It didn’t take long for Jesse Garza to show his emotions during
the Hollister Veterans Day festivities
– it was just hard to tell. Choking up, Garza tried to hide his
emotions by thanking the large crowd gathered in front of him and
the Veterans Memorial Building.
It didn’t take long for Jesse Garza to show his emotions during the Hollister Veterans Day festivities – it was just hard to tell. Choking up, Garza tried to hide his emotions by thanking the large crowd gathered in front of him at the Veterans Memorial Building.
“We are a symbol, here to pay tribute to the men and women of our community who have served the United States Armed Forces,” Garza said, “our neighbors who have fought who served in the defense of our country, and who have helped to preserve our way of life.”
Garza, a Vietnam veteran and Post 9241 senior vice commander, overlooked a large crowd of Hollister and San Benito County residents, many donning red, white and blue in honor of the holiday.
Downtown Hollister was also transformed by red, white and blue Thursday. American Flags lined the sidewalk, as hundreds gathered down San Benito Street to say thanks to the community’s military veterans.
The festivities started just after 11 a.m., with the Rancho-Maze band leading with a song. Garza, San Benito County Supervisor Pat Loe, City Councilwoman Pauline Valdivia and many veterans of past wars, led the emotional ceremonies.
Fifth-grader Skye Lompa sang the national anthem to electric applause from the audience. Loe called her rendition beautiful following the performance.
Loe and Valdivia recognized the importance of the day and remembering what the veterans mean to the country.
“Today, I just would like to say I am greatly honored to be in the presence of so many of these great American heroes,” Loe said. “The only word that comes to my mind is thank you. Thank you for your service. Thank you, for leaving and disrupting your lives. Thank you, for having the courage and the bravery to take care of our nation and protect our freedoms.”
Veteran Alan Beckwith thanked those who came before him.
“Veterans are ordinary people who do extraordinary things,” he said.
Another veteran, Bernie Ramirez, took part in his first Veterans Day events, 40 years after serving. He told the crowd to thank those that served.
“There are probably a lot like me that have never been able to do this,” an emotional Ramirez said. “Thanks to my family, my friends, my wife that I’m able to do this.”
Garza closed the 30-minute ceremony by recognizing those who have fallen.
“These men and women of this community who have served in the armed forces in the land, air and sea have made sacrifice that this nation can never repay,” he said. “These are our honored dead, whose resting places are found in many forms in the foreign lands and waters around the globe. These American defenders left our schools, our shops, our factors, our farms, to take up arms against our foe.”
The outpouring of community support continued into the afternoon with the 9th annual Veterans Day Parade, which traveled on San Benito Street. Families lined up along the sidewalks, cheering for each float, person and band that crossed by. Military posts walked together, joined by groups of Boy and Girl Scouts, the American Red Cross, the League of United Latin American Citizens and the Hollister Dual Language Academy, among others.
The high school and Rancho-Maze band participated with help from both color guards.
Supervisors Reb Monaco and Jaime De La Cruz drove around in a military vehicle, and the city’s fire and police department drove through the street. And bikers made their presence known by throwing shirts into the crowd and revving their engines.
Groups of R.O. Hardin Elementary School students passed out letters to veterans, thanking them for their service. Almost everyone stayed until the end of the parade.
It was the highest attended Veterans Day in years, said Frankie Arballo, who helped organize the parade.
“There was just a bigger awareness in the community to recognize our veterans,” she said.
