This tribute was writen by Dr. Robert Fikes, Jr., Emeritus Librarian at San Diego State University.
In it he compiled all the known information about the memorial, and the war memorial veterans profiles as of 2005. San Diego State University’s military alumni started out as one of three sabbatical projects in the fall of 2005 and was intended to be a survey of the school’s contributions to the nation’s armed forces.
This statue by Arthur Putnam was completed in 1904. It was commissioned by Ellen Browning Scripps to depict San Diego history. This statue is a prime example of the stereotyping of Indigenous Peoples. It once was installed at various places at the Presidio, below the J. Serra Museum. It was loaned to the San Diego History Museum by the Scripps family in 1933 and became part of their permanent collection in 1967. The statues since been removed and placed within the San Diego History Museum at Balboa Park for "greater preservation-from climate and vandalism."
This is another sculpture created by Arthur Putnam, finished in 1908. it once stood at the Presidio and was donated to the San Diego Historical Park by the Scripps family. According to the San Diego City Archives, this statue was commissioned to highlight San Diego history. Putnam was in fact asked to create a series of five statues depicting early San Diego history, this is his second piece.
