Editors’ Note: This dispatch is part of the Voice of OC Youth Media program, working with student journalists to cover public policy issues across Orange County. If you would like to submit your own student media project related to Orange County civics or if you have any response to this work, contact Digital Editor Sonya Quick at squick@voiceofoc.org.
Irvine will host a Veterans Day celebration Monday, a tradition that began 14 years ago.
Lt. Col. Caleb Hyatt, commander of the city’s adopted 2nd Battalion, 11th Marine regiment, will be among the speakers at the ceremony honoring the nation’s veterans.
The ceremony will take place from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the formal gardens at the Col. Bill Barber Marine Corps. Memorial Park, on Civic Center Drive. The event is open and free to the public. In case of inclement weather, the ceremony will move inside to Irvine City Hall.
“We will have various nonprofit groups available with information that will help veterans. There will also be photos displayed of veterans. It’s always a fun event and we see a bigger outcome every year,” said Chrystal Swope, commander of the American Legion Post 838.
The ceremony allows the community to gather and recognize the veterans and the service they have done for the United States, she said.
Irvine’s 2/11 adoption committee will hand out information on an upcoming fundraiser to support the regiment, said Irvine spokeswoman Melissa Haley.
Irvine will include numerous veterans groups and also current members of the 2nd Battalian, 11th Regiment, which dates back to World War I.
Barber, the park’s namesake, was a Medal of Honor winner who served in the Marines during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.
Caleb spoke last year, and praised Irvine for its financial support of its regiment’s current military men and women: “Without Irvine, many of the things we do would not be feasible.”