Bulletin staff reports

Wounded warrior Army Specialist Ricky Pal of Congressman Jeff Denham’s office is among those who will be attending today’s 1:30 p.m. dedication of the first of five planned veteran’s murals on the side of the Manteca Bedquarters building at Main Street and Yosemite Avenue.

The Manteca Mural Society’s first mural created by Jessie Marinas is dubbed “Eaglehearts”.  It honors the veterans of the Global War on Terror. Marinas is a Manteca resident and also a member of the Manteca Hall of Fame as well as the Manteca Mural Society.  Jessie also created the “Pioneer Spirit” mural as part of the Library Park project dedicated in 2012.

Pal is involved with the Wounded Warrior Fellowship Project. Denham’s district office director Bob Rucker will also be in attendance.

Brett McBay of Assemblywoman Kristen Olsen’s office will be on hand as well as San Joaquin County Supervisors Bob Elliott and Steve Bestolarides. Also in attendance will be Manteca Mayor Willie Weatherford and council members John Harris and Debbie Moorhead.

The Veterans’ Mural Project being undertaken by the Manteca Mural Society will consist of five separate murals to be completed and installed on the east facing wall of the Manteca Bedquarters building. Upon completion there will be five murals each 16 feet wide and 20 feet high.  The wall measures 28 ft high and 125 ft 8 inches wide.  The northern 104 feet of the wall will be used for the project; the balance to be used by the building owners for their advertising.

Each of the murals will be representative of the five major conflicts that the United States has been involved in over the past 100 years commencing with World War I.  The other four are World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the Global War on Terror.  Additionally the insignias for each of the five branches of service will eventually be displayed.

The Mural Society entered into an agreement with Jessie in order to use this mural as part of the Veteran’s Mural Project.  He has completed the project in his studio on non-woven polyester.  A metal frame will be attached to the wall with panels and the material will be applied to the panels.  This will be the method used for all five of the murals. 

While the parcel at Main and Yosemite is currently being used as a parking lot, the possibility exists that a building could be erected on it which would hide the murals.  By creating five smaller murals mounted individually on panels as opposed to one large mural provides the possibility of removal and mounting elsewhere if needed.  In addition they could be mounted on five different smaller walls if required. 

The order of completion for the other four murals will be World War 2, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and finally World War I.  The reason for this order of completion is that the society wants to take advantage of input from World War II Veterans that are still alive for the creation of that mural.  There will be focus groups providing input for mural content for all of the murals although the final design will be determined by the artist chosen for each project and the Manteca Mural Society.  Veteran’s groups such as the American Legion, VFW and US Army Warrant Officer’s Association will be involved in the design process as well any other interested parties that may wish to get involved with the Mural Society.

For any additional information contact Norman Knodt at 209-823-1474 or by email at ncknodt@comcast.net.