My name is Carolina Winston Barrie. I am a descendant of Arcadia Bandini de Baker. In 1888, Arcadia and Senator John Percival Jones donated the land for the sole purpose of giving Veterans a place to heal from war. Never has that desire been more important than today as our sons and daughters return with scars of battle in their bodies and minds.

Three generations of my family have fought to maintain the healing mission of the original gift (which became the V.A. Hospital and recreational facilities). The physical and mental facilities of the V.A. have always been overwhelmed and under-funded. The Government’s neglect of our Veterans has been a national scandal long before Iraq. Yet over the years, the more valuable the acreage became, the more land developers plotted to steal it and convert it to profit. Our family has resisted schemes for shopping malls, condominiums, even an NFL Stadium. And we might not have prevailed had it not been for the formation of the Veterans Park Conservancy.

Founded in 1986 to protect and enhance the land, the organization’s director, Susan Young, and its Chairman, retired three-war hero Gwynn Robinson, have led the efforts along with other groups to save and re-vitalize the VA property. Buildings were rebuilt, rusty fencing was replaced, decayed monuments revived, and a Chapel, first used by veterans of the Civil War, was restored to it’s original beauty with the help of the Bob Hope family.

Had it not been for the dedication and hard work of Veterans Park Conservancy, Senators Alan Cranston, Pete Wilson, Dianne Feinstein, Congressman Henry Waxman, Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky and others for the last two decades, the deeded land, the V.A. facilities and the open parkland space would have been sold to the highest bidder by the Federal Government.  Indeed the new State Veterans Home and the expansion of the National Cemetery would never have happened.

These achievements are a clear example of how a caring, non-profit, private sector group can raise the large sums of money necessary to do work that the Bureaucratic Federal Government can never find the budget for.  The Brentwood News accurately chronicled the achievements in its November cover story, “Home of the Brave.” 
 
Very truly yours, 
Carolina Winston Barrie