On Friday, Nov. 11, San Marcos residents are encouraged to join the City of San Marcos for a Veterans Day Ceremony to celebrate and thank the city’s hometown veteran heroes.
Taking place from 11 to 2 pm at Helen Bougher Memorial Park, 1243 Borden Road, and the program will celebrate local veterans though a formal military ceremony. The lunch hour at 11 am will feature patriotic displays, music and retiring of the flag followed by a traditional reception with complimentary cake provided by Mission Hills High School and coffee and tea provided by Old California Coffee Company. Chick-fil-A will be providing lunch meals for $5 and picnics are also encouraged.
The military ceremony will feature the Presentation of Colors by the Camp Pendleton United States Marine Corps and musical performances by Doreen Treadwell and the San Elijo Middle School Jazz Band. Retired Colonel Greg Rassatt, who has served more than 25 years of active duty Army Service including hazardous duty tours in Bosnia and Kuwait, will serve as the Master of Ceremonies.
Each year the program celebrates all veterans while highlighting the wartime experiences across different conflicts. This year’s theme, entitled “Honoring veterans who served in peacekeeping and humanitarian operations,” will focus on peacekeeping efforts that span the spectrum of conflict prevention, peacemaking, and peacebuilding interventions authorized by the U.N. Security Council.
Local veteran guest speaker—Anthony D. Leppellere, Lieutenant Colonel of the United States Air Force (ret)—will share his experiences about his 1999 deployment in support of Operations Joint Forge and Allied Force in the Balkans. Mr. Leppellere served on active duty for 24 years until his retirement in 2009.
Admission to this special event is free but seating and parking is limited so guests are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and carpool. Military veterans and active duty personnel are invited to attend in uniform.
For more information, please visit www.san-marcos.net/veterans or call Communications Officer Sarah Macdonald at (760) 744-1050, ext. 3174.
