’It’s to show respect to the fallen’: How SLO County celebrated Veterans Day
San Luis Obispo County communities held a variety events to honor Veterans Day on Wednesday, despite challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In Nipomo, South County Veterans of Foreign Wars and Welcome Home Military Heroes hosted a vehicle salute to veterans on Wednesday morning.
The groups joined together to honor 12 veterans at The Oaks at Nipomo assisted living retirement community.
Thomas Morgan — a Nipomo resident who served six years in the Marine Corps, 13 years in the U.S. Army and 14 years in the U.S. Coast Guard — was one of the coordinators of the Nipomo activities, which also included a brief ceremony before the vehicle parade.
“We’re thanking vets for their sacrifices, the military and our way of life,” Morgan said.
Morgan spoke about his service experiences.
“In the military, you join to help and support and defend,” Morgan told The Tribune. “But through that process, you lose a lot of those freedoms you’re there for. ... You get orders and you’re gone for six months, a year, a couple of years. It depends.”
Morgan added: “You pick up your bags and leave (after orders) and you don’t have any say of where you’re going or when you’re coming back. You’re going to places most people have never been to, not places on the holiday schedule. You learn a lot. It’s enjoyable in some ways. But at the same time, you don’t have family (nearby).”
In recent years, Morgan said he kept in touch with family members using Skype and other streaming services, versus phone calls without video features when he started in the 1980s.
“In some ways (the new technology) opens that wound up that you’re not there for them,” Morgan said.
South County Veterans of Foreign Wars also hosted a live, streaming Veterans Day ceremony at 11 a.m., available to view on Facebook at www.facebook.com/VFWSouthSLO.
Flags and flyovers
In the North County, a ceremony was held at the Faces of Freedom Memorial in Atascadero, where Estrella Warbirds military aircraft conducted a flyover at 11 a.m.
At the San Luis Obisop Cemetery, volunteers of all ages began placing flags on the graves of veterans shortly after 8 a.m. Wednesday.
“It’s to show respect to the fallen veterans here whether they have fallen during war or this is where they are buried, what we call ‘post everlasting,’” said Alan Tremper, adjutant to American Legion Post 66. “We got about 1,100 flags to put up throughout these three cemeteries.”
Tremper said the local Post 66, established in 1919, has supported veterans from each of the armed forces for more than a century.
Some headstones at the site were marked with service dates, and others had small stickers identifying service members.
“Veterans and Memorial Day has been tradition to put flags up twice a year,” said Greg Somers, a U.S. Navy veteran and past commander of Post 66 of the American Legion, based in San Luis Obispo.
Somers has volunteered for most of the last decade.
Other SLO County events
In Paso Robles, the Estrella Warbirds Museum opened with free admission to all branches of the military. Veterans who came before noon received free hamburgers.
In Pismo Beach, a virtual broadcast took the place of the regular gathering at the pier, which was called off this year. You can watch the event at www.facebook.com/events/1220077045033878?active_tab=about.
Cambria’s annual Veterans Day ceremony and barbecue put on by American Legion Post No. 432 and the Sons of the Legion was canceled this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tribune photographers David Middlecamp and Laura Dickinson contributed to this story.
This story was originally published November 11, 2020 at 1:58 PM.
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