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News Nov 12, 2013
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Veterans Day celebrated at Pasadena city hall
Pasadena’s annual Veterans Day Ceremony moved to a new location this year at Pasadena City Hall after previous years of a lackluster turnout at Memorial Park, according to organizers.
This year, hundreds of friends, relatives and Veterans stood together in unity honoring each member of the military with a friendly “Thank you for your service.”
Service men and women from Sierra Madre VFW also were on hand for the ceremonies as was World War 11 decorated veteran Bollinger.
This year’s event, while recognizing the important contributions made by all veterans, there was a special emphasis on honoring the nation’s youngest and newest veterans. The Veterans Day celebration was co-sponsored by the Pasadena Veterans Day Committee and the City of Pasadena.
“This year, we are featuring the Pasadena Community College (PCC) program, which is the number one program in California for returning veterans from the Long Wars,” said John Watkins, event committee chair.
Bill Thomson, event committee member, former Pasadena mayor, practicing lawyer and present PCC Trustee, arranged for the PCC Pep Band to play a selection of tunes including Taps moments after dramatic flyover of the Condor air squadron in Vintage WW11 planes at exactly 11.11.
Bill Paparian, another committee member, as well as a Marine veteran, lawyer and former Pasadena mayor, added that the program “will foced on our youngest veterans, those who have served during the ‘Long Wars’ in Iraq and Afghanistan.”
Scheduled speakers included current Pasadena Mayor Bill Bogaard; Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca, a Marine veteran, and PCC professor Harold Martin. Invocation will be provided by retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. (Rabbi) Gilbert Kollin of the Pasadena Jewish Temple.
The Pasadena Firefighters Association Local 809 grilled over 500 hot dogs and the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 446, Pasadena, provided dessert.
Committee member Leonard Torres, a Marine veteran, noted that the committee decided to honor young veterans because “by 2015, there will be more than 2 million young civilians who are veterans of these Long Wars.”
