{"id":57856,"date":"2014-11-11T15:28:58","date_gmt":"2014-11-11T23:28:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theavtimes.com\/?p=57856"},"modified":"2014-11-14T16:00:03","modified_gmt":"2014-11-15T00:00:03","slug":"veterans-day-ceremony-held-at-lancaster-cemetery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/2014\/11\/11\/veterans-day-ceremony-held-at-lancaster-cemetery\/","title":{"rendered":"Veterans Day ceremony held at Lancaster Cemetery"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"U.S.<\/a>
U.S. Army veteran Tracy May (left) and U.S. Navy veteran Pat Weese were the ceremony’s Hometown Hero Honorees. Both have donated hundreds of hours over the years to complete various projects at Lancaster Cemetery. In fact, both were hard at work just a few days ago on the new benches and planters in the Veteran’s Court of Honor, said Lancaster Cemetery District Manager Dayle DeBry.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

LANCASTER \u2013 Well over 200 people gathered in the Veterans Court of Honor at Lancaster Cemetery Tuesday morning for a ceremony honoring veterans, service members and their families.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is the one day of the year our nation sets aside to recognize the contributions and sacrifices of our brave men and women,\u201d said Petty Officer 3rd Class Charles Navarro<\/strong>, the ceremony\u2019s featured speaker.<\/p>\n

Navarro spoke about the traits that define a veteran and the importance of remembering those duties that carry on after military service.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The featured speaker was Petty Officer 3rd Class Charles Navarro, who is a staff assistant to Congressman Howard \u201cBuck\u201d McKeon.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWhen we leave the military, we find all too often that our new mission we must face is here at home,\u201d Navarro said. He said the realities of civilian life may overwhelm some veterans, who then drown in feelings of abandonment and come to the false conclusion that finding help is hopeless and no one cares.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose are the veterans we must not forget about,\u201d Navarro said. \u201cWe must remind those veterans that they are not alone, because the greatest casualty is being forgotten.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking directly to those veterans who may be experiencing inner struggles, Navarro said:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first step is yours to take in initiating the process of getting the help you need and deserve. The inner struggles you may be experiencing have been experienced by others and they cannot be seen unless you make them known. So tear down your wall\u2026 make your mind, body and soul vulnerable, because believe me when I say this, you are not alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another highlight of the Lancaster ceremony was the presentation to Hometown Hero Honorees Pat Weese<\/strong> (US Navy, 1961-1965) and Tracy May<\/strong> (US Army, 1967-1968). Both were honored for their tireless commitment to the Lancaster Cemetery District over the past five years.<\/p>\n

\u201cTheir volunteering began with the concrete work on our Japanese Memorial and continues today\u2026 with our Veterans Court of Honor,\u201d said Lancaster Cemetery District Manager Dayle DeBry. \u201cWe are forever grateful for their kindness and caring attitude when asked to help with any of our projects \u2026We would have never been able to accomplish what we have here without them.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Lancaster Veterans Day ceremony also included the presentation of colors and flag salute by Joe Walker Middle School Civil Air Patrol Cadet Squadron 804, singing of the National Anthem led by Blue Star Mothers President Sylvia Gaxiola, and placing of the memorial wreaths by Lancaster Cemetery District Trustees.<\/p>\n

A few sights from the ceremony<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"Quartz<\/a>
Quartz Hill Community Church Pastor Don Patterson gives the invocation before the crowd of more than 200.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Runaway<\/a>
Runaway band members Jim Hinds (left) and Doug Bonanno perform “God bless America.” The duo also performed “God bless the USA” as some members in the audience sang along.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The<\/a>
The Antelope Valley Young Marines came out to support local veterans. Congressman-elect Steve Knight (background) also attended the ceremony.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Two<\/a>
Two members of Her Majesty’s Royal Air Force attended the ceremony and stood up to be recognized.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Lancaster<\/a>
Lancaster Cemetery District Manager Dayle DeBry heaped accolades on the Hometown Hero Honorees.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Lt.<\/a>
Lt. Col. Traci Scott (retired), Commander of Joe Walker Middle School Civil Air Patrol Squadron 804 spoke about the importance of the Wreaths Across America project and urged attendees to support the local effort.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Carlos<\/a>
Carlos Medina and his daughter-in-law, Vicki Medina, read a Commendation to Veterans from former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung. The commendation would be presented to Crazy Otto\u2019s owner Jin Hur, Medina said.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Attendees<\/a>
Attendees were given the opportunity to sign “Get Well” cards sending messages of encouragement to ailing World War II veterans Walt Primmer Flora Belle Reece.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LANCASTER \u2013 Well over 200 people gathered in the Veterans Court of Honor at Lancaster Cemetery Tuesday morning for a ceremony honoring veterans, service members and their families. \u201cIt is the one day of the year our nation sets aside to recognize the contributions and sacrifices of our brave men and women,\u201d said Petty Officer […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":57863,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57856"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57856"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57856\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57863"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57856"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57856"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57856"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}