Memorial Day celebration in SLO County honors fallen servicemembers with flyover, speeches
Hundreds of people gathered in Atascadero for the 16th annual Veterans Memorial Foundation’s Memorial Day ceremony at the Faces of Freedom Memorial on Monday.
The ceremony included a special flyover by the Estrella Warbirds, featuring planes that have been preserved by the Estrella Warbirds Museum. There was also a presentation of colors displayed by the Welcome Home Military Heroes flag line, accompaniment by Central Coast Pipes and Drums and a performance of the national anthem by the Atascadero High School choir.
Robert “Bob” Wilkins, Atascadero’s first mayor and a veteran of the Navy Reserves, was honored in the laying of the wreath presentation. According to master of ceremonies Andy Morris, Wilkins was a founding board member and supporter of the Faces of Freedom Memorial. He died in February.
Wilkins’ family — Joyce Wilkins, Jane Hilty and Jim Wilkins — laid the wreath in his honor.
During the ceremony, retired Marine Gunnery Sgt. Todd Frederick shared an emotional memory of serving overseas, describing when a bomber drove into his military compound and detonated thousands of pounds of explosives on Oct. 23, 1983, leaving a building disintegrated.
Frederick said they “lost 241 souls that day,” which according to him was the “worst single loss for the Marine Corps since the Battle of Iwo Jima.”
“My yearning is that as a nation, we strive to be worthy of their sacrifice to live lives of purpose and meaning and to be dedicated to the ideals of justice, equality and freedom,” Frederick said.
California State Assembly member Dawn Addis also spoke at the ceremony, thanking Frederick for his service and for sharing his story.
Addis extended thanks to all those who have served, their families and especially those who are no longer with us.
“We came here today because we are bound by our mutual American values of freedom, of honor, of service and of community,” Addis said. “And as I was sitting here, looking at this memorial and looking at the names on the bricks when people served in Vietnam or World War II or Korea or different wars across time, and I can feel the love of those families.”
In attendance Monday were veterans organizations, including the Estrella Warbirds Museum, the county’s Veterans Services office, Wreaths Across America and Honor Flight Central Coast California. A hot dog barbecue followed the speeches.
Other notable Memorial Day celebrations throughout San Luis Obispo County on Monday included events in Cambria, Pismo Beach and San Luis Obispo.
This story was originally published May 27, 2024 at 3:52 PM.
