Someone had spray-painted over the memorial. It is possible the culprit never knew the plaque he was damaging was there to honor seven young men who had attended the high school and later died in war. The oldest serviceman was only 21 when he died.

In 1989, when the Alta Loma High School Alumni Association took a look at the weather-worn memorial, they realized it did not specifically mention the Vietnam War.

The inscription on the plaque read simply, "To youth life is forever. Death never. These gave their lives so freedom could be forever."

Today only the memory of that once-worn memorial remains. In its place since a rededication in 1990 has been a memorial wall with the names of the Alta Loma seven - the seven young men who lost their lives in Vietnam.

And not once in those seven years has there been as much excitement as recently with the display of the replica of the Vietnam Memorial wall coming to Rancho Cucamonga's Epicenter last week. The dedicated Alumni Association was ready to take part.

"We are all going to meet over there (at the Epicenter)," Dodds said before the event. "We're going as a group."

The association provided information on the seven young men who never returned to their hometown to those who have organized the wall's appearance in the city.

"Usually this interest only comes around the time of other conflicts or during special days," Dodds said.

But the wall has generated all the interest this time. It could not have come at a better time.

The Alumni Association plans to hold a special Veteran's Day ceremony Nov. 8. Since it is a nonprofit organization, its funds do not allow members to advertise events. The association must rely on word of mouth and fliers to alert the public.

This time, the alumni group was allowed to place fliers near where the wall was on display to notify visiting veterans of the special event.

"There is a lot of meaning and importance to the memorials," said Dodds, whose husband is a Vietnam veteran. "A lot of people gave their lives."

From the start, the association realized the importance of the high school memorial. But they did not realize how big the project would become, said Lois Doughty, alumni association historian.

"We started it because we wanted to repair (the memorial). But it just grew," she said.

The high school's drafting class was asked to submit plans for renovation of the memorial. The winner was Dean Long, who has since graduated. 

The new design featured another plaque with the names of the seven men. It was to be erected in a rose garden on the school grounds. The design incorporated the original plaque, which was protected by plastic, to be placed on the ground.

Since that rededication in 1992, the only other additions have been handicap accessibility to the memorial, new lights and electrical outlets. No other changes are planned.

The association feels it has finally reached a point with the memorial were it's almost perfect, Dodds said.

As they did in 1972 for the first dedication, all the parents of the deceased boys were present for the 1990 ceremony. They continue to visit the memorial as often as they can.

The community continues to give when it can, as in 1990 when several companies donated their services and materials to the project.

The memorial will always be in good shape should the parents come by, Dodds and Doughty said. The association has taken on the task of keeping it in good condition.

Graffiti had to be cleaned off the benches and the bricks, but the plaques have been respected, Dodds said.

"There were six people on the board of the association who were on the original committee (to build the memorial)," Dodds said. 

"Of those six, we have four left to really take care of the memorial. And we plan to for a long time."