Veterans Day To Be Marked in Variety of Ways In LA County

LOS ANGELES, CA — Veterans Day observances will be held throughout Los Angeles County Tuesday with Pasadena using its ceremony to honor the late Medal of Honor recipient U.S. Army Lt. Col. Raymond G. Harvey, who lived in Pasadena.

Harvey took command of the 7th Infantry Division's Company C, 17th Infantry Regiment shortly after the division landed at Inchon, South Korea, in September 1950.

Harvey was awarded the Medal of Honor for "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action," when his "company was pinned down by a barrage of automatic weapons fire from numerous well- entrenched emplacements," on March 9, 1951, in the vicinity of Taemi-Dong, South Korea.

Harvey also served in World War II and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (second only to the Medal of Honor), two Silver Stars, two Bronze Stars and two Purple Hearts.

Harvey retired from the Army in 1962. He later was employed by the Northrop Corp., worked as an investment banker, and then served as director of Indian affairs for the Arizona Division of Emergency Services.

Harvey died in 1996 at the age of 76.

The ceremony at Pasadena City Hall is set to begin at 10:30 a.m.

The keynote speaker will be Associate Justice Eileen C. Moore of the 4th District Court of Appeal. Moore was a combat nurse who served in Vietnam with the Army Nurse Corps.

The ceremony will also include family-friendly activities and exhibits curated by Martin Severance Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, informational booths from the US Naval Sea Cadet Corps, American Legion Posts 13 & 280, and the Rose Bowl Stadium.

The Condor Squadron will conduct a flyover in restored North American Aviation AT-6/SNJ trainers originally flown during World War II at 11:11 a.m.

Pasadena Fire Department firefighters will serve free hot dogs.

The San Fernando Valley Veterans Day Parade will begin at 11:11 a.m. at the corner of Laurel Canyon Boulevard and San Fernando Mission Boulevard in Mission Hills, and proceed south on Laurel Canyon for 1.1 miles to Ritchie Valens Park.

The grand marshals will be former U.S. Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt. Martin Lopez, who served from 1992-2010, and former U.S. Army Pvt. Gregory Garcia, who served from 1948-52. The honorary grand marshals will be former U.S. Army Pfc. Ronald J. Puga, who served from 1972-74, and former U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Elliott McKenzie, who served from 2003-07.

West Hollywood's Veterans Day ceremony will highlight transgender veterans to acknowledge their service and increased visibility within the veteran community.

The 11 a.m. ceremony at the Sal Guarriello Veterans Memorial at the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and Holloway Drive will include the Pledge of Allegiance, a bugler playing taps, a moment of silence followed by "The Star- Spangled Banner" performed by members of the Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles

Veterans and active military members will receive free meals and ride tickets to Pacific Park at the Veterans Day ceremony on the Santa Monica Pier, which will include a flyover by a Chinook helicopter.

The keynote speech will be delivered by U.S. Army Gen. Bryan P. Fenton, commander of U.S. Special Operations Command. Santa Monica Mayor Lana Negrete and Santa Monica Councilman Dan Hall are also set to speak.

Hall is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, was an Army helicopter pilot in South Korea and deployed to Iraq and Kuwait.

The ceremony will begin at 11 a.m.

Forest Lawn's 66th annual Veterans Day Celebration will begin at 11 a.m. at Forest Lawn-Hollywood Hills and include a flyover by the Condon Squadron, patriotic music, an invocation and benediction, a color guard, a wreath laying and family friendly activities.

Capt. LaStacia Neat, aide to the commanding general of the California State Guard, will deliver the keynote speech. Los Angeles Councilman John Lee is also set to speak.

Admission to the Queen Mary in Long Beach will be free for veterans, active-duty personnel and their guests. The celebration will include live music, hands-on arts and crafts and opportunities to write letters to military members.

Baldwin Park, Carson, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach and Torrance are among the other Los Angeles County cities where Veterans Day observances will be held.

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 started 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 Veterans Day. From 1971-77, Veterans Day was held in late October. A 1975 law returned it to Nov. 11, beginning in 1978.

By Steven Herbert, City News Service