“We couldn’t be more proud” of the memorial, Association Executive Director Neil O’Connell said at the member appreciation lunch, held annually to thank association members, whom O’Connell called the “guardians of memory,” for their contributions.

The Mt Soledad Memorial Association was established in 1952 and has worked “tirelessly to preserve this beautiful memorial,” O’Connell said in lauding the board of trustees.

Members “utilize your resources, your talents and your treasures for us to be able to own this beautiful property and preserve it,” he said, noting the memorial, on private property within the city of San Diego’s Mount Soledad Memorial Park, is experiencing growth and expansion.

The association is currently in the third phase of adding walls to hold more than 2,000 more plaque spaces, bringing the memorial’s total to nearly 7,000 plaques.

“Our plaques are going up at a rapid rate,” O’Connell said, adding requests for plaques come in from all over the country.

After O’Connell concluded his remarks, the small crowd shifted their eyes east as the US Navy’s Blue Angels resumed practice for the MCAS Miramar Air Show, the largest military air show in the world, on now through Sunday, Sept 28.

The Blue Angels, the Navy’s flight demonstration squadron established to perform feats of precision and speed, flew in formations of two, four and six jets across the county.

Despite partial cloud cover over La Jolla, the Blue Angels drew exclamations of awe from those on Mount Soledad as they flew over UTC and Interstate 5 and up into the clouds.

The pilots’ performances continued throughout the afternoon.

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