“Returning Home” monument honoring military families to be unveiled October 28
By CLARA BEARD
A life-size bronze monument honoring the reunions, sacrifice and resilience of military families will be dedicated October 28 at Dana Point’s Heritage Park.
The Dana Point 5th Marine Regiment Support Group and the city of Dana Point will unveil “Returning Home,” a sculpture by artist Sutton Betti that stands more than 6 feet tall, during a 10 a.m. ceremony at the park along Old Golden Lantern overlooking Dana Point Harbor.
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Courtesy of Dana Point 5th Marine Regiment Support Group
A rendering of the “Returning Home” statue to be dedicated October 28
The monument depicts a service member reuniting with family after deployment. Its focus is not on combat, but on the families who wait at home and the emotion of a loved one’s return.
Terry Rifkin, past president of the Dana Point 5th Marine Regiment Support Group, spearheaded the project.
“‘Returning Home’ is about more than one Marine, one family or one homecoming. It represents every armed forces family that has waited, worried, sacrificed and finally experienced that moment when their loved one comes home,” Rifkin said. “We wanted to create something lasting that says to our military families: we see your sacrifice, we honor it and we will remember it.”
The Dana Point 5th Marine Regiment Support Group has supported Marines, Sailors and families of the 5th Marine Regiment, known as the Fighting Fifth, at Camp Pendleton for nearly 20 years. The nonprofit provides family and deployment support, holiday celebrations, emergency assistance, care packages and community events.
The Dana Point City Council unanimously approved funding for site preparation and park improvements surrounding the sculpture earlier this year, creating a permanent place for the new tribute.
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Photo by Clara Beard
The “Returning Home” monument will be installed at Heritage Park in the next few weeks
Marines, military families, veterans, local leaders and residents are expected to attend the dedication. A limited number of seats will be reserved for project donors and honored guests. Members of the public are invited to attend and are encouraged to bring their own chairs.
Heritage Park will also host Remembering Our Fallen, a national traveling memorial presented by Patriotic Productions, during dedication week. The exhibit will be on display October 27-30 from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.
The memorial honors U.S. military service members and first responders who have died while serving the country since September 11, 2001. Rather than listing only names, the exhibit uses military and personal photographs to tell the stories of those who died.
Together, the two memorials will recognize both the joy of a military family’s reunion and the loss carried by families whose loved ones did not return.
The “Returning Home” dedication ceremony will be held October 28 at 10 a.m. at Heritage Park on Old Golden Lantern in Dana Point.
