Efforts are underway to publish a compilation of the biographies of the first 33 heroes honored in the Avenue of Heroes banner project. You can help by “pre-ordering” a book on the GoFundMe link or joining as a Corporate Sponsor. 
The book will be completed in the coming months and includes a history and timeline of North Island, forwards and endorsements from the Stockdale family, Richard Bailey, Mayor ProTem, and Ross Perot. Special attention is given to a section on “Heroes at Home” – the women and families and the work they accomplished back home. Each biography was written by a different local artist, and the artists are highlighted in the Author section. The art is being done by local artist, John Weimann of Weimann Designs, who did the original logo and banner artwork for the 2014 kick off and all the art for this book – truly works of art.
Books will be available in print in bookstores everywhere and in eBook version online.
Support/pre-order copies: https://www.gofundme.com/AvenueOfHeroes
Special thanks goes to the sponsors who have stepped forward so far to make the project possible: Rachel and Gary Gorken of GMS Industrial Supply, military and government supply company, a woman owned small business. And, Lisa and Steve Johnson of eCoronado.com Newspaper for their generous sponsorship of this project and supporting veterans and military families.
If you are interested in corporate sponsorship, please message the project through Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/Avenue-of-Heroes-Neighborhood-Association
A bit of the project’s history:
In 2014 and 2015, Coronado, CA residents worked together to create an Avenue of Heroes to honor the men and women who go to work daily or pass through on deployment through North Island as they are serving our country. Banners are hung along the Road to North Island, and local authors and artists contributed to write biographies of each hero and their Coronado local connection.
The Coronado Avenue of Heroes: The Road to North Island is a compilation book of the first 33 heroes to be honored with banners along the corridor to Naval Base North Island. The book includes a Timeline of North Island History, Dedication to the families who serve along with the military personnel, and photos and bios of each family and military hero and their banners dedicated in 2015.
Support/pre-order copies: https://www.gofundme.com/AvenueOfHeroes
Book Introduction and List of Hero Biographies
Coronado’s Avenue of Heroes: The Road to North Island
Introduction: by Toni McGowan
North Island has no iconic landmark like South Peninsula’s Hotel Del Coronado. North Island’s icons are shifting towering ships moving in and out with thousands of service members here one day, and gone the next. While the ‘Del’ stands relatively unchanging in Victorian garb and gaiety, anchoring the civilian community in the ambience of a days-gone village, North Island defends the United States of America like a steely machine on a world clock at a dynamic pace.
Instead of South Island’s seashells along the shore and romantic stories of lovelorn ghosts, North Island has boot prints of ghosts of early “cavaliers . . . still stalking along the shores” leaving an imprint of integrity and sacrifice that extends into the fabric that is Coronado.
From early international explorers to the First Aero Squadron; from the Spanish American War to the War on Terror; North Island was designated a strategic military post. It has been home to all branches of the United States Armed Forces. It was a cradle for Army and Naval flight, modernized by the Marines, and was an incubator to the Coast Guard, Signal Corps, and Air Force.
Many heroes who served on North Island have been quiet neighbors. The friendly man you never knew saved hundreds of school children until his obituary was published in the local paper may have lived right next door. The prayerful elder in church that lost her first and only love decades before in WWII, may be in front of you at the grocery store. These Coronado stories of service are worthy of telling. The Avenue of Heroes neighborhood is devoted to cataloguing for future generations those who embody the best in America; those who protect America’s dreamers and all that the Hotel Del represents.
In this book, you will find stories of the heroes of North Island and Naval Base Coronado, from all branches of the United States Armed Services. This compilation represents a “thank you” to all of those who willingly serve, and will serve in the future, until the day war is no longer necessary – these are our hometown heroes.
Hero biographies are written by different local authors, in diverse styles, and many authors were friends with their respective hero or hero’s family. The associated Hometown Hero Banner Display Program can be seen on Third and Fourth Streets in Coronado. All profits made from the sale of this book will go veterans programs and in support of our military families. Thank you for purchasing this book and helping this display of gratitude to continue.
On Veteran’s Day 2014, by the efforts of a handful of residents of the road that leads to North Island (historic Rockwell Field, long-gone Fort Pio Pico, Camps Howard, Thomas, and Trouble, and the Nationally recognized Birthplace of Naval Aviation), our highway was designated the “Coronado Avenue of Heroes.” Banners were first displayed on Veterans Day 2014 with 16 banners, and rotated in 17 new banners on Veterans Day 2015. Moving forward, the banners will be dedicated in May and November each year.
November 2014/May 2015 Dedications
1. Thomas M. Rice
ARMY SGT Thomas Rice Normandy 1944
2. Raymond Spruance
NAVY ADM Raymond Spruance Battle of Midway 1942
3. Francis Patrick Mulcahy
USMC LT GEN Francis Mulcahy Okinawa 1944
4. James (Jay) Prout
NAVY RADM Jay Prout Battle Group Commander 1995
5. Ray Volpi
NAVY CAPT Ray Volpi WWII Korea 1952
6. Ted Runyon
ARMY COL Ted Runyon WWII POW 1945
7. John (Jack) Robert Lewis
NAVY CDR Jack Lewis Coronado Navy League 1976
8. Jeff Taylor
NAVY HMI (SEAL) Jeff Taylor Afghanistan 2005
9. Paul Monroe Lowthian
NAVY ENS Paul Lowthian Battle of the Atlantic 1943
10. Willis (Bill) Lunt
ARMY 1LT Bill Lunt Budapest 1944
11. Richard Kenney
ARMY COL Richard Kenney POW WWII 1943
12. J.H. Pendleton
USMC MAJ GEN Joseph Pendleton Santo Domingo 1917
13. Richard Engel
NAVY LCDR Richard Engel Vietnam 1972
14. James D. Ramage
NAVY RADM James Ramage Battle of Philippine Sea 1944
15. Bradley S. Cavner
NAVY SOC (SEAL) Bradley Cavner Afghanistan 2013
16. Edward H. Martin
NAVY VADM Edward Martin POW Vietnam 1973
November 2015 Dedications
1. Commander Andrew Bodnar
Location: Third & Alameda
2. Rear Admiral Wreford Goss “Moon” Chapple
Location: Third & F
3. Four Star General James Harold “Jimmy” Doolittle
Medal of Honor, Medal of Freedom
Location: Third & H
4. Four-Star Admiral Charles K. Duncan
Supreme Allied Commander
Location: Fourth & Palm
5. Rear Admiral Robert Broussard Erly
Location: Third & G
6. Commander Francis Douglas ‘Doug’ Fane, UDT-SEAL
Location: Fourth & J
7. Captain Leonard ‘Len’ Kaine, Top Gun
Location: Fourth & H
8. Commander Dean “Diz” Laird, Retired
Location: Orange & Fourth
9. Commander Charles F. “Pappy” Laws, UDT-SEAL
Location: Third & J
10. Lt. Commander Lance E. Massey
Location: Fourth & I
11. LTJG Kyle Christopher McArthur
Location: Third & Palm
12. Colonel Arthur S. Mearns (USAF) MIA-KIA
Location: Fourth & F
13. Commander Francis ‘Frank’ Meyer
Location: Fourth & G
14. Lt. Col. Arthur F. O’Keefe, USMC
Location: Fourth & E
15. Rear Adm. Arthur W. Price, Jr., U.S. Navy (ret.):
Location: Fourth & D
16. Vice Admiral Harry Schrader
Location: Third & E
17. Commander Henry Stanley Jr.
Location: Third & I
Visit Hero Biographies: http://ecoronado.com/?s=avenue+of+heroes
The post Book COMING SOON! Coronado Avenue of Heroes: The Road to North Island appeared first on eCoronado.com | Your Island News Source.