Just about every neighborhood has that one diligent soul who goes all out with holiday decorations.
In the College Park East corner of Seal Beach, that guy is Bob Erickson. While he’s no slouch on Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, St. Patrick’s and Easter, Memorial Day inspires his most head-turning display.
Erickson, 72, first planted dozens of homemade white crosses on his front lawn five years ago – creating a touching replica of a veterans cemetery.
He is not himself a veteran. But Erickson’s father was stationed in the Pacific during World War II, and his brother served in the Navy during the Vietnam War.
“We owe it to all American soldiers throughout history to remember Memorial Day,” he said.
Gradually, the site has grown to feature flags representing the five main branches of the United States military and a POW/MIA tribute. This year, Erickson included a Star of David among the crosses.
“We see cars passing by, and then backing up to take another look,” Erickson said. “Parents and their kids seem to enjoy it. Kids get excited about the red, white and blue spinners, so I sometimes hand them out.”
As a social studies teacher, Erickson loved imparting his knowledge to his two children. “We spent a lot more time at museums and national parks than in swimming pools,” he said.
Then came the next generation.
The “cemetery” started as a history project of sorts with Erickson’s grandson, Tyler, now 10. Tyler recently relocated to Texas, but continues lessons with his grandfather. They read books about World War II simultaneously and discuss them on the phone.
“I became jaundiced about the emphasis in education on math and science in standardized testing – while history gets the short shrift,” Erickson said. “It’s true that if we don’t understand history, we are bound to repeat it.”
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May 22, 2020 at 10:13PM
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Seal Beach man transforms front lawn into ‘veterans cemetery’ for Memorial Day - OCRegister
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