PRJUSD board revisits scope of War Memorial Stadium monument

By Camille DeVaul · Wed Aug 26 2026

Project honoring 12 World War II Bearcats moves forward as trustees consider recognizing additional service members

PASO ROBLES — Construction is underway on an updated War Memorial Stadium monument at Paso Robles High School, but the Paso Robles Joint Unified School District Board of Trustees continued to debate Aug. 18 how broadly the memorial should recognize former Bearcats who lost their lives in military service.

The monument was originally dedicated in 1946 in honor of 12 Paso Robles High School graduates who died while serving during World War II. Over the years, the original plaque near the stadium flagpole became difficult to locate and read, prompting the district and a volunteer committee to begin work on an updated monument.

The district board unanimously approved moving forward with the project in June, with an estimated cost not to exceed $110,000. Local architect Gary Gery volunteered to design the monument and administer its construction, while a volunteer steering committee, led by Tom Harrington and including Gene Miller, researched the names and stories of the 12 Bearcats.

During the Aug. 18 meeting, Assistant Superintendent of Business Services Brad Pawlowski told trustees that significant progress had been made since the board’s previous discussion.

Pawlowski said the monument wall had been installed, the board-approved plaque had been completed, the flagpole had been placed and the original plaque had been reinstalled.

The project’s estimated cost remains capped at $110,000, with approximately $91,766 allocated for the contractor and $2,548 for brass plaques provided by the district. Funding is coming from the district’s Fund 40 Capital Facilities account, while donations collected by the committee will reimburse district expenses.

More information on the students and the project's progress can be found on their social media page, which can be found by searching Paso Robles War Memorial Veterans Project on Facebook.

The remaining question involves whether the monument should recognize Bearcats who died in conflicts beyond World War II.

At a previous board discussion, trustees requested that the steering committee return for further conversation after receiving a request to include additional wars and conflicts. The committee indicated it was comfortable moving forward with expanding the memorial’s recognition.

Trustee Nathan Williams clarified during the Aug. 18 meeting that his previous comments made in June should not be interpreted as opposition to recognizing Bearcats from later conflicts.

“I think it's important to make a correction there because any kind of insinuation that we were opposed to it is a gross misrepresentation of what was actually said,” Williams said.

Williams said his concern was preserving the original history and purpose of War Memorial Stadium, which was dedicated specifically to the 12 Bearcats lost during World War II.

His preference was to recognize additional Bearcats without altering the original dedication.

“Nothing to take away from that in any capacity by recognizing other Bearcats,” Williams said. “That's amazing if that's what we choose to do as a community.”

Trustee Leo Castillo similarly said the discussion was not about excluding Bearcats from later conflicts, but determining how those individuals could be recognized while maintaining the original purpose of the monument.

Castillo said he supported recognizing veterans from conflicts including the Korean War, Vietnam War, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and the war in Afghanistan, as well as other conflicts involving former Bearcats.

“I’m not saying not have Vietnam, not have Korea,” Castillo said. “But I’m also saying include the other conflicts where we have Bearcats that have potentially passed that we probably don’t even know about yet.”

Trustee Kenney Enney — who was absent from the June meeting — questioned the reasoning behind limiting the monument’s recognition, noting that the facility is called War Memorial Stadium rather than World War II Memorial Stadium.

“I think it's disrespectful, frankly, to not include the Bearcats that were killed in the Korean War or the Vietnam War or any future war,” Enney said.

The steering committee members who spoke during the meeting emphasized that expanding the monument would not diminish the sacrifice of the original 12 Bearcats.

Harrington introduced Miller, who has helped research the stories of the individuals honored by the original memorial. Harrington said the research has been an effort to go beyond simply listing names and learn more about who the Bearcats were and how they lived.

“A vast majority have never made it out of their 20s,” Harrington said, emphasizing the committee’s commitment to keeping their stories alive.

The committee had initially considered placing medallions representing different military branches on the monument. However, Miller contacted the various military services and learned that their official medallions are trademarked and could not be used without permission. The United States Marine Corps responded to Miller, letting the committee know that they could not give permission for their medallions use at this time.

The committee is instead exploring the possibility of using campaign medals associated with World War II, including the World War II Victory Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, the American Campaign Medal and the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal.

Harrington also said that if additional Bearcats are ultimately added to the memorial, the committee wants to verify that each individual actually attended Paso Robles High School. He noted that a service member’s listed home of record does not necessarily mean the individual attended school in that community.

Trustee Laurene McCoy questioned whether expanding the memorial would change the historical significance of the original monument.

“We've always talked about not changing history,” McCoy said, noting that the War Memorial was created specifically to honor the 12 World War II Bearcats.

Miller offered a different perspective, arguing that expanding the memorial could build upon, rather than diminish, the original tribute.

He compared the discussion to other instances in which the district has expanded or changed the way individuals are honored while retaining their historical significance.

“This is adding to that honor,” Miller said. “It’s not taking away from them. It’s adding to our community.”

Miller said the original memorial was created after the trauma of World War II as a way for the community to grieve and honor those it had lost. Eight decades later, he said, the community has an opportunity to recognize others who made similar sacrifices.

“We are dedicated to really looking for and figuring out who these guys were,” Miller said. “And we can do that for anyone, any Bearcat that lost their lives in a conflict.”

Ultimately, at the end of the discussion, the board and steering committee agreed to continue to look into expanding the memorial to include names of Bearcats lost in the Vietnam and Korean conflicts. They will return to the board at a later date to finalize the last details of the project.

The next Paso Robles Joint Unified School District is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 8 at 6 p.m.