The Mount Diablo beacon will be lit Friday night for Veterans Day to honor those who have served in the military.
Local veterans and members of the public will gather at 4:45 p.m. at the Veterans Memorial Building at 400 Hartz Ave. in Danville to press the button to light the beacon, which will stay lit until sunrise Saturday.
Local officials signed a proclamation on Feb. 25, 2022, to light the beacon on Mount Diablo annually not only on Pearl Harbor Day, but also for the first time this year on Memorial Day and Veterans Day.
In a blog post on its website, Save Mount Diablo wrote about the history of the beacon, saying that it was first lit by aviator Charles Lindbergh in 1928 “as one of five transcontinental guides used on the West Coast to assist in commercial aviation.”
The beacon was lit every night until the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, then went dark for the next 23 years before it was revived to honor Pearl Harbor’s survivors every Dec. 7.
Mount Diablo remains the last of the original five beacons still capable of being lit, according to Save Mount Diablo. It underwent restoration in 2013. Between April 2020 and April 2021, it was illuminated every Sunday evening to honor frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.