What are those signs on M Street, and how do they honor Merced veterans?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Merced honors over 60 fallen service members with memorial signs on M Street.
- City expanded the program in 2021 to include nearby veterans with local ties.
- Veterans also recognized through M Street renaming and Courthouse Park memorial.
Drive along M Street and you quickly notice the small blue signs attached to utility poles.
The signs honor over 60 individuals from Merced who were killed while serving in the U.S. armed forces. The signs include the individuals’ name, date of birth, date of death, rank and branch of service.
“It’s a way to honor those who served our country and gave their lives for our country,” Mayor Matthew Serratto said in an interview with the Merced Sun-Star. “People who are willing to make that sacrifice, they deserve to be recognized and honored.”
The city installed the signs in 2018 and asked the public to identify other fallen soldiers from Merced.
“In talking with local veterans officials we anticipate that this list may not be complete,” then-Assistant City Manager Stephanie Dietz said in a press release. “If your loved one was a City resident who died in battle and is not on this list, please let us know.”
Merced City Council studied renaming streets around Merced for fallen soldiers as an alternative but decided against it.
“It was a lot more expensive, and it would be slow and you don’t necessarily have control over the street names because sometimes the developers do it,” Serratto said.
In August 2021, city council voted to expand the program to honor individuals from nearby communities who died and whose descendants live in the city of Merced.
Veterans are also recognized with the honorary designation of M Street as Veteran’s Boulevard and the flying of military branch flags over Veterans Memorial Bridge. A memorial for fallen soldiers from Merced County also stands in Courthouse Park.