This is part 2 of a series on local veterans and the SFV Veterans Day Parade
For the hundreds of veterans who live in the San Fernando Valley, Nov. 11 is especially meaningful– Veterans Day is a large public reunion for their military brothers and sisters who gather each year at the annual San Fernando Valley Veterans Day Parade.
The parade welcomes any and all veterans to ride in the long line of entries. Over 100 veterans in the parade served in Vietnam, an unpopular war that ignored their homecoming and previously shunned their service.
But at this parade, they are applauded as they wave from their cars, trucks and lowriders traveling along Laurel Canyon Boulevard as the community and their loved ones hold “Thank you” posters and mini American flags.
This year, centenarian Frank Salcido Garcia, a World War II veteran, was named the honorary grand marshal, while the official title this year went to Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt. Martin Lopez, who was deployed during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.
Army veteran Rev. Andrew Hedstrom from St. Ferdinand Catholic Church joined the event for the first time after being assigned to the City of San Fernando parish a few months ago.
The event has been going strong since 2004, when Marine veteran Fred Flores with his son first started it.
However, the parade was not completely celebratory. As previously reported by the San Fernando Valley Sun/el Sol, Flores and the other parade organizers, for the first time, received a $37,000 invoice from the city of Los Angeles for traffic cops and street signage. The charges were unexpected and jeopardized this year’s parade, which could not go forward without payment.
Flores, who reached out for help, was able to pay the new parade costs with funds provided from the offices of LA City Councilmembers Monica Rodriguez, Bob Blumenfield and Imelda Padilla, whom Flores, in his opening remarks, acknowledged for coming to the rescue.
“We don’t make money off this,” Flores said. He referenced the Vietnam vets standing near him, saying, “We honor these gentlemen. They didn’t get it 50 years ago when they came home. This is very meaningful for the men and women who served during that era, so these council [members] stepped up to the plate and paid that bill. We’re here because of them.”
The three council members credited for saving the day were front and center.
“I want to correct Fred: there is no thanking us, it’s [us] thanking all of you,” Monica Rodriguez said. “What my colleagues and I did was exactly what we’re here to do – when the government fails to show up and be there for our community in a constructive way, our job is to show up, and it happened.”
Mayor Karen Bass, who also participated, offered her remarks that were noticeably absent from the controversy.
“This is our opportunity to thank the men and women in service of our country over the years,” Bass said, whose father served in World War II. “We’re going to make sure that you get the support that you need on the federal level and on the local level. Working in collaboration with my colleagues here, we want to make sure that there is no veteran who is unhoused.”
Bass made no mention of the invoice that Flores was given this year or the budget cuts that came from her office, which are now impacting the parade.
While this year’s expenses were paid, the question remains what the organizers will do next year, when they are expected again to pay for the new fees.
Veterans React to the New Challenges
Flores wasn’t shy about letting veterans know the financial situation that brought uncertainty to this year’s parade, which left many stunned.
One who was surprised was Vietnam veteran Victor Hernandez.
The 75-year-old served in the Marines right out of high school, but when he returned home at 19, he suffered from a “serious” case of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It took years before the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provided services to help him with his mental health.
But what really helped Hernandez was partaking in the SFV Veterans Day Parade. He first learned about it 14 years ago through Tommy Daniels, a Navy veteran and friend who passed away two years ago.
Although he never thought about being in a parade before, the feeling of hundreds of community members cheering for him and fellow veterans felt therapeutic.
“It was actually a healing process for me because when we came back from Vietnam, veterans were not treated right,” Hernandez said. “We were treated with a lot of disrespect. We were called all kinds of ugly names. … Veterans should never be treated like that, and I was never able to heal until [the parade].”
While he was very happy that this parade was held as planned, he questioned why the city of LA would charge that much to keep the event going, remarking that it wouldn’t be “the first time people have tried to take away benefits that veterans deserve.”
But Hernandez hopes to be in the parade for years to come, saying, “I don’t know how much longer I’m going to be around, but I want to ride in the parade for as long as I can.”
Another veteran surprised by the charges was City of San Fernando native Edward Landin, who served in the Army in Vietnam and was the grand marshal for last year’s event. He’s been part of the parade since it began, and he said he felt sad and upset when Flores told him about the fees
Nonetheless, he’s confident that Flores won’t let the parade end, saying, “Knowing Fred, he’s going to be knocking on a lot of doors and trying to get as much help as he can financially.”
He recognized the financial straits many people are facing now, especially for those getting only partial funding through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) due to the government shutdown. While the parade may seem like a low priority, Landin maintains that veterans themselves shouldn’t be dismissed.
“We need the parade to acknowledge all the veterans who served our country,” he said. “They want to be acknowledged … especially Vietnam vets.”
His wife, Barbara Landin, added, “It’s one day [out of the] year for all the sacrifices they make. Going overseas, staying in town, setting their lives aside and setting their families aside to serve. We would really hate to see it [the parade] go.”
This parade matters to families with a history of service. The Guerrero family is one example.
Richard Guerrero is the grandson of Estevan Guerrero, an Army veteran who served in World War II, and the son of a Vietnam veteran. He said his grandfather participated in the parade before he passed away in January 2011.
It’s now Richard’s tradition to come each year with his family to honor both his father and his grandfather.
He sat across from the main stage, proudly displaying a large poster filled with photos of his grandfather’s time in the military and the medals he earned.
“It should mean a lot to everybody who has lost people in war and to those who are still serving that don’t get to spend time with their families, especially during the holidays,” Richard Guerrero said. “It brings back a connection to those who are still serving and those who have passed.”
Next week: The San Fernando Valley Sun/el Sol will continue coverage regarding the uncertain future of the parade.
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