Say ‘thanks’ to those who served at Anthem Veterans Day Ceremony, parade | Things To Do

The public is invited to honor, salute and support our veterans, the men and women serving active duty and their families at the Anthem Veterans Memorial annual celebration and ceremony.

The event will be held from 8:15 to 11:15 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 11 at the memorial, located at 41703 N. Gavilan Peak Parkway.

The patriotic event for the entire family includes music and videos, charity assistance and more. Tributes to the United States Coast Guard, the 70th anniversary of the armistice to end the Korean War, the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War and the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Naval women aviators will be part of the event.

While every Veterans Day ceremony at the AVM is meant to be memorable, this year the AVM brings special music, videos and meaningful photomontages thanks to new and long-time partners.

The AVM recently announced its newest partner, Operation Song, a nonprofit based in Nashville, Tenn., that pairs professional songwriters, veterans, active duty and military families to turn their stories of service, camaraderie and bravery into songs. Operation Song has served over 2,100 veterans and families and written over 1,400 songs, and counting, since their formation in 2012.

The cathartic writing process aims to help veterans unlock and express deeply personal sentiments. By turning memories into lasting mementos, veterans gain a way to “talk” to friends and family about their feelings. Participating veterans write with songwriters, see their stories performed in public, and receive a recorded copy of their songs, free of charge.

“We are honored to provide the ‘soundtrack’ to AVM’s programming with songs from those who have served, written with the help of some of Nashville’s top songwriters,” said Mike Byer, executive director of Operation Song, and retired Army First Sergeant.

“Stories are the lifeblood of any song and the men and women who have served give their own deep meaning to these compositions to create lasting mementos to share.”

Singing the national anthem will be Petty Officer Michael Dalager with the United States Coast Guard. Dalager is currently stationed at Sector San Diego, assigned to the facilities engineering unit. One of his additional duties is performing the national anthem, which has taken him to more than 200 occasions including change of command ceremonies, retirements, maritime events, memorials, funerals and an impressive list of professional sporting events.

Musical Theatre of Anthem (MTA) Outreach Group, under the artistic direction of Jackie Hammond, will return to the AVM. MTA has performed at the AVM for the Veterans Day and Memorial Day ceremonies since 2011. The youth choir will share their talented voices to lead the annual military branch sing-along and perform “America the Beautiful” and fan favorite, “God Bless America.” MTA also will perform a special tribute song to military families, “Found/Tonight.”

Additional musicians sharing their music include Ralph McTell, Jimmy Flynn, Buddy Brown, Dale Ash and the Texas Tenors.

Also performing this year are the talented students at Boulder Creek High School TV Media Production class, under instructor and US Army veteran, Christy Johnstone. The students are making the photomontages to accompany this year’s music.

Schedule

Veterans Day at the AVM will begin with breakfast available for purchase on the south lawn starting at 8:15 a.m. 

The music and videos will begin at 9 a.m. Vietnam War era (November 1, 1955 – May 15, 1975) veterans and surviving spouses are invited to the north lawn, adjacent to the AVM, to receive the Vietnam War commemoration pin. The public is encouraged to attend the pinning in support of these veterans and surviving spouses. Vietnam War veterans’ stories will be told through the accompanying music provided by Operation Song. 

At 10 a.m., the Veterans Day ceremony will begin, culminating with the solar spotlight at 11:11 a.m., the exact time on November 11, 1918, in which the armistice was signed to end World War I.

Daisy Mountain Veterans Parade is Nov. 4

The 19th annual Daisy Mountain Veterans Parade will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 4. It starts at Gavilan Peak Parkway/Memorial Drive and travels north to Anthem Way, east on Anthem Way and south on Freedom Way. 

The day’s events begin at 9 a.m. with a parachute demonstration team jumping over Anthem Soccer Field No. 1. They’ll land at approximately 9:10 a.m. and will be available for spectators to meet and get photos with.