Ernie's Place at the Veterans Memorial Park in Vista, California

Nearly 47 years since Marine Pvt. Ernie Pinamonti was killed in Vietnam by small arms fire, "Ernie's Place" was finally dedicated. For five years, two of Ernie's six siblings, Mary Ann and Rico Pinamonti, have worked with the city of Vista in California to create a park, donated to the city by the Pinamonti family, that honored not only their brother's heroism and sacrifice, but also that of many others who fought and died in the Vietnam War. The centerpiece of Veterans Memorial Park, built on a narrow 1-acre site at South Santa Fe Avenue near East Broadway in Vista, California, is a bronze statue of Ernie by a reflecting pond, reading a letter from home. The statue is surrounded by walls and walkways embedded with porcelain tiles that were engraved with dozens of letters from Vietnam written by Ernie and others.