Community Corner

Garcetti to be Grand Marshal of San Fernando Valley Veterans Day Parade

The mayor is the first elected official to have that honor. Only veterans may ride in the parade, elected officials with no military ties sit in the stand.

By STEVEN HERBERT
City News Service

Mayor Eric Garcetti will be the grand marshal of Monday's 10th annual San Fernando Valley Veterans Day Parade, the first elected official to have that honor.

Only veterans, active duty military members and reservists such as Garcetti, a lieutenant in the Naval Reserve, are allowed to ride in the parade. Elected officials with no connection to the military sit in the reviewing stand.

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The parade will begin at 11:11 a.m. at the corner of Laurel Canyon and San Fernando Mission boulevards in Mission Hills and end 1.1 miles south at Richie Valens Park at Laurel Canyon and Paxton Street in Pacoima. A carnival in the park will follow the parade.

The starting time is a nod to World War I ending on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918.

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Garcetti said being the grand marshal is "a small way to express my appreciation for our veterans, but I have to admit as someone who grew up in the valley, it's nice to come back home at the front of this parade."

Garcetti told City News Service he hopes "that as people enjoy their day off, they keep the true meaning of this day in mind and take the time to say thank you to a veteran. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to those who put their lives on the line to protect us."

Los Angeles can expect 24,000 veterans returning from Afghanistan and Iraq, Garcetti said.

"Veterans Day reminds me of the work we have to do to make sure their sacrifices are honored and that they are respected with any support they need," Garcetti said.

Veterans Day observances are also planned for Forest Lawn Memorial Park- Hollywood Hills, Pasadena, El Monte, West Hollywood, Palmdale, Norwalk, Commerce and Skid Row.

Forest Lawn Memorial Park-Hollywood Hills will begin its 54th annual Veterans Day program at 11 a.m It will include an aerial performance by the Golden Stars Skydiving Team, patriotic music, and a speech by retired Staff Sgt. Jeremiah Pauley from the Wounded Warrior Project.

A job and resource fair for veterans will follow from 12:30-4 p.m.

Pasadena's Veterans Day Ceremony has been moved to in front of City Hall at Centennial Square and will be held from 10-11:11 a.m. It will have a special emphasis on honoring the nation's youngest and newest veterans from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Sheriff Lee Baca, Pasadena Mayor Bill Bogaard and Pasadena City College professor Harold Martin will speak. The ceremony will conclude with a flyover by the Condor Squadron of World War II-era planes.

A 9 a.m. ceremony at El Monte City Hall will include 30 Army and Navy recruits being sworn into service, presentation of the colors by Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 10218 and American Legion Post 261 and music by the El Monte High School marching band.

Mayor Abbe Land will be among the speakers at West Hollywood's annual Veterans Day Ceremony at the Sal Guarriello Veterans Memorial at the intersection of Holloway Drive and Santa Monica Boulevard. The ceremony will begin at 11 a.m.

The Marine Corps will present a static display of military vehicles at Commerce's annual Veterans Day Ceremony, which will begin at 10 a.m. at Veterans Memorial Park. Veterans will discuss their experiences in the military and why they chose to serve their country.

Veterans will receive a gift from City Council as their branch song is played.

Palmdale's annual Veterans Day Ceremony will begin at 11 a.m. in front of the AV Wall on display at the Palmdale Amphitheater. Mayor Jim Ledford will speak, the Palmdale Madrigal Singers will sing the national anthem, wreaths will be laid by the representatives of various veterans groups.

World War II Army Veteran Ernesto Gallegos will deliver the keynote address at Norwalk's Veterans Day tribute, which begins at 11 a.m. at Norwalk City Hall.

Redondo Beach will hold its Veterans Day observance at Veterans Park beginning at 1 p.m. Retired Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Melvin G. Spiese will deliver the keynote address. Other speakers include Rep. Henry Waxman, D- Beverly Hills, and Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi, D-Torrance, chairman of the Assembly Veterans Committee.

A barbecue picnic organized by the Redondo Elks will follow.

The Midnight Mission's Veterans Day observance from 8-10 a.m. will include the presentation of colors, a moment of silence, speakers including Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-Los Angeles, and the raising of the 9/11 flag.

Choctal, a Pasadena-based ice cream company, will conduct a Veterans Day Ice Cream Social at the Union Rescue Mission beginning at 11 a.m.

Veterans Day has its roots in a proclamation issued by President Woodrow Wilson in November 1919, a year after World War I ended, designating Nov. 11 as Armistice Day. States soon starting declaring Nov. 11 a legal holiday. Congress made it a federal holiday in 1938, dedicated to the cause of world peace.

In 1954, following World War II and the Korean War, Congress, at the urging of veterans service organizations, passed a law renaming Armistice Day as Veterans Day. From 1971-1977, Veterans Day was held in late October. A 1975 law returned it to Nov. 11, beginning in 1978.



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