THE PRESS HONORING OUR
Brentwood to celebrate Veterans Day with inaugural parade on Nov. 10 downtown
The public is invited to join the city of Brentwood on Sunday Nov. 10 at 9:30 a.m. for its inaugural Veterans Day parade as part of weekend festivities. Veterans from all branches and generations and family members are encouraged to attend and participate to celebrate veterans. Entry is free.
“We are providing an opportunity for the public to use this day to celebrate patriotism,” said Veterans Day Ceremony chairman and organizer Michael Clement. “Many times, family members are separated from the veterans in their family and this parade gives them an opportunity to acknowledge them and celebrate their service. Most importantly, it gives the youth of our city an opportunity to see, visit and talk to veterans about their service.”
According to Clement, also an Army veteran life member of the American Legion, the Veterans Day parade is an opportunity for veterans and families to share their experiences and honor the legacy of those who have served in the U.S. armed forces, while reminding those of the cost of freedom.
SEAN TONGSON
Local veterans get help filling out VA claims
Seminar’s goal to help them navigate VA bureaucracy
DALE S. SATRE
The Veterans for Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 10789 hosted a seminar on Sunday, Oct. 27 to assist local veterans with filing disability claims with the Veterans Administration (VA).
The event, hosted at the Brentwood Veterans Memorial Hall and attended by about 20 veterans, was spearheaded by Archie Smith, Jr., a VFW Post 10789 officer and former veteran service officer with Disabled American Veterans. Smith, Jr. also catered the event with his business, Archie’s S&Q Smoked & BBQ Meats.
“I’m volunteering here so that veterans who want an answer can get one,” Smith, Jr. said. “I put this seminar together because [VFW Post 10789] is going to be an education post to teach people and help veterans get through the system. This isn’t about
filing claims. It’s about helping veterans understand their own claim before it goes to the VA.”
During the seminar, Smith, Jr. discussed how to strategically prepare a veterans disability claim to maximize chances for success, and the importance of citing specific symptoms and diagnoses to align with guidelines in federal law. According to Smith, Jr., the biggest struggle with veterans claims is navigating the VA bureaucracy that often leads to denials for vague and ambiguous reasons from the agency in what can feel like an adversarial process. He also stressed the value and necessity of preparing a personal statement to add context to one’s claim, adding that the VA is legally obligated to read and consider every document submitted.
Samantha Stack, an Army veteran, attended to help volunteer her services as a
Veterans for Foreign Wars (VFW) Post
10789 hosted a seminar at the Brentwood Veterans Memorial Building at 757 First St.
notary public to veterans filing claims. “This seminar two years ago saved my life,” she said, crediting the seminar with connecting her with much-needed post-service care. She hoped that more veterans would take advantage of help to get the treatments they needed.
Richard Kelley, a representative of Antioch-based beer distributor Markstein Sales Company and its supplier AnheuserBusch, spoke to the event as a representative of both companies to inform veterans about scholarship programs.
“I’ve been coming here for over a decade,” Kelley said. “From my first event here, I created the community outreach program at Markstein. We’ve donated beverages, laid wreaths, and helped however we can. The thing that drives me is that veterans have already given and sacrificed so much, and they’re still doing it.”
The event was also attended by representatives of the Menlo Park-based nonprofit Paws for Purple Hearts, which trains service dogs for veterans with disabilities. “We try to promote and do outreach for the Bay Area,” staff member Megan Franke said. “We like to inform veterans how service dogs can help them.”
Smith, Jr. is concerned about the decline in veteran participation in veterans service organizations such as the VFW and American Legion. For example, the American Legion went from 2.3 million members in 2011 to 1.7 million members in 2021, according to data from the Legion. The VFW has faced a similar decline over the period.
“These organizations are chartered by Congress to channel veteran complaints and feedback,” Smith, Jr. said. “Every February we go to Congress, but we don’t have a togetherness. Without new membership, we lose political representation.”
Smith, Jr. said he believes the VA should make a more concerted effort to publicize the veteran suicide epidemic – 22 veterans are killing themselves each day over the past 10-15 years – and make it easier for veterans to access help to prevent suicide.
Any veteran seeking help with a claim, or any resident interested in supporting veterans can contact Smith, Jr. at askarchieVA@gmail.com.
Press photo
8 ways to honor veterans all year round
Millions of people make considerable sacrifices to protect the freedoms of their fellow citizens. According to the Pew Research Center and data from the Department of Veterans Affairs and the U.S. Census Bureau, there are currently more than 18 million living veterans in the United States. The 2021 Census counted 461,240 veterans in Canada, according to Veterans Affairs Canada.
The term “veteran” refers to a person who served in the active military, naval, air service, or space service and was discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable. In the U.S., there are actually five types of protected veterans, according to the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974. Under VEVRAA, a veteran may be classified as a disabled veteran, recently separated veteran, active duty wartime or campaign badge
Parade from page 1B
The parade route will be on First Street starting at Birch Street, where attendees can look forward to a surprise giveaway. From there, the parade will continue north on First Street, with bandstands at Chestnut and Oak streets, ending at Maple Street and the Brentwood Veterans Memorial Building, with the final stage announcing entries and members of the veterans service organizations doing a pass in review. The parade will also conclude with an American/military flag walk, with residents being able to participate by bringing an American or military flag and walking the end of the parade route.
“It is a common practice in some big cities to have over a thousand participants walk with the United States flag to show their pride,” Clement said. “If the public would like to participate, we will have a place for them to walk with their flag in the parade. The public can register at the city’s Parks and Recreation website and have a spot in the parade, where they can hold their flag and walk in the parade.” Check-in for the parade is 8-9 a.m.
Immediately following the parade,
veteran, or Armed Forces service medal veteran. Veterans deserve respect and admiration all year long, but also get their own holiday each November. Veterans Day celebrates veterans’ patriotism and willingness to sacrifice and serve. This Veterans Day, people can consider these eight unique ways to honor local veterans.
♦ Attend events. Organize or participate in local Veterans Day celebrations, such as parades and ceremonial events.
♦ Get involved with veterans’ affairs. Support veterans by volunteering with organizations that assist them, such as the VA, local veteran’s groups, VA hospitals, or charities dedicated to veteran services.
♦ Petition for veteran speakers. Reach out to schools, scout troops or other groups and arrange opportunities for veterans to share their stories and contributions. Learning about the sacrifices these men and women made can heighten individuals’ appreciation for veterans.
♦ Support the families of veterans. Reach out to veterans’ families, who also must make sacrifices and concessions. Anything from shopping, babysitting, doing chores, or making a meal can help the families
the public is invited and encouraged to attend a small ceremony at the Brentwood Veterans Memorial Building at 757 First St. in honor of the 100-year anniversary of the building, which will include:
♦ Breanna Watkins singing the national anthem
♦ The public being asked to participate in the Pledge of Allegiance
♦ A live performance of the playing of Taps.
♦ A youth coloring contest
♦ A display of pictures and artifacts of veterans’ service inside the hall
♦ Display of a 15-foot by 25-foot
U.S. flag inside the hall for photo opportunities
Brentwood Recreation Supervisor
of veterans.
♦ Make a donation. If finances allow, make contributions to reputable charities that provide services for veterans like those that offer mental health counseling or job placement services. If there isn’t a charity that fits with your vision, begin one.
♦ Hire veterans to work. If you are a business owner or hiring manager, consider hiring veterans for open positions at your company. It can be challenging to re-enter the workforce after service, so make it known that your firm welcomes veterans.
♦ Offer personal acknowledgements. Take the time to speak to veterans and thank them for their service. If possible, when dining out, ask the server if you can pay for the meal of a veteran who also is dining that day.
♦ Don’t forget the fallen veterans. Although Memorial Day is designed to honor those who lost their lives through military service, people still can honor the fallen veterans on Veterans Day by sharing stories or placing flags at veteran cemeteries.
– Courtesy of Metro Creative
Amanda Cheney says the city is focusing this year on entries from military groups, organizations, and individuals or businesses that support active duty personnel and veterans. The Brentwood City Council agreed in August to pledge $32,000 to veterans-related events, with $12,000 allotted for this parade. “Since this is the first year of operations, staff time was not budgeted in advance, so this money will go to cover staff costs including Public Works, Brentwood Police department, and Parks and Recreation,” Cheney said. “This estimated cost is consistent with costs for the City to host a downtown parade. The City Council also allocated other funding to a veteran luncheon and to the City’s Military Veteran Banner Program.”
Cheney added that due to not wanting to conflict with the annual Veterans Day ceremony hosting by veterans service organizations at Veterans Park, organizers decided to host the parade prior to Veterans Day after discussing it with the service organizations, with the weekend date better allowing for the community to participate. The Veterans Day ceremony will take place at Veterans Park on Monday, Nov. 11 at 10:30 a.m., and will be hosted by the American Legion and veterans service organizations.
“The event will include free hot chocolate and coffee for the community, and will have military- themed vendors before and after the ceremony,” Cheney said. ”The City, with its partners, has also purchased lunch to honor veterans in attendance of the ceremony and will distribute lunch to Veterans immediately after the ceremony.”
For more parade information, including where participants can register, is at https://www.brentwoodca.gov/government/parks-recreation/special-eventsand-programs/veteran-programs-events/ veterans-parade-registration.
For more local Veterans Day events see page 6B.
Brentwood resident fondly recalls time in Army
Manuel Pastor vividly remembers his first experiencing in the Army at the age of 18. Approaching Fort Ord in Monterey in the summer of 1958, Pastor recounts getting off of the bus and immediately coming to face to face with a sergeant, who had some immediate, not uncertain instructions.
“From now on,” the sergeant commanded. “I’m not your mother! I’m not your father! I’m God!” according to Pastor. “So get in line, and do what you’re told!’”
Pastor, now 84, looks back at his six-year tenure in the Army with reverence, vividly recounting the highs and lows chronicling his time service. Born in Brentwood in 1940, Pastor graduated from Liberty High School in June 1958. A month later, Pastor joined the Army, following in the footsteps of his uncles Henry and Joe Fernandez, who served in World War II, and his father, who was a soldier stationed in Spain.
“That was a place where you have to straighten out,” Pastor said. “At the time, we had a draft, and a lot of guys were getting drafted. So, I might as well sign up; it’s
going to get me sooner or later.”
Pastor said his job in the Army was a field artillery gunner, which entailed lifting a lot of heavy artillery, and a lot of “big-time hard labor”, with harsh conditions, little to no sleep, and being on alert for 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
“Nothing was easy,” Pastor said. “My job was to get the guys from point A to point B. We were all together as a team, and even provided support for the 82nd Airborne. If they got in trouble, we got them out of trouble. That was my job.”
Pastor’s time in the Army occurred during the predevelopment process to the Vietnam War, when U.S. Troops were deployed in covert, short-term operations without being sanctioned by the Department of Defense while sanctioned deployments to Vietnam were still taking place. Stationed in Laos, Pastor describes the seriousness and
intensity in Laos and Cambodia, eventually making its way to Vietnam, with strict instructions on having to be “top secret”, with soldiers prohibited from writing home or taking pictures.
“Every day was a war!” Pastor said. “You learn that at that point, you don’t have your life in your hands. You learn to rely and depend on each other for survival. It’s a team; a very dangerous team.”
In the wake of adversity and danger, Pastor looks back fondly on the bond he created with his fellow soldiers, remarking that regardless of whatever differences they may have had or experienced pertaining to race or backgrounds, Pastor and his soldiers put all of that aside for one common goal.
“The biggest word is ‘US’, which means all of us; we’re all together.” Pastor said.” We’ll find out one thing – when we get shot, we’ll find out that blood is all the same color.
You have to understand where you came from. We were there for one thing, protect America, and that was what we did.”
For all of his challenges, Pastor said the most difficult of his time in the Army was leaving, having created bonds and relationships with many of his fellow soldiers due to the amount of time spent together.
While he hasn’t kept in touch with them, he says he still has the memories and the pictures. Pastor says he still thinks about them, and is sure they still think about him, too.
“You become so attached to each other,” Pastor said. “We were all crying. And it hurts me now because when I found out a lot of my friends got shot in Vietnam, I wish I could have been there to help. That stuff stays with you.”
After leaving the Army in 1964, Pastor settled in Brentwood, meeting his future wife and they had three children.
Today, Pastor considers himself “blessed”. And while he said that he suffers from some PTSD, adding that “some trauma never leaves,” Pastor says he is lucky to be alive, proud and grateful that he served in the Army. Would he recommend any young person to sign up today? Pastor had an emphatic response.
“It is a good education, you have to get along to survive,” Pastor said. “You become a family, and you get very close to each other. To tell you the truth, I think it is the greatest blessing in the world.”.
TreVista Honors Our Veterans
Claudell Woods Ralph Knauss Arthur Harris Martin Enni Alec Fontana
Bryan Carver Tom Scanlon Billy Wilburn Larry Matthews Ken Lassiter
Dolores Weiman Douglas Pollard
William Davis
Tommy Hudson Daniel Lupher
SEAN TONGSON
PASTOR, THEN (LEFT) AND NOW
‘I wanted to be a part of something
bigger than myself’
Jake Briner is a U.S. Coast Guard veteran who served from 2015-2022. Briner grew up in Brentwood and graduated Heritage High School in 2014. He is reenlisting in the Coast Guard.
Why did you sign up? Why did you want to serve our country?
I signed up for the Coast Guard because I wanted to be a part of something bigger than myself. I always wanted to serve but wanted to be different from the normal Army.
What was your highest rank?
I was an Operations Specialist Petty Officer 2nd class. I ran communications, which means talking to civilians, and talking to our own assets on the radios. Where were you deployed and for how long?
I was at Honolulu for 3 years and stationed on the Coast Guard cutter USCGC Sherman. When we were on her, she was the only active-duty ship to have sunk an enemy combatant in wartime
(she had sunk a Viet Cong surface craft). We went for drug interdiction around the Galápagos Islands. We also patrolled Alaska two times and I got my arctic service ribbon.
Then, I was at Coast Guard Sector San Francisco, one of the biggest searchand-rescue (SAR) sectors, averaging 20,000 calls for service a year. It was an especially busy 4 years.
What did you do there?
On the boat, my day-to-day was unique. When you’re in drug interdiction, every day is different. You’re either
see Coast Guard page 7B
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DALE S. SATRE
BRINER
Veterans Day festivities schedule
East County cities are collaborating with local veterans groups to host events to mark Veterans Day, Nov, 11.
Brentwood:
While the area’s veterans groups will participate in the city’s first Veterans Day parade on Sunday, there is also a celebration at Veterans Park, 3841 Balfour Road in Brentwood, from 10:30 a.m. to noon on Veterans Day, Monday, Nov. 11. This free public event is sponsored by the City of Brentwood and local veterans service organizations. It will include guest speakers, and a special tribute to veterans, taps and a rifle salute.
Speakers are Master Sgt. Rebecca Pash, Persephone Gee, Denny Baker, Brentwood Mayor Joel Bryant and police Chief Tim Herbert.
Pash and Gee were chosen because the city likes to have female veterans give their perspective, organizers said. Baker was a Navy pilot who flew 122 missions and has been awarded for valor; he flew the FA Crusader and received a distinguished flying cross.
“The veterans park event is traditionally our big event each year,” said Travis Martin of the Brentwood Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) post.
For more information, call 925-787-8087.
After the event at Veterans Park, the City of Brentwood , in conjunction with the Rotary Club of Brentwood and the Brentwood Chamber of Commerce, is sponsoring a luncheon for veterans at the Brentwood Senior Activity Center at 193 Griffith Lane. Brentwood spokesperson Amanda Chaney said hosting a luncheon for veterans after the annual ceremony was a goal of local veteran service organizations.
will feature speeches, performances and presentations from the Heritage High School JROTC, Freedom High School Marching Band, Local Boy and Girl Scouts Troops, The Oakley Youth Advisory Council and local dignitaries.
Antioch:
“The City of Brentwood is proud to honor the bravery and sacrifice of our veterans and active duty military through our Veterans Parade, Veteran Luncheon and Military Veteran Banner Program,” said Chaney in an email. “These initiatives serve to recognize and celebrate the individuals who have dedicated themselves to protecting our freedoms.”
Members of the VFW will also hand out poppies Saturday, Nov. 2, at the Safeway on Balfour Road in Brentwood, Ace Hardware in Brentwood, and Safeway in Discovery Bay, to commemorate Veterans Day, and raise funds and awareness for needy veterans and their families.
Oakley:
The 2024 Oakley Veteran’s Day Ceremony will take place in Oakley Civic Center Plaza on Main St. at 11am and
The Delta Veterans Group will host a breakfast, parade and ceremony to honor veterans on Monday, Nov. 11, at the Veterans Memorial Antioch Marina, 5 Marina Plaza. The schedule starts with a free breakfast sponsored by the Antioch Rivertown Veterans Lions Club at 8 a.m., followed by the Veterans Day ceremony at 9:30. The parade starts at 11 a.m. and goes through downtown Antioch. The festivities end with a free lunch hosted by the Antioch Veterans of Foreign Wars at 12:30 p.m. at 815 Fulton Shipyard Road in Antioch. For more information, or to participate, call 925-240-3703 or visit www.deltaveteransgroup.org.
County:
The county Board of Supervisors will host a Veterans Day tribute at 11 a.m., Tuesday, Nov. 5, in the Board Chambers, at 1025 Escobar St., in Martinez. The event will include a speech from Port Chicago Alliance Executive Director Yulie Padmore, a color guard ceremony by the Pittsburg Police Department and a musical performance by Yesenia Roman, who will sing the Star-Spangled Banner and America the Beautiful. For more information, visit www. contracosta.ca.gov/6035.
chasing narcotics traffickers or talking to helicopters on comms. In San Francisco, it was 2 days on, 2 days off. Every day started early, if you didn’t already had a SAR case at the start of the day you usually had one by (9 a.m.). It was a very fast-paced and busy schedule.
What was the most valuable lesson you learned from your service?
Hard work and dedication. Teaches you respect, teaches you that you won’t get anywhere sitting on your ass.
Would you recommend any young person to sign up today? Why or why not?
It’s one of those things I recommend to people who want to see their world and do something unique. Coast Guard is close to home and exposes you to many experiences. It teaches a lot of dedication and hard work and respect and manners.
What was the hardest part of serving?
The schedule sometimes. Being underway [deployed at sea] in general is hard, especially when you’re away from your family for months at a time. It was a rewarding but hard experience, especially missing holidays with your family.
What was the easiest part?
Getting to see the world. We went through The Big Ditch [Panama Canal], the Galápagos Islands, mainland Panama, Guantanamo, and Alaska.
What are you proudest of with your service?
I’m proud of the fact that I helped a lot of people’s lives. SAR is one of those things where you’re going to save a lot of lives, and miss a lot of lives. I was involved in saving peoples’ lives that otherwise wouldn’t have made it.
Do you have family members in the military?
No, I was the first in my family to serve.
Were there times you wished you had never signed up?
No, there has never been a time I can sit there and honestly say I wished I never signed up.
