FRENCH CAMP -- Friday morning, hundreds of Gold Star families and friends gathered at the Richard A. Pittman VA Clinic in French Camp for a special ceremony just in time for Memorial Day.
After four years of hard work, the California Gold Star Memorial Monument was finally unveiled with a dedication ceremony. It's the first of its kind in the nation.
"To lose his life at 21 years of age, it's not fair, but life's not fair," said Mike Anderson, Sr., Gold Star father and California Gold Star Memorial Monument Committee chairman. "Life is not designed to bury your children."
December 14, 2004. That's the day that changed Anderson's life forever. That was the day his son, Corporal Michael D. Anderson, Jr., died in combat during the Battle of Fallujah in Iraq.
"I get reports all the time, from his comrades that he went to war with, how much Mike was liked and the funny stories he told and the things that he did to help others and help his Marines," Anderson Sr. shared. "Just a good kid. Just an all-around good kid."
Since then, his father has dedicated his life to honoring his son.
"I can't walk in my son's shoes, but I can step in his footprints, and that's what I do often. I never forget that," he said.
Anderson Sr.'s latest achievement was the California Gold Star Memorial Monument, the first Gold Star monument to be installed on U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs property in the nation.
As Anderson, Sr., says, it's an important location for an important message.
"Veterans go to this building to heal, find comfort, but veterans also lost their comrades in arms," he said. "They lost their buddies, their battle buddies. This is a way for them to remember and reflect as they're going in for medical treatment or psychological treatment or whatever they may need."
Nearly 500 people attended the ceremony. Some veterans and others tried to get a glimpse from the clinic windows.
For Anderson, Sr., this monument is much greater than what's etched in stone.
"If I could save one life by somebody coming and seeing this and reading about it and learning about it, I've done my job," he explained. "There won't be another parent that has to live through what I live through."
It's a fight for others, just like the heroes who keep us safe here at home.
"There's really only a couple of things you can do, and for me, it was pull my boots and get to work," Anderson, Sr., shared.
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