Seal Beach residents honored those who served on Thursday morning, Nov. 11, as residents and veterans gathered at Eisenhower Park to commemorate and celebrate Veterans Day.
The ceremony was preceded by the Southeast County Young Marines, based in Seal Beach. They performed the Presentation of the Colors to open the Veterans day celebration.
Rep. Michelle Steel, the Congresswoman for the 48th District, opened her speech with a story about how important the military service is to her.
“I’m just so grateful. Because without military service, American military service in Korea, I was never born because both of my parents fled from North Korea from Communism. That was the reason I was born,” Steel said.
Steel thanked the servicemen in attendance and those who have lost their lives in the field of battle and ended her speech by saying, “I am so grateful to you and your sacrifices. To your time and your life and your families and I’m just so grateful thank you.”
Todd Spitzer, Orange County District Attorney, thanked a young man in attendance who had just recently completed his basic training and would be going to camp Pendleton. “It gives me great hope, when I see these young boys and girls in the marines they come out as men and women ready to serve our country,” he said.
Spitzer continued to talk about how the United States has made sacrifices to go overseas and fight, so that our country can have certain freedoms that other countries cannot. “They can burn this flag (United States Flag) and they have the right to do that. No other country stands up for this red, white and blue and lets us burn it and still recognizes the values of free speech and free exercise of religion and the right to assemble,” Spitzer said.
In closing Spitzer said, “God bless America, never apologize or make excuses for loving this country and thank you for showing up today and supporting these beliefs that people have fought for, for generations.”
