Community invited to celebrate military personnel.

By Charly SHELTON

This Saturday, May 20, is Armed Forces Day, a day of celebration that ends Armed Forces Week. Men and women from across the country who have served in the armed services are recognized, as are the branches of the military in which they served.

Armed Forces Day actually predates Veterans Day, Nov. 11, by five years. It was established in 1949 as a unified day to celebrate all branches of service at once, as opposed to the previous Army Day, Marine Corps Day, Air Force Day, Navy Day and Coast Guard Day.

“It’s a happy affair as opposed to Memorial Day, which is the following week, honoring those who gave their last breath. So it’s a different mood,” said Gerry Collins, commander of American Legion Post 288. “[Then in November,] Veterans Day is acknowledged very heavily nationally. It’s promoted in almost every community because almost every community has some sort of a landmark. Montrose has the Vietnam Memorial, and then Two Strike Park has the War Memorial Wall that the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) helped to build by raising money, ported by local companies. So Veterans Day gets a bigger celebration, and that’s a great thing because it’s celebrating the men and women who have served as veterans, whereas Armed Forces Day is celebrating both the veterans and their branches of service.”

It is in this spirit of gratitude and celebration that Collins and the American Legion Post 288, along with VFW Post 1614, will hold their Third Annual Armed Forces Day Car Show at Crescenta Valley Park, 3901 Dunsmore Ave., from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The show will feature hot rods, collectible cars, fire, police and rescue vehicles, and even some military vehicles and troops from the Glendale Armory of the California National Guard. There will be bounce houses and slides for the kids, a silent auction, food trucks and more.

“There are events all over the country, but I noticed that there was no big acknowledgement or real celebration up here in the Crescenta Valley area. The only other city that has a decent Armed Forces Day was Torrance, and that’s been going on for 50 or 60 years,” Collins said. “So I approached all of our members and said we need to honor those who have already served and those who are currently serving on active duty with our own Armed Forces Day celebration. [The idea came about to do] a car show, and I thought okay, I can do a car show.”

In addition to honoring veterans overall, the show is a tribute in particular to Captain Jerry Peterson, commander of the VFW and former submarine captain. Peterson died suddenly last year and, to honor his memory and service, the show will feature his photo on the programs.

For those who want to enroll their classic car in the car show, there is still time to do so. The cost is $25 in advance or $30 at the gate, and the proceeds from the show go to local charities and support veterans who have fallen on hard times.

  Charly Shelton