Six and a half years later, the official San Bernardino County memorial to the 14 people who died in the 2015 San Bernardino bombing is now open.
The Curtain of Courage Memorial is located on the east side of the county government center at 385 N. Arrowhead Ave. in San Bernardino. Because the county offices were closed on Monday, June 20 for the June holiday, it was a quiet opening day for the memorial. Survivors of the December 2015 shooting and the families of the victims gathered on Friday for the memorial’s unveiling.
The $1.3 million memorial features curved mesh panels of bronze and steel. According to designer Walter Hood, the curtain is meant to be reminiscent of protective gear, while the chain layers are meant to be reminiscent of a bulletproof vest.
Curtain of Courage, a memorial to the victims of the December 2015 San Bernardino bombing, opened to the public outside the San Bernardino County Government Center in San Bernardino on Monday, June 20, 2022. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
A rose atop a memorial to San Bernardino bombing victim Sierra Simone Sunshine Claiborne, one of 14 killed in the December 2, 2015 shooting, at the Curtain of Courage memorial at the San Bernardino County Government Center in San Bernardino, Monday, June. October 20, 2022 The memorial is open to the public on Monday. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
A plaque bearing the names of the 14 people who died in the December 2015 San Bernardino bombing is seen outside the Curtain of Courage memorial at the San Bernardino County Government Center in San Bernardino on Monday, June 20, 2022. The memorial is open to the public on Monday. . (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
San Bernardino bombing victim Harry “Hal” Bowman is one of 14 people commemorated at the Curtain of Courage memorial at the San Bernardino County Government Center in San Bernardino, Monday, June 20, 2022. December 2, 2015 Victims Memorial The shooting is open to the public on Monday. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
James Naley of San Bernardino visits the Curtain of Courage memorial at the San Bernardino County Government Center in San Bernardino, Monday, June 20, 2022. The December 2015 San Bernardino bombing memorial opened to the public on Monday. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
James Naley of San Bernardino visits the Curtain of Courage memorial at the San Bernardino County Government Center in San Bernardino, Monday, June 20, 2022. A memorial to the victims of the December 2015 San Bernardino bombing opened to the public on Monday. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Marcy Summit of Yucaipa photographs a memorial for San Bernardino bombing victim Daniel Kaufman, one of 14 people killed in a December 2, 2015 shooting, at the Curtain of Courage memorial at the San Bernardino County Government Center in San Bernardino. Monday 20 June 2022 The memorial is open to the public on Monday. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
On December 2, 2015, EHS employees were attending a field training event at the Inner Regional Center in San Bernardino when an employee and his wife opened fire on them in a conference room. Fourteen people were killed and 22 wounded. Both shooters were later killed in a shootout with police.
Hood was selected by a committee of county staff, survivors of the attack, and family members to create the memorial. An internationally renowned landscape architect and designer, he also designed the Broad Museum Plaza in downtown Los Angeles.
The curves of the Curtain of Courage create 14 niches, one for each of those killed in the firefight. The alcoves have a panel of colored glass in a hue chosen by the victims’ families, and a bench in each alcove is inscribed with a phrase chosen by the family. Inside each bench, invisible to the public, is a small memento chosen by the family. The nearest information board tells about the events of December 2, 2015 in English, Spanish and Vietnamese.
Another memorial to the victims of the terrorist attack – the Garden of Peace – opened in 2016 in the California state of San Bernardino.
For more information, visit December2.sbcounty.gov.
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