Memorial to victims of San Bernardino terrorist attack envisioned as a place of remembrance, hope

It’s been six years since the 2015 San Bernardino terror attack.

“I feel like I’m drowning in a glass of water,” said Sandra Espinoza, the wife of Juan Espinoza, one of the 14 people killed that day, of the lead up to each anniversary. “And as soon as this day is over, I feel like I can breathe again.”

On Dec. 2, 2015, San Bernardino County Environmental Health Services employees were at an off-site training event at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, when a coworker and his wife opened fire on them in a meeting room. In addition to the 14 people killed, 22 were injured. Both shooters were later killed in a gun battle with police.

On the sixth anniversary of the attack, the public got its first look at a memorial to the victims.

“Sitting here today, after six years, I still get tears in my eyes. It never stops,” said Arlen Verdehyou, husband of Benetta Betbadal. “Her name comes up, her picture comes up, I get tears in my eyes. She’s still in my heart.”

United by a shared tragedy, the victims’ families have formed their own bonds now, Espinoza said.

“It’s like a family. We come together once, twice, three times a year,” she said. “I’m waiting for (those days). It’s sad, it’s a bit bittersweet. We get to see everybody.”

On Thursday, an exhibit debuted at the San Bernardino County Museum. It displays models of the “Curtain of Courage” memorial, the project’s renderings, a timeline of the memorial’s development and a look at the process of Oakland-based designer Walter Hood. The exhibit runs through Dec. 19.

“This would be the first memorial project that we’ve done that’s specifically a memorial. It was quite a heavy burden,” said Hood, talking via Zoom from Oakland.

The memorial is the result of years of work by a committee made up of county staff, survivors of the attack and family members, including Verdehyou. The committee heard from 85 artists around the world interested in designing the memorial. In September 2020, the committee chose Hood, an internationally known landscape architect and designer, who also designed the Broad Museum Plaza in downtown Los Angeles.

When finished, the Curtain of Courage memorial will be on the eastern side of the county government building on North Arrowhead Avenue in San Bernardino. The final concept features curving mesh panels made of bronze and steel. The curtain is designed to evoke protective gear, with layers of chain meant to resemble a bulletproof vest, Hood said.

The curtain’s curves create 14 alcoves, one for each of those killed in the shooting. The alcoves will have a panel of colored glass in a shade chosen by family members of the victims. A phrase chosen by family members will be inscribed on a bench in each alcove. And inside each bench, invisible to the public, will be a small keepsake chosen by the family.

A nearby informational plaque will recount the events of Dec. 2, 2015 in English, Spanish and Vietnamese.

“Another year starts from this point in December,” said Espinoza, for whom every detail of that day are burned into her memory. “But it is what it is.”

Hood wants the memorial to be a place of remembrance but also of hope.

“It hopefully works on multiple levels,” he said.

The $1.3 million memorial is on track to open to the public in March or April. A firm date has not yet been set.

The Dec. 2 exhibit runs through Dec. 19. The museum is at 2024 Orange Tree Lane in Redlands. It is open Tuesdays through Sundays, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. General admission is $10 for adults, $8 for members of the military or seniors, $7 for students and $5 for children ages 5 to 12. Children under 5 and Museum Association members are free.