Photo courtesy of Libby Zazzera, Presidio Trust
On Saturday, June 1, 2019, the Presidio Trust’s Historian Barbara Berglund Sokolov, Volunteer Engagement Specialist Libby Zazzera, and Visitor Services Coordinator Aricia Martinez hosted 12 Docent and Ambassador volunteers at what they term an enrichment event at the Korean War Memorial. These events help the docent volunteers serve the visitors to the Presidio more effectively.
Also participating in this educational session were KWMF’s Judge Quentin L. Kopp (Ret.), President and Chairman; Mitchell Leiber, Secretary; Donald Reid, Treasurer, Wallace Stewart, Education Director; D. Peter Gleichenhaus, Board member; and Gerard Parker, Executive Director. Pete Gleichenhaus and Mitch Leiber had done much of the initial coordination with the Presidio Trust in preparation for this day.
Gerard Parker led the docent volunteers on a brief historical tour of the Memorial; and Wallace Stewart and Donald Reid, both Korean War veterans, provided a more personal context by sharing their memories of that long ago, faraway war. The Presidio Trust staff later reported that the docents found this event to be a positive and productive experience.
This session was particularly relevant for the docents who lead the Presidio’s “Main Post Walking Tour,” which they conclude by recounting the poignant story behind the large Monterey cypress tree at the entrance of the Korean War Memorial. It was planted there as a tiny sapling nineteen years ago, in remembrance of Santiago “Jimmy” Rosas, a nineteen-year-old U.S. Army corporal and Ohlone warrior who was killed in the early months of the Korean War. It is a moving story that brings this walking tour to a fitting finale at the Korean War Memorial.
