Veterans of all branches of the military will be honored on Saturday.

 By Mikaela STONE

This Veterans Day, the American Legion Post 288 and the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 1614 are assembling in Two Strike Park, 5107 Rosemont Ave. in La Crescenta, at 8 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 11 to honor veterans from every branch of the military. The ceremony, almost an hour long, will kick off with a presentation of colors by Crescenta Valley High School’s JROTC. This presentation is the first of three flag ceremonies that will occur at the event.

Among the highlights of the ceremony is a flag folding ceremony narrated by Lynn McGinnis. McGinnis will explain the history and symbolism of the folding.

The flag will be folded 13 times to represent the 13 original colonies of the United States.

The Carothers Family Singers will sing the national anthem. The trio excels at three-part harmonies and will have no issue tackling the difficult song. However, the national anthem is not the only musical tribute. The American Legion color guard will perform “The Armed Forces Medley,” a combination of the anthems of five branches of the military: the Army, the Air Force, the Navy, the Marines and the Coast Guard. Veterans in attendance at the ceremony will have the opportunity to stand up and be honored when the anthem is played representing their branch of service.

Local politicians will have the opportunity to pay their respects as well via speeches. The brief speeches serve to recognize the sacrifices of the men and women who serve America, as well as recognizing that the hardships of many veterans do not end when they leave the military. California Assemblywoman Laura Friedman, who is a previous mayor of Glendale, is expected at the ceremony.

Of all the cities in America, Los Angeles is reputed to have the highest number of homeless veterans with an estimated 4,000 homeless men and women, according to the LA Times. A goal of Saturday’s event is to help remind the community that veterans deserve dignity and recognition, as well as to raise awareness about groups such as the American Legion and VFW, which serve those who have served.

Saturday’s ceremony will close with a retiring of the flag by Boy Scout Troop 288. Unlike most flag retirements, this ceremony is an interactive one, with audience members being assigned one of the three colors of the flag. This gives those present a moment to understand what each color means. According to custom (and the American Legion), white signifies purity and innocence; red, hardiness and valor; and blue vigilance, perseverance, and justice.

For Vietnam veteran Mike Baldwin, Veterans Day is about giving back. With a wife at home and a job waiting, Baldwin had a relatively easy transition back into a peaceful life and wished the same for his compatriots.

“The American Legion and VFW gives [me] the option today to help men and women in a similar situation,” Baldwin said.

He participates regularly in events such as the Veterans Day ceremony and helps the American Legion send gift cards to veterans in need to ease financial burdens. For McGinnis, Veterans Day has always been one of fond memories of celebration.

Growing up as a military child, he attended seven schools by sixth grade and nine by the time he graduated from high school. As a result, most of his friends were fellow military kids. He is still close with his best friend from high school and considers the holiday “a good time to remember and reflect on a lot of good memories and a lot of people who have passed through [my] life.”

Saturday’s ceremony is also significant as the first Veterans Day event since the passing of local veteran Andy Gero – an important person in McGinnis’ life and the lives of many other local veterans.

Gero was a contributor to Spiritually Speaking, a bi-monthly column in the Crescenta Valley Weekly that answers questions from a spiritual perspective. Gero, who died recently, was a WWII and Korean War veteran.