Memorial Day, which honors fallen service members, and Veterans Day, which recognizes all who served.
Brian Skieff, an enrollment services specialist in the Veterans Services Office, said the display also helped correct common misconceptions about the holiday.
“Our display was able to tell people what the actual significance of Memorial Day was,” Skieff said. “Some people use it as a holiday or celebration, which is the complete opposite.”
“They’re losing the sense of what Memorial Day is,” Ross said. “That’s why we started the Walk of Remembrance, because it allowed our veterans to stand out there and help people understand the difference between Memorial Day and Veterans Day.”
Staff members said the memorial often drew participation from students passing through campus, with some stopping to ask questions or help place flags across the lawn.
“Some students who would just walk up and they were like, ‘Can I put down some flags with you guys?’, and they would want to contribute and help,” said Skieff.
Ross said the memorial had also become recognizable beyond just the campus, with community members visiting the display throughout Memorial Day weekend.
“People actually came from off campus to come and see our display every year,” Ross said.
While some staff members expressed disappointment over the change, Veterans Services Program Manager Rene Gutierrez said the office hoped to create a more intimate, student-focused Memorial Day event this year.
“We wanted to make it a more intimate student experience,” Gutierrez said. “A lot of the veterans and veterans’ families exchanged stories at our barbecue.”
Gutierrez acknowledged that, given the event’s nearly 10-year history, more advanced communication about the change may have been beneficial.
“We’ll probably communicate that way more ahead of time. It’s not the end of that event,” Gutierrez said of the Walk of Remembrance.
While some staff members expressed disappointment over the change, at least one veteran student said he still appreciated the support provided by the Veterans Services Office.
“I think Long Beach City College is doing a phenomenal job as far as reaching out and talking to students,” said Archie Gardner, an Army veteran and LBCC student.
For a decade, the Walk of Remembrance transformed part of the campus into a visible tribute to fallen service members. Even without the display this year, veterans and staff members said its meaning still lingers.
