SLO County celebrates Memorial Day with Estrella Warbirds flyovers, ceremonies
Hundreds of people gathered at the Paso Robles District Ceremony on Monday to remember the men and women who lost their lives in service to their country.
The district hosted a special Memorial Day service starting at 11 a.m., which featured a uniformed honor guard from Camp Roberts, performances of patriotic songs and a flag raising.
It also featured speeches from several Central Coast veterans, including Salvador Cota.
“Those of us who are here here today recognize the magnitude of the accomplishment, and the deeds of the men and women who held to the idea that evil and tyranny must not and will not prevail,” Cota said to applause.
Speakers at the event also noted how nice it was to once again gather for the ceremony, after the past two years’ events were canceled due to COVID-19.
Event MC Skip Bellinghausen received applause when he noted the hard work of the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, veterans and community members who put up 1,100 flags in the cemetery for the event.
“Every veteran that’s under those flags would want you to have a good time,” he said, “would want you to enjoy the freedom you have today to do exactly this.”
As usual, the Estrella Warbirds made a flyover appearance during the ceremony, blasting across the sky before heading to other ceremonies throughout the Central Coast.
Other notable local Memorial Day events included a ceremony at the Atascadero Faces of Freedom Veterans Memorial, a service at the Cayucos Pier, a ceremony and barbecue at the Veterans Memorial Building in Cambria and a ceremony at the Pismo Beach Pier.
This story was originally published May 30, 2022 at 1:58 PM.
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