Pasadena to Honor Local Gold Star Heroes on Memorial Day

A ceremony will be held on Memorial Day at Pasadena’s Enduring Heroes Memorial to honor local Gold Star heroes, those who lost their lives while serving in the United States Armed Forces.

The event will begin at 3:00 p.m. in Defenders Park, located at the corner of Orange Grove and Colorado Boulevards.

The ceremony will be officiated by Mayor Victor Gordo and attended by Vice Mayor Felicia Williams. The monument’s sculptor, Christopher Slatoff, is expected. The public is welcome.

The ceremony is planned to be informal and will last about 30 minutes. Mayor Gordo will speak briefly about the 11 fallen heroes who are memorialized on the Enduring Heroes Monument as well as all of the brave men and women who have died in service to the United States.

A bagpiper will play at the conclusion of the ceremony.

A patriotic wreath and small American flags will be placed near the monument.

Members of the public who plan to attend are encouraged to wear red, white and blue and to bring a flower or small bouquet.

The Enduring Heroes Monument is an 8-foot-tall bronze statue which depicts a U.S. soldier triumphantly holding aloft an American flag. The statue was unveiled in 2017 and is located in Defenders Park, a grassy section of a small public green near the bustling intersection of Orange Grove and Colorado Boulevards near where the Rose Parade starts.

The 11 fallen heroes who are memorialized on the Enduring Heroes Monument are:

• Army Staff Sergeant, Scott R. Studenmund, 24 – Gaza Village, Afghanistan,6/9/14
• Army First Lieutenant Todd J. Bryant, 23 – Khalidiya, Iraq, 10/31/03
• Marine Second Lieutenant JP Blecksmith, 24 – Fallujah, Iraq, 11/11/04
• Marine Lance Cpl, Dion M. Whitley, 21 – Ramadi, Iraq, 6/15/05
• Marine Lance Cpl, Sergio H. Escobar, 18 – Ramadi, Iraq, 10/9/05
• Army Reserve Specialist, Carla Jane Stewart, 37 – Tallil, Iraq, 1/28/07
• Army Specialist, Adam J. Rosema, 27 – Baquba, Iraq, 3/14/07
• Army Private First Class, Cory F. Hiltz, 20 – Baghdad, Iraq, 6/28,07
• Marine Lance Cpl, Rogelio A. Ramirez, 21 – Al Anbar Province, Iraq, 8/26/07
• Army Specialist, William J. Gilbert, 24 – Sanjaray, Afghanistan, 5/14/13
• Army Sergeant, Joseph F. Stifter, 30 – Al Anbar Province, Iraq, 1/28/16