St. Joseph’s Memorial Walk, Honoring Fallen Servicemen and Women, Firefighters and Law Enforcement Officers, to Be Dedicated in Sunday Ceremony

Colonel Richard Speedman of Baldwin Lake had a dream to honor fallen servicemen and women by building a memorial for each branch of the service, mount a brass plaque, and provide a peaceful walkway for citizens and family members to pay tribute to those lost.  Father Mike Krelovich at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, and the parish community, helped make this a reality. The altar servers held bake sales and fundraisers for many months to help fund the dream and, last year, six memorials were completed for each branch of the U.S. Armed Forces. The walk of honor was so well received that the community of St. Joseph’s wanted to expand the memorials to include firefighting and law enforcement branches. On Sunday, June 28 at noon, a dedication ceremony for the memorial project will be held at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, on the North Shore just east of Stanfield Cutoff.  Representatives from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, California Highway Patrol, and local fire agencies including the Big Bear Lake, Big Bear City and San Bernardino County Fire Departments, CalFire and the U.S. Forest Service, as well as an Honor Guard and bagpipes, will be present for the dedication ceremony. Other local church representatives have been invited to help bless the memorials with Father Mike, and community members are welcome to participate in the noon event on Sunday to express appreciation and gratitude to the fallen members of the services represented. Light refreshments will be served following the dedication ceremony.