Veterans band together to help rebuild vandalized memorial

UPDATE: 6:45 p.m.

Gunnery Sergeant Hector Viramontes said he remembers the day about ten years ago when he came to Twentynine Palms for training as a marine, and met Master Gunnery Sergeant Nicholas Formosa.

“He saw that I was a young, motivated sergeant at the time, (and) he took me under his wing and thought, ‘Hey you got potential, and more than that, I like your attitude when it comes to training,” Viramontes said. “His attitude and his way and outlook towards life was amazing. He had an incredible way of relating everyday, simple tasks to the most complex, military tasks you’ve encountered.”

From then on, Viramontes said Formosa became very close to him and his fellow marines, until about ten years ago — when Formosa was killed by a drunk driver.

“It came completely as a surprise for an individual that served in Vietnam, served in Desert Storm, served twice in Iraq,” Viramontes said. “To go out like this, it was completely a shock. For a lot of us, it seemed like it we never got to see the end of the story.”

Viramontes and others decided to build a memorial, a white cross with several flowers and other items, near their base off of Highway 62 to remember their leader.

That memorial, Viramontes said, stood until recently when he said it was vandalized.

“If you look at the surrounding area, there’s no signs of an accident,” Viramontes said. “There would be vehicle marks. Also, after inspecting the damage of the memorial itself, we found footprints. And we also found what looked like tire iron marks. We were left for a shock.”

But now, he and others are working to rebuild, for someone who helped build many men in his lifetime.

“Our society has changed quite a bit,” Viramontes said. “But, there are still individuals in this society that believe in ideals, (and) that believe in what America stands for. This is what Master Guns was.”

Viramontes said they set up a GoFundMe account to raise money towards a permanent memorial for Formosa.

He said they hope to have the new memorial complete by the end of this month.

A link to the GoFundMe account is listed in the earlier version of this article.

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ORIGINAL STORY: 4:43 p.m.

Veterans in Twentynine Palms are banding together to help rebuild a memorial for one of their own, which they said was recently vandalized.

The memorial stood along Highway 62 for Master Gunnery Sergeant Nicholas Formosa, who was killed by a drunk driver about ten years ago.

Local veterans like Gunnery Sergeant Hector Viramontes said they found the roadside memorial destroyed around the Fourth of July. Now they want to rebuild the memory of a man that meant so much to fellow Marines — both near and far.

Here’s how you can help donate to the cause

Zak Dahlheimer will have the full story on KESQ News Channel 3 at 6 p.m. and on CBS Local 2 at 6:30 p.m.