Veterans Day

Harbor View Elementary School students honored veterans Tuesday in an assembly that included songs, stories and tributes to men and women who have served and are serving the United States of America. "We want you to understand," said Stan Jones, who has a granddaughter in sixth grade at the school. "Let me tell you kids, we went because we love our country, but you are our country. We went for you guys so you don't have to go again. " Jones said he joined the service at the age of 18 — 66 years ago. The year was 1944.

Confused about the difference between Memorial Day and Veterans Day? Memorial Day was first observed in 1868 and honors those who gave their lives serving in the armed forces. Veterans Day, on the other hand, honors all those who have served our country in the military whether in peacetime or in armed conflict. Veterans Day always occurs on Nov. 11 because it was originally set aside as a holiday on Nov. 11, 1919, and was called Armistice Day. A year earlier, on the 11th hour of the 11th day in the 11th month, World War I came to an end with the signing of the Armistice.

Veterans Day couldn’t have been more poignant. Nov. 11 fell this year on Wednesday, six days after a rampage at Ft. Hood, Texas, left a trail of dead and wounded soldiers. Veterans Day came and passed as President Obama still had not made up his mind on dispatching thousands of more troops to Afghanistan. We’ll return to this point later. First, we pause to thank local veterans throughout the country who have fought in the nation’s wars or worn military fatigues during peacetime.

On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, the great powers signed the treaty to end the war “that would end all wars.” We have dedicated this date, Nov. 11, in memory of those brave men and women who died in World War I and in every American war. As American troops continue to risk their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan, and return home to join the ranks of America’s almost 24 million veterans, the Veterans Day...

COSTA MESA — Col. Gary Lopez is always happy to see children gathered to celebrate Veterans Day. Given some of what else he's seen, it's hard to blame him. On Friday, the career United States Marine, who just returned from his second deployment in Iraq, was the featured speaker at St. John the Baptist Catholic School's annual ceremony. With the entire student body and a number of parents and veterans in the audience, Lopez voiced his feelings about the service and spoke momentarily about his own recent experiences.

Sergeant-at-arms “Skipper” Tim Bercovitz stood at the back of the American Legion hall on the Balboa Peninsula with a gavel and a bell Tuesday. Forty-four names of officers from the local organization, Post 291, who died since Veterans Day last year were read from the podium at the front of the hall. After each name there was a short pause, and when nobody responded Bercovitz said in a stentorian voice “no answer,” and the piercing sound of the bell rang throughout the silent auditorium.

Toni Friedenberg is a trail blazer. During World War II, Friedenberg, 84, of Newport Beach joined the Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service, or WAVES, and worked in the U.S. Navy's communications department. She was among 100,000 women who served in the WAVES, contributing to the war effort on the home front. After serving from 1943 to 1946, Friedenberg was honorably discharged as a chief yeoman. More than a decade later in Los Angeles in 1960, she was sworn in as the first female deputy district attorney.

CORONA DEL MAR —The Harbor Singers honored the Armed Forces on Friday with music and choreographed moves at the monthly Friends of OASIS meeting. The Orange County women's singing group performed showtunes and patriotic numbers with dance moves at the OASIS Evelyn Hart Event Center before a crowd of more than 250 seniors. "It was outstanding," said volunteer Evelyn Hart, for whom the center is named. "When you have talent as magnificent as they do, and with the amount of practice they put into every show, for them to come out and entertain us is really special.

As we observe Veterans Day, our first thoughts should be obvious ones. American troops are fighting in the streets of a city far from their homes, in conditions and under stress the large majority of us will never know. Our first thoughts and our deepest prayers should be with them and with their families. There are, of course, many who do know and who do understand what our troops are living through today. They walked across frozen hills in Korea.

Military victories throughout our history have shaped the world in which we live and are the keystone of every American freedom. Largely due to our military might, the citizens of the United States have been given the opportunity to create the greatest model of democracy in world history. It is imperative that we as a country dedicate time to remember and celebrate those who have selflessly served our country. Without fail, these men and women in uniform have answered America's call, so that the rest of us could remain unscathed and free to pursue other interests.

Before the sun rises Friday, a group of volunteers will be preparing to serve breakfast to a special group of military veterans in Costa Mesa. This breakfast would not be possible without support from the police chief, friends who volunteer and the monetary donations received to defer the personal expense for the cost of the food. These veterans span four wars, as well as peacetime. You would never know that these men served in the military unless you too were a veteran and somehow the conversation came up. That military connection would most likely evolve into a life-long friendship.

As the country joins together to honor the nation's military veterans on Friday, here's what local groups are doing this week. FOR THE RECORD: The Costa Mesa Police Department's veterans appreciation breakfast is not open to the public. Pendleton Marines visit Balboa The Balboa Bay Republican Women Federated are observing Veterans Day on Wednesday by recognizing Marines from Camp Pendleton. The group's guests will talk about patriotism. The meeting and lunch is $30, and parking costs $7. The event starts at 10:30 a.m. at the Balboa Bay Club & Resort, 1221 W. Coast Hwy. in Newport Beach.

I remember Armistice Day. I remember on countless occasions as a youngster seeing little old men in front of business establishments selling artificial red paper poppies. They even came to our door. My mother, who frequently bought those poppies, told me that the men were World War I veterans. They were, I suppose, selling poppies to support the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States (VFW), or the American Legion, or any of a dozen other veterans' organizations. They were not nearly so young as my father, who was a World War II vet. They were of my grandfather's generation.

CORONA DEL MAR —The Harbor Singers honored the Armed Forces on Friday with music and choreographed moves at the monthly Friends of OASIS meeting. The Orange County women's singing group performed showtunes and patriotic numbers with dance moves at the OASIS Evelyn Hart Event Center before a crowd of more than 250 seniors. "It was outstanding," said volunteer Evelyn Hart, for whom the center is named. "When you have talent as magnificent as they do, and with the amount of practice they put into every show, for them to come out and entertain us is really special.

Harbor View Elementary School students honored veterans Tuesday in an assembly that included songs, stories and tributes to men and women who have served and are serving the United States of America. "We want you to understand," said Stan Jones, who has a granddaughter in sixth grade at the school. "Let me tell you kids, we went because we love our country, but you are our country. We went for you guys so you don't have to go again. " Jones said he joined the service at the age of 18 — 66 years ago. The year was 1944.

I was surfing through cable TV stations Wednesday, looking for a path to write about Veterans Day. I stumbled on "Hoosiers," a film based on the true story of five boys from the tiny Indiana farming community of Milan, who worked, played and bonded together through 12 tiers of school to reach their ultimate goal, the state high school basketball championship tournament. The Hoosier State in those days didn't classify teams by their school's size. Every contestant was thrown into the same pot. Winner take all. Farm kids or city kids, rich or poor, black or white, Christian or Muslim.

Thursday is Veterans Day. I celebrated it early by watching one of my all-time favorite films the other night. William Wyler's 1946 classic, "The Best Years of Our Lives," which won seven Academy Awards, features an all-star cast, including Myrna Loy, Fredric March, Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright and Virginia Mayo. The film portrays the plight of three servicemen — a soldier, sailor and airman — returning home from World War II. The battlefields of Europe and the Pacific have taken a physical and emotional toll on these men. The veterans hail from the same mid-sized Midwestern city.

I attended the luncheon meeting of the Costa Mesa Kiwanis Club Thursday as club President Ken Dilley presented a $525 check to Costa Mesa Fire Department Community Education Officer Brenda Emrick and Fire Chief Kirk Dominic to help fund emergency-preparedness efforts and Team Fire Force for teenagers. Dominic is home-grown, having graduated from Costa Mesa High School in 1979, and has spent 23 years in the Costa Mesa Fire Department before his appointment six weeks ago as chief. The club is busy as ever!

A mericans on Monday will honor their war dead. An annual springtime ritual will play out in Costa Mesa, Newport Beach and Corona del Mar, as well as in towns, hamlets and cities nationwide. Veterans, civic leaders and politicians will gather at local cemeteries, or outside veterans' halls in their respective communities, to remember fallen soldiers, sailors and airmen. The nation gets the day off on Memorial Day, the climax of a three-day weekend kicking off the summer vacation season.