PLEASANT HILL, CA (May 26, 2025) — Just as the names of the fallen were read in Pleasant Hill in the past to mark Memorial Day observances, the Soldier’s Monument at the corner of Boyd Road and Contra Costa Boulevard again served as a poignant backdrop to remember those who gave their lives in service to the nation.

Mark Steinberg, District 10 commander of the VFW 1525, began the proceedings by asking that the phrase “have a blessed day,” rather than “Happy Memorial Day,” be expressed to mark this day.

The Pleasant Hill monument was erected after World War I to remember those from Contra Costa County who gave their lives during the conflict. At its base for the May 26, 2025, Memorial Day ceremony was a floral wreath. Also present was the Soldier’s Cross, in which Marine veteran Ryan Thomas-Brown had the honor of hanging dog tags on it for this occasion. Lance Farley, a member of Post 331 and currently on active duty with the U.S. Coast Guard, followed that with the reading of the names of those who have died in the county post 9/11. The reading of the now famous poem “In Flanders Field,” which became one of the most quoted poems from the Great War, by Helen Steinberg, of the VFW 1525 Auxiliary, and playing of taps by Jim Blair, a veteran of the Korean War and member of Post 331, brought the ceremony to a conclusion.

The solemn ceremony also featured remarks by area politicians, including Congress Mark DeSaulnier, Contra Costa County Board of Supervisor Ken Carlson, and Assembly member Anamarie Avila Farias, and Pleasant Hill Councilmembers Vice Mayor Zac Shess, and Andrei Obolenskiy, all of  whom paid tribute to those had served and died, no matter what the role they played. Providing the color guard for the day’s observance were Army veteran Post 331 Commander Kurt Byer, and Post Adjutant and Marine veteran Terry Neidlinger.

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David Scholz

David Scholz is back in journalism as a freelance writer and photographer after nearly two decades in education. Prior to moving into teaching in 2000, he worked as a full-time journalist since 1988 for rural community and small daily newspapers in Central Ohio and Northern Nevada, and later in California with The Business Journal in Fresno and dailies in the Bay Area, including The Oakland Tribune and The San Francisco Chronicle. More recently Scholz also worked in an editing, writing, and page layout role with the Rossmoor News.