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Patriot Point was founded on Memorial Day in 2010 when Zach Martinez, a former Vietnam Veteran and Navy Purple Heart recipient, erected a small flag on a ten-foot pole attached to an old discarded utility pole, on the bluffs overlooking the surf in Huntington Beach. After several days of keeping the flag flying and noticing the torn and sometimes vandalized flag, Zach was considering taking the flag permanently down on a cloudy Tuesday morning in May 2010. As he was doing so, Sharon Clemens, a local Huntington Beach resident, asked Zach why he was taking down the flag. Sharon encouraged Zach to keep the flag flying because she visited the flag regularly and it gave her hope that her two grandsons, serving in Afghanistan, would come home alive and safe. Zach’s son, Zach Jr., a Laguna Beach police officer, told his father, “Keep it flying Dad. Your legacy is to keep the flag waving in the breeze, honoring our veterans and servicemen and women.” Zach decided to make a commitment to keep the flag flying, and he duct-taped the flag to a larger pole with tied down solar lighting, illuminating the flag during the nighttime hours. Throughout the years following, Zach continued to hold annual meetings and free counseling services for local Huntington Beach veterans and families, committing to American national holidays. The mission of Zach Martinez on the importance of community gatherings to raise awareness, provide resources, and encourage support for America's military veterans is still continued to this day.
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Since July 2010, Zach would purchase and install a new flag every three weeks and raise it over the bluffs on Pacific Coast Highway just north of Goldenwest Street and keeping it illuminated during the night. In 2016, The local branch of Tee It Up for The Troops took notice of the flag, and they realized the impact it had but how much awareness it could have for supporting veterans to casual beachgoers and bikers on the path along the bluffs. With funding, support, and authorization from the city of Huntington Beach City, Patriot Point now has a permanent location with five concrete benches representing the branches of military, and it has a taller, more sturdy foundation to fly the American flag for the local community and visitors to enjoy.
After Zach Martinez passed from stomach cancer complications related to Agent Orange exposure, the community and driven spirit of his family and friends continue the legacy of flying the American flag. A man of influence to many and a Vietnam veteran to all, he will be dearly and deeply missed. |
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