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By Nathaniel A. Lopez
There is a history behind the Vietnam Memorial that sits at the bottom of San Manuel, honoring the seven fallen heroes from the Tri-Community.
Bill Haro is a US Army Veteran, who voluntarily enlisted in 1969, receiving an honorable discharge as an Artillery Sergeant E-5. He was the driving force behind the creation of the memorial honoring the Tri-Community’s fallen sons.
Bill gladly shared the process of getting the memorial created. In July 2017, after retiring from driving 18 wheelers, Bill visited San Manuel High School, looking to see the memoriam plaque that was erected at the base of a flagpole around 1973. What he had found, was that the plaque had been located to behind a door near the cafeteria. Deciding that this placement was unacceptable, the sign was removed and taken to Tucson, where a stone engraver was able to add Tony Arriaga’s name, as well as adding the heroes’ ranks and KIA date. The Memoriam plaque now sits in the lobby of the school’s gym, with the expenditure being covered by Bill and his monthly breakfast club, a group of friends he’s had since the first grade: Joey Starman, Jimmy Garcia, Robert Skelton, Johnny Hernandez and John Huntington.
“I decided at that point I would construct the Vietnam Memorial. Start-up funding came from Stephani Bateman Beneitone. Stephani’s brother Mark is in the Memorial. I assembled some craftsman: Ron Wood, Carpenter; Eddie Bonner, Tinsmith; and Artists Debra Large Foster and Connie R Crosby, Mike Dedrick, Billy Haro, Frank Martinez. The Memorial was completed in 2018 and on Memorial Day we had a dedication ceremony wherein we dedicated it to the Gold Star Families. Each were represented by family members,” mentioned Bill Haro, “I didn’t have the pleasure of knowing Norman Garrett or Tony Arriaga, however I went to school with Mark, Johnny, Arthur, Allen and Gary. Allen and I were best friends and I was the last one to see him when he shipped off to Nam. We stayed out all night until it was time for his parents to drive him to the airport.”
Bill has tried to keep a low-profile on this as he knows the memorial is about honoring our seven fallen heroes. As the community looks to the future, it is almost just as important to understand the past the community holds and find ways to honor it.
They were sons. Brothers. Uncles. Friends. Boys, really. They grew up playing in the streets of San Manuel, Oracle, Mammoth and Tiger. They were athletes, students, classmates.
And when their country called for their service, they didn’t hesitate. They left their homes and their families behind and were sent to the front lines in Vietnam.
Norman Wayne Garrett, June 23, 1942 – February 15, 1965. Pvt. E-2, Army. Died from hostile artillery, rocket or mortar, South Vietnam.
Tony R. Arriaga, October 7, 1938 – May 6, 1966. Sgt. E-5, Army. Died gun, small arms fire, South Vietnam.
Mark Andrew Bateman, May 3, 1947 – October 3, 1967. Corporal, Army. Died from multiple fragmentation wounds, Dinh Tuong, South Vietnam.
Juan Manuel Garcia, December 27, 1948 – November 20, 1967. PFC, Army. Died from multiple fragmentation wounds, Kontum, South Vietnam.
Allen Wade Ingram, December 12, 1949 – September 24, 1968. Lance Corporal, Marine Corps. Died from gun small arms fire Quang Tri, South Vietnam.
Gary Everett Graves, April 10, 1948 – November 11, 1968. TM3 – E4, Navy. Died from other explosive device (river mine), Quang Tri, South Vietnam.
Arthur Martinez Garcia Jr. – April 15, 1947 – February 7, 1970. Sgt., Marine Corps. Died from gun small arms fire, Thua Thien, South Vietnam.
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