In less than a year, a small dedicated group of citizens brought the Veterans' Memorial Project in the Upland Civic Center Courtyard from conception to completion through individual contributions without city funds. The site includes a five-sided, 14-foot-tall black granite monument bearing the seals of each military branch and information about them, an eagle at the top, star-pattern benches for rest and remembrance, flags of each service branch and the POW/MIA, and a reflection wall with recirculating water that includes the names of local residents, family, and friends who served in the military. The project was created to honor those who serve and have served the country while also benefiting the community through educational exhibits linked to the Upland Public Library, informational kiosks, some with built-in chess boards, and design elements that recall local history, including a fountain evoking Chaffey's irrigation canals and Valencia orange and Eureka lemon trees like those that helped found the city. Sustainable features include efficient LED lighting, solar-powered flag lights, permeable concrete around the trees to replenish the ground with rainwater, and planters intended to demonstrate drought-resistant landscape design. The U.S. Army created what eventually became the U.S. Air Force in 1907 to handle military aviation for land-based operations, and the Air Force became a separate branch on September 18, 1947, by order of the U.S. Congress, with the mission to fly, fight, and win in the air, space, and cyberspace. The U.S. Navy was established on October 13, 1775, by the Second Continental Congress as a seafaring complement to the Continental Army, was disbanded after the Revolutionary War, and was re-established by the Naval Act of 1794; over the years it has served in numerous wars and battles using advancing technologies and assets to protect land, sea, and air.