Manteca is dedicating its 30th mural — a tribute to those who served in the Vietnam War — on Saturday, May 20, at 11 a.m. at Yosemite Avenue and Main Street in downtown Manteca.
The mural will join three others honoring World War II, Korean War, and Global War veterans on Terror veterans commissioned by the Manteca Mural Society that grace the east facing wall of the Manteca Bedquarters building. A fifth and final mural saluting Manteca’s veterans that will depict World War I is planned for completion in time to mark Manteca’s centennial as an incorporated city on May 28, 2018.
The side of the Manteca Bedquarters located in the building the IOOF built 103 years ago was selected for two reasons. It is the most prominent and tallest wall in downtown by its location at Main and Yosemite that serves as the historical and geographic center for Manteca. It is also where the “Wall of Honor” was started in World War II. The gigantic board sign eventually listed the 965 from Manteca that ended up serving in World War II.
Charleen Carroll of the Manteca Mural Society noted that the organization received a lot of input on the mural being dedicated next month.
Pastor Mike Dillman will serve as the keynote speaker. Dillman is a Vietnam veteran and architect of the Not Forgotten Memorial Weekend Commemoration that this year will feature 7,000 crosses representing the fallen in the Global War on Terror that will be on display for 30 days starting in mid-May along Interstate 5 at Dell’Osso Farms.
The Brock Elliott School choir will perform. Not only is Brock Elliott School named in honor of the first Manteca man to fall in Vietnam but students every school day enter the campus passing 17 large stones that each have a plaque for the 17 men from Manteca who died in Vietnam.
Muralist Linda Shrader and daughter Ella Yates are now painting the mural’s four sections that will be installed on a floating frame once they arrive in Manteca. Her design was based on input from Vietnam veterans living in Manteca.
Carroll said the weekend after the mural dedication — May 27 — a fill the helmet fundraiser will take place to help pay for the World War II mural. Each of the five murals cost $25,000 apiece.
Muralist Dave Gordon who has served as the master muralist for the society since 2002 when he painted the first mural “Crossroads” that graces the sign of Century Furniture will be working on refurbishing some of the existing murals in the coming months. The main mural to receive attention is the Cow-munity Mural that will also have varnish applied to protect it from graffiti.
For more information on the Manteca Mural Society or to join go to www.mantecamurals.com
To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com
