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Bishop Amat Military Memorial

The formal dedication of the Bishop Amat Memorial Garden (BAMG) took place on Saturday, October 9, 2010.  The program began with a Memorial Mass in honor of Amat’s Fallen Military Heroes at 10:00 AM.  Following at 11:30 AM was the ceremony re-dedicating the Bishop Amat Vietnam Memorial (BAVM) as well as the dedication, unveiling and blessing of the Bishop Amat Military Memorial-Physical (BAMM (P)).  All events took place on the Bishop Amat campus located at 14301 Fairgrove Ave., La Puente, 91746-1712.

The Bishop Amat Military Memorial (BAMM) is an alumni-inspired initiative to involve the entire Amat Family; students, faculty, parents, alumni and BAMM friends to honor those Lancers who lost their lives while on active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States.  The goal is to offer prayers for and acknowledge the supreme sacrifice of Bishop Amat graduates.  We also want to offer prayers for and recognize those members of the Amat Family who presently serve or who served.

The Memorial Project comprises four elements.

The FIRST is to identify all Amat military veterans. We invite a response e-mail message from all alumni who served, know of those who served or who are presently serving in the U.S. Armed Forces.  Kevin Rue of the Class of 1971 is collecting the information.  You may contact him via e-mail at BAMM71@gmail.com  or call him at (703) 931-3721.

The SECOND is spiritual. This includes praying a special rosary novena for those who have died as well as for those serving.  Also, the names of our Amat Fallen Military Heroes, its veterans and those on active duty will be on the altar for the annual Armed Forces Day Mass celebrated in May by the Archbishop of the Military Services at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC.  Lastly, there is a future plan to include the Fallen Lancers in Gregorian Masses both on campus and in local parishes (see below for more detail).

The THIRD element is scholarship. Depending upon the alumni response, scholarships in the names of each of the Amat Fallen Military Heroes will be established to help needy and deserving students with tuition assistance to attend Bishop Amat.

The FOURTH was the erection of a physical memorial to commemorate those who made the supreme sacrifice. The BAMM (Physical) element is part of the Bishop Amat Memorial Garden (BAMG) dedicated in October, 2009.  The BAMG incorporates the design of the new BAMM (Physical) with the existing Bishop Amat Vietnam Memorial (BAVM).  The BAMM (Physical) is a flagpole and base.  Around the pentagon-shaped base are individual plaques honoring Amat’s Fallen Military Heroes.

The Bishop Amat Military Memorial Steering Committee (BAMM Steering Committee or BSC) is active and would appreciate additional support.  Kevin Rue, ’71, serves as the volunteer chairman for the committee.  Although Kevin lives in the Washington D.C. area, he travels to Bishop Amat periodically at which time the Amat Administration and the BSC arrange face-to-face meetings. Other BA grads have joined the BSC for planning meetings via teleconference from as far away as France.

In terms of IDENTIFICATION, the BSC learned in July 2010 of 3 additional men to bring to eleven the number of Lancers who lost their lives while serving on active duty in our nation’s military. These include seven alumni who died in Vietnam: Joseph Alfred Albertini, ’65; David Hugh Lalich, ’64; Daniel Napierskie, ’69; Jose Antonio Ollivier (Anthony “Nate” Oliver), ’63; Joel Michael Sabel, ’61; John Roger Thielen, ’65; and Stanley William Tunall, ’63.  Another alumnus from the Class of 1964, Lt. Col. Joseph Librado Lujan, perished on July 15, 1987 while serving in El Salvador.  One graduate from the Class of 1974, 2^nd Lt Terrence Patrick Carrigan, lost his life one month following his graduation from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1978.  A second graduate from the Class of 1969, Capt. Mark Eugene Brennan, perished in a plane crash in 1979.  Most recently, Maj. Douglas Amuel LaBouff, ’87, died in a helicopter crash in Iraq on January 7, 2006.

The SPIRITUAL element of the Memorial began on September 11, 2008 with the initiation of a 54-Day Rosary Novena for Joel Sabel.  The details of this unique, 54-day Rosary Novena containing 27 days of Rosary prayers in petition followed by another 27 days of the Rosary in thanksgiving are at this link (how to Pray the Rosary – here).

During the academic year, Bishop Amat students, faculty and alumni completed praying the rosaries daily for the Fallen Military Heroes, in addition to the families and friends affected by their loss. The Campus Ministry Office at Bishop Amat has a Rosary recitation schedule. We invite alumni, friends and families to join us in this commitment as members of the Amat Family. Please contact Anthony Garcias in Campus Ministry at agarcias@bishopamat.org if you wish to participate.

Rosaries

11 Sep 2008    Begin 1^st of 11, 54-day Rosary Novenas (RIP JM Sabel)

3 Nov             1^st, 54-day Rosary for JM Sabel ends

18 Oct              Begin 2d of 11, 54-day Rosary Novenas (RIP SW Tunall)

10 Dec 2008    2d, 54-day Rosary for SW Tunall ends

24 Nov 2008    Begin 3d of 11, 54-day Rosary Novenas (RIP DH Lalich)

16 Jan 2009     3d, 54-day Rosary for DH Lalich ends

7 Apr               Begin 4^th of 11, 54-day Rosary Novenas (RIP DA LaBouff)

30 May            4^th, 54-day Rosary for DA LaBouff ends

11 Sep             Begin 5^th of 11, 54-day Rosary Novenas (RIP JL Lujan)

3 Nov               5^th, 54-day Rosary for JL Lujan ends

4 Nov               Begin 6^th of 11, 54-day Rosary Novenas (RIP JA Albertini)

27 Dec 2009    6^th, 54-day Rosary for JA Albertini ends

19 Jan 2010    Begin 7^th of 11, 54-day Rosary Novenas (RIP JR Thielen)

13 Mar             7^th, 54-day Rosary for JR Thielen ends

15 Mar              Begin 8^th of 11, 54-day Rosary Novenas (RIP TP Carrigan)

7 May             8^th, 54-day Rosary for TP Carrigan ends

19 Dec 2010    Begin 9^th of 11, 54-day Rosary Novenas (RIP JA Ollivier)

10Feb 2011     9^th, 54-day Rosary for JA Ollivier to end

11 Feb             Begin 10^th of 11, 54-day Rosary Novenas (RIP D Napierskie)

6 Apr               10^th, 54-day Rosary for D Napierskie to end

7 Apr              Begin 11^th of 11, 54-day Rosary Novenas (RIP ME Brennan)

30 May 2011   11^th, 54-day Rosary for ME Brennan to end

Masses

As part of the overall Spiritual element, the BSC lists as a goal in future years to coordinate for the celebration of Gregorian Memorial Masses in the names of our Amat Fallen Military Heroes.  The plan is to arrange for Masses in the local parishes where the young men and their families prayed together.

The SCHOLARSHIP Fund for the Bishop Amat Military Memorial received a $25,000 initial deposit from the school to help “seed” an endowment.  Msgr. Carroll, President of Bishop Amat, also indicated the school will match, dollar-for-dollar, the next $25,000 in contributions to the BAMM Scholarship Fund.  As of August 2010, the amount donated to the BAMM Scholarship Endowment Fund by alumni and friends is $7,150.00, for a total of $39,550.00 (seed money, contributions, matching dollars and interest). You may make a BAMM Project donation by contacting the Bishop Amat Alumni Development office.  The phone number is (626) 962-2495 ext. 1-7456/44/03.  The e-mail address is alumni@bishopamat.org.  You may also donate with a credit card via the Bishop Amat secure website; http://development.bishopamat.org.  If you donate through the website, please follow-up with an e-mail message to the Alumni Development Office to specify that the contribution is for the BAMM Project.