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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — “Would you please put your hand over your heart? Those military may give a hand salute.”
With these words from Veteran Chaplain Dennis Alexander and a room standing solemnly, the special memorial event to honor Lake County veterans began with a pledge and a prayer during the Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday.
Rick Mayo, vice president of We Serve Veterans Inc., presented the board with two plaques: one expressing appreciation for veterans, and another listing the names of 30 Lake County veterans killed in action since World War I.
“This was a very special presentation — local members and veterans of the community that died in action, especially Joy Medeiros, who was the first KIA, killed in action, from Lake County,” Mayo said before presenting the plaques. “There's 29 other names of veterans, citizens, veterans in the community.”
Madeiros, the first name on the plaque, was recorded to have died in France in 1918 during World War I. He is buried in Hartley Cemetery.
“So we're here to honor them,” Mayo said. “Regardless of what names are affixed to this plaque or not, we're going to honor all our veterans.”
Board of Supervisors Chair Eddie Crandell, himself a veteran, then took the plaque and read aloud every name, along with the place and year of the death, and the war in which it occurred.
The board chamber was nearly full, with veterans, families, friends, and county and city officials gathered in a moment of memory and honor. Occasionally, soft groans could be heard from the audiences as Crandell continued reading the names.
“This is powerful — these are people who lost their lives for all of us. Some of them are a little bit more personal to me,” Supervisor Bruno Sabatier said. “As many of you know, I was born in France, and to hear of those who from Lake County were in France and lost their lives for my family, that means a lot.”
The veterans list
The list of names on the plaque, however, did not include all the Lake County veterans who died in wars.
In 2013, longtime Lake County resident and researcher Jan Cook, who worked for Lake County Library, wrote an article on Lake County soldiers who died in World War II. At that time, she found 28 names from the National Archive and Records Administration who were from Lake County and died of the second world war only.
Among those 28 names, only six were listed in the plaque presented to the Board of Supervisors.
She then found another eight names that were not listed in the national archives, but appeared in the Clear Lake Union High School’s Cardinal and Black memorial sections. None of them were on the plaque either.
When asked how the list of the 30 names on the plaque was determined, Mayo told Lake County News that they were drawn from the records at the Joy Madeiros Veterans Museum.
On Monday, Lake County News was contacted by the widow of a service member killed abroad in 1976. When asked about that service member, who also was not on the list, Mayo said that his widow may report it to the museum and provide the service member’s credentials.
“If he's got a DD 214 — it's just a form that says I was there, I was involved — that's half the battle,” said Dave Waldschmitt, president of We Serve Veterans Inc.
Waldschmitt also added that all the 30 names they drew from the museum were confirmed “killed in action, in combat,” he said.
“There's lots of people killed in the military by accidents — planes fell down, ships sank,” Waldschmitt added. “These were killed in a combat environment.”
Veterans speak of local work
After the plaque presentation, representatives from multiple organizations spoke about their work to support Lake County veterans.
The Joy Madeiros Veterans Museum — named after the first killed-in-action Lake County soldier — has discovered and displayed “Lake County moments in history” from records and artifacts; the nonprofit Vet Connect has been helping homeless veterans in finding housing and acclimating to society, among other regional and local support efforts.
Various American Legion posts have shared how they contributed to both the veteran and broader communities, including the military funeral honors team of Lake County that would soon serve at the special ceremony outside the courthouse.
Additionally, Vietnam Veterans of America has been focusing on and known for its “strict advocacy in legislation in support of veterans,” said Dean Gotham, past president and current treasurer of the organization.
Gotham reflected on the group’s beginnings in the late 1970s, when “Vietnam veterans were not getting their needs met at all.” He also spoke about the challenges that aging veterans have faced in recent years, compounded by the effects of the pandemic.
“We have an unusually high population of veterans in our county. It's something really special, it's something to be proud of,” said Supervisor Jessica Pyska. “I appreciate the services that you all show up and provide for them.”
“My son and my father both did serve overseas as well, which is the Afghanistan War and World War II,” said Supervisor Helen Owen. “So you have no idea how much you mean to us, to America, when I say us, we would not have the freedom that we have today.
“And for those that were not treated properly by coming home from, say, Vietnam, that is such a huge black eye,” she added.
Supervisor Crandell also drew from his family and personal history of military service, and his friendship with veterans in the chamber.
“So once you get back home and you start talking to everybody, you start realizing that you cross paths — or cross deserts, or cross jungles, or whatever the case may be — and so you immediately know that you can joke a specific way, you can say specific things that you all understand,” Crandell said. “The camaraderie is already understood.”
Military funeral honors offered
The event concluded with a Department of Defense-authorized ceremony, carried out by the Lake County military funeral honors team.
Four veterans in white uniforms performed the ceremonial rifle volleys, firing into the sky in memory of those killed in action.
Then came the sound of “Taps,” played through a 360-watt stereo built into a .50-caliber ammunition box, handcrafted by Mayo. As the sound filled the silent air, veterans raised their hands in salute.
Lake County military members killed in action listed on plaque
Jacinto Joy Madeiros, U.S. Army, France, 1918, World War I
Freddie W. Myers, U.S. Army, Washington, 1918, World War I
George W. Vanoni, U.S. Army, 1918, World War I
Archie M. Hendricks, U.S. Army, Philippines, 1942, World War II
Kenneth L. Steadman, United States Air Force, POW Japan, 1942, World War II
Herbert M. Wilson, U.S. Army, Africa, 1943, World War II
Miles Schnitzer, U.S. Army, Italy, 1943, World War II
Harmon O. Tredway, U.S. Army, Iceland, 1943, World War II
Eric C. Patterson, U.S. Marine Corps, Guadalcanal, 1943, World War II
Henry F. Wolfram, U.S. Army, England, 1944, World War II
Marion L. Parker, United States Air Force, France, 1944, World War II
Richard L. Marston, U.S. Army, 1945, World War II
Donald Simpson, U.S. Army, Italy, 1945, World War II
Harvey R. Mosher, United States Air Force, 1945, World War II
Merrill C. Rannells, U.S. Marine Corps, Okinawa, 1945, World War II
Issac J. Smith, U.S. Army, Korea, 1953
William Moore, U.S. Marine Corps, Vietnam, 1965
Neal Rasmussen, U.S. Army, Vietnam, 1966
Louis Grothe, U.S. Army, Vietnam, 1967
William S. Robertson, U.S. Army, Vietnam, 1967
Paul W. Hill, U.S. Navy, Vietnam, 1967
David C. Lindberg, United States Air Force, Vietnam, 1967
William E. Adams, U.S. Marine Corps, Vietnam, 1968
Darryl W. Schuster, U.S. Army, Vietnam, 1969
George L. Silva, U.S. Marine Corps, Vietnam, 1969
Robert Mills, U.S. Navy, Vietnam, 1972
Michael R. Conner, U.S. Army, Persian Gulf, 1991
Ivan I. Wilson, U.S. Marine Corps, Afghanistan, 2008
David J. Hartman, U.S. Army, Pakistan, 2010
Richard Essex, U.S. Army, Afghanistan, 2012
Email staff reporter Lingzi Chen at
