Officials raise a 30-by-60-foot American flag on a proposed cemetery site in Anaheim Hills, CA on Wednesday, November 30, 2022. The site is at Gypsum Canyon Road and the 91 freeway. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A 30-by-60-foot American flag on a 100-foot pole was raised for the first time Wednesday on a piece of land in Anaheim Hills, the most visible marker yet at the site of what county officials and local military veterans hope will become a state-run veterans cemetery.
The project still has a ways to go. The state hasn’t yet started a required study of the property designated for the burial ground, and construction might not start until mid-2023, Orange County Supervisor Don Wagner said. But the flag — which is visible from the 91 Freeway — is a sign of how far the controversial project has come.
For years, local veterans talked about having their own cemetery so loved ones won’t have to drive to existing national cemeteries in Riverside or Los Angeles. And from 2017 to 2021 plans for such a cemetery focused on Irvine, where three different sites were considered even as the issue become the center of a growing political fight.
Veterans salute during a flag raising ceremony at a proposed cemetery site in Anaheim Hills, CA on Wednesday, November 30, 2022. The site is at Gypsum Canyon Road and the 91 freeway. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A 30-by-60-foot American flag flies over a proposed cemetery site in Anaheim Hills, CA on Wednesday, November 30, 2022. The site is at Gypsum Canyon Road and the 91 freeway. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Orange County Supervisor Don Wagner speaks during a flag raising ceremony at a proposed cemetery site in Anaheim Hills, CA on Wednesday, November 30, 2022. The site is at Gypsum Canyon Road and the 91 freeway. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Visitors listen to speakers during a flag raising ceremony at a proposed cemetery site in Anaheim Hills, CA on Wednesday, November 30, 2022. The site is at Gypsum Canyon Road and the 91 freeway. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Nick Berardino, President of Veterans Alliance of Orange County, speaks during a flag raising ceremony at a proposed cemetery site in Anaheim Hills, CA on Wednesday, November 30, 2022. The site is at Gypsum Canyon Road and the 91 freeway. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The U.S. Army Southern California Recruiting Battalion presents the colors during a flag raising ceremony at a proposed cemetery site in Anaheim Hills, CA on Wednesday, November 30, 2022. The site is at Gypsum Canyon Road and the 91 freeway. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Officials guide a 30-by-60-foot American flag during a flag raising ceremony at a proposed cemetery site in Anaheim Hills, CA on Wednesday, November 30, 2022. The site is at Gypsum Canyon Road and the 91 freeway. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Officials raise a 30-by-60-foot American flag on a proposed cemetery site in Anaheim Hills, CA on Wednesday, November 30, 2022. The site is at Gypsum Canyon Road and the 91 freeway. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A 30-by-60-foot American flag flies over a proposed cemetery site in Anaheim Hills, CA on Wednesday, November 30, 2022. The site is at Gypsum Canyon Road and the 91 freeway. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Officials raise a 30-by-60-foot American flag on a proposed cemetery site in Anaheim Hills, CA on Wednesday, November 30, 2022. The site is at Gypsum Canyon Road and the 91 freeway. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
But in order to make progress, some supporters turned their attention to a 260-acre site in Gypsum Canyon in Anaheim Hills that had been gifted to the county. And Orange County supervisors agreed to dedicate part of that land for a needed new public cemetery and part of it to a veterans cemetery.
A ceremonial groundbreaking for the 100-foot flagpole was held about a year ago, and the county is working on infrastructure for both cemeteries. Officials also are waiting on the state study of the property, which should include a cost estimate for the veterans project.
Marine veteran Nick Berardino, who championed the veteran’s cemetery for many years and helped build support from all 34 cities in the county, suggested Wednesday’s event was a symbol of American values.
“It was the most emotional feeling that I’ve experienced since coming home from Vietnam, to see this flag rise up right there on that freeway, where 347,000 cars a day will see that,” he said.
“It just is so demonstrative of what this nation’s about and what we can accomplish if we listen to each other, if we work with each other,” he added. “That’s what it meant to me.”
Berardino said he hopes to see the cemetery under construction within a year, and Wagner predicted the first interments could take place by early 2025.
