Mount Diablo Beacon To Light Up On Memorial Day

DANVILLE, CA — Once again, the lighthouse atop Mount Diablo will shine on Memorial Day, reminding everyone in the valleys below of the sacrifices made for them.

On Monday at 8 p.m., local veterans will join Danville Mayor Karen Stepper at the Veterans Memorial Building to press a button to light the Beacon. Fifth grader Christina Karbowski will sing the Star-Spangled Banner, followed by remarks from Mayor Stepper and Navy Captain Rebekah Johnson. Local musician Robbie McHale will play Taps, and the Veterans Memorial Building will be open from 7-9 p.m., where members of the public can view historic photos and memorabilia.

Earlier on Monday, the Viet Nam Veterans of Diablo Valley will hold their annual Memorial Day remembrance ceremony at the All Wars Memorial at Oak Hill Park. The ceremony will start at 10 a.m. with live music, followed by remarks from VNVDV co-founder Bill Green.

The Mount Diablo Beacon was first lit remotely by pilot Charles Lindbergh in 1928, and today, it is also lit on Veterans Day and the anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attacks. The Beacon shined from the summit every night to guide pilots from 1928 until Dec. 8, 1941, the day after the Pearl Harbor attack. It was not relit until Dec. 7, 1964, when Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz, Commander in Chief of Pacific Forces during World War II, attended a ceremony on the Mt. Diablo summit in honor of Pearl Harbor survivors. He suggested the Beacon be lit every Dec. 7 to honor survivors and people who served. In 2022, a proclamation was signed to light it on Memorial Day and Veterans Day as well.