Obama to designate Fort Ord, California as a new national monument

[Kolesar]

http://www.mercurynews.com/science/ci_20438035/obama-designate-fort-ord-new-national-monument

Fort Ord, the sweeping former military base north of Monterey known for its oceanfront landscape and a history that dates back to cavalry soldiers in World War I, will become America's newest national monument.

President Barack Obama is scheduled to establish the new designation on Friday, making Fort Ord only the second national monument he has created since becoming president in 2009.

"Fort Ord's dramatic landscape lives in the memories of thousands of veterans as their first taste of Army life, as a final stop before deploying to war, or as a home base during their military career," Obama said in a statement late Thursday.

"This national monument will not only protect one of the crown jewels of California's coast, but will also honor the heroism and dedication of men and women who served our nation and fought in the major conflicts of the 20th century."
...
More than 60 years ago, Gen. Joseph "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell drilled thousands of infantrymen on amphibious assaults at Fort Ord beaches before they headed to Okinawa, the Philippines and the Marshall Islands. In the 1950s and early 1960s, then-unknowns Clint Eastwood, Jerry Garcia and current Defense Secretary Leon Panetta were stationed at Fort Ord.

[MADem]

1. Good move. nt