Heroes Hall, OC Fair, Costa Mesa, Calif.
REPORTING FROM COSTA MESA, CALIF. — Heroes Hall, a permanent, year-round museum with exhibitions, performances and educational programs that celebrate the legacy of Orange County veterans and others who have served our nation, will officially open Feb. 15 at the OC Fair & Event Center (OCFEC), Costa Mesa, Calif.
The two-story exhibition space will rotate themes semiannually with each focusing on an aspect of the personal stories and experiences of veterans.
“The exhibits will integrate OC Veteran’s individual stories in a unique way,” said Kathy Kramer, CEO, OC Fair. “We want to honor and tell the stories of the brave men and women who served our country.”
“One of the goals in building Heroes Hall is to teach school-age children about the sacrifices Orange County residents made to fight for their freedom,” she said.“We want this to be a year-round educational destination. The narrative of the veterans' stories juxtaposed with actual objects that have been donated to the museum by veterans will be powerful.”
The project was originally discussed by the OCFEC Board of Directors in 2013 and approved in 2014. Heroes Hall encompasses more than 12,000 square feet with indoor/outdoor exhibit space. Kramer said that the budget to build Heroes Hall and the surrounding gardens was $4 million, which was paid for by the OCFEC.
Crews broke ground in March and the former “Memorial Gardens,” a two-story, 5,000-square-foot WWII-era building, was placed on the site in April to house exhibitions.
The OCFEC property was once part of the Santa Ana Army Air Base (SAAAB), a 1,300-plus-acre training facility active during World War II. From its opening in 1942 to its deactivation in 1946, SAAAB processed 150,000 cadets. At its most active, it was home to 26,000 servicemen. Some of the more famous SAAAB residents included John Otterson, Joseph Heller, Joe DiMaggio, Gene Autry and Don the Beachcomber.
Kathy Kramer, CEO, and Bolton Colburn, Heroes Hall Supervisor, in front of Heroes Hall, OC Fair, Costa Mesa, Calif.
“The history of the OC Fairgrounds and it being built on the SAAAB air base was the real impetus of this project,” said Bolton Colburn, Heroes Hall supervisor. “It wasn’t easy moving the old Memorial Hall to the site; it had to be moved on a 96-wheel piece of moving equipment, similar to the moving equipment used to move the Endeavor Space Shuttle, from a quarter mile away where it was being stored.”
The Medal of Honor Courtyard center design is a 36,000-pound, 50-foot-wide cement star modeled after the Congressional Medal of Honor, the highest U.S. Military decoration that is awarded by Congress for gallantry and bravery in combat at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty.
Medal of Honor Courtyard, Heroes Hall, OC Fair, Costa Mesa, Calif.
The Walk of Honor houses 28 individual plaques that recognize local recipients of the Medal of Honor, Navy Cross (Marine & Navy), Distinguished Service Cross (Army) and Air Force Cross from all campaigns. Three subject-specific plaques pay general tributes to Orange County veterans who served in the Korean War and World War I & II and a fourth subject-specific plaque lists all Vietnam veterans who died in war who were from Orange County.
Korean War plaque on the Walk of Honor, Heroes Hall, OC Fair, Costa Mesa, Calif.
The first two exhibits will be “The Things They Carried,” which is based on the book by Tim O’Brien, and will feature stories about Vietnam War veterans as told through text, photography, film, audio, digital media, art and personal items and “The SAAAB Story” which will tell the story of the building and its residents.
“We are going to use California Common Core standards as the basis for what we will present to the students who come to visit,” explained Colburn. “The plan is to invite 11th-grade students from the state to come spend a few hours here and learn about the individual sacrifices war veterans made.”
The budget for the exhibits and programming is $350,000 a year. Volunteer docents will be comprised of local veterans and a dedicated education specialist is being hired.
The Heroes Hall building was originally commissioned by the Army Corps of Engineers and built by the Griffith Company as part of the SAAAB. The base was used to train thousands of Army Airmen and Army Airwomen who served during World War II. After the war, the State of California purchased the land as the new home of the Orange County Fair and the building was used for many purposes over the years including as an exhibit hall, offices and board of directors" conference room under the name “Memorial Gardens”.
Terry McCarty; Frank Orzio and Kramer at Heroes Hall dedication, Nov. 11, 2016.
A dedication ceremony was held on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, 2016. Local veterans were invited, including Vincent Okamoto, the most decorated Japanese American veteran of the Vietnam War and Santa Ana Army Air Base veterans. “It was so special to see the veterans being honored right here where they served,” said Kramer. “These men and women changed Southern California. It was an honor to honor them.”
The official opening on Feb. 15 will coincide with the 75th anniversary of the opening of SAAAB. General hours will be 11 a.m.-5 p.m., and admission is free.
The Heroes Hall Veterans Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit and provides fundraising support for exhibitions, education, programs and operation. Information about how to become involved and make a contribution is available at ocheroeshall.org.
Interviewed for this story: Kathy Kramer, (714) 708-1514; Bolton Colburn, (714) 708-1976