Malibu’s tradition of honoring veterans continued Friday, Veterans Day, as community members gathered in Legacy Park for a ceremony filled with patriotism, pride and thankfulness.
The 17th annual MalibUSA Veteran’s Day Public Ceremony’s theme was “Honoring Wounded and Disabled Veterans,” many of whom were in attendance. The ceremony started with a special “thank you” to local Ani Dermenjian for originating the yearly celebration and remembrance before the 9/11 tragedy of 2001 occurred. Dermenjian explained she admires those men and women who have served our country and said honoring our veterans is a highlight for her each year.
All branches of service — Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard and first responders of the Fire Department and Sheriff’s Department — were represented and honored for their service and sacrifices to the United States and Malibu community. In keeping with the theme, most of the veterans who spoke at the ceremony were disabled or injured during service, including the Mistress of Ceremonies, Chief Ana Sarver of the Navy, a much decorated and career veteran. Sarver said the purpose of the Veteran’s Day ceremony was to “remember our brothers and sisters in arms — those here and those unable to be here.” She also thanked the caregivers to those veterans who rely on them.
The first speaker, Sonny Seyedi, survived a bomb blast in combat that left him with a traumatic brain injury as well as 30 screws in his face. The former Marine spent a year-and-a-half in a wheelchair and now uses a service dog. With the help of the Department of Veteran Affairs, Seyedi was able to overcome grueling challenges and is now a law student at Pepperdine University. He told The Malibu Times, “It’s not easy.” He also said Malibu has been welcoming and is “dear to my heart.” Seyedi plans to use his law degree to advocate for civil rights and the disabled community.
Speaker Dana Cummings was also a Marine. He served in Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Cummings lost a leg in a car accident after his service. He founded a surf program for amputees to help rehabilitate disabled veterans and local disabled through the power of the ocean. Whether you were drafted or enlisted, Cummings said, “Once you’ve served, it’s in your blood and nearly impossible to get out.”
Malibu resident and Malibu CERT first responder George Goldstein was one of the 150 people in attendance.
“I’m here today to honor my late father who was recruited by Winston Churchill to be one of the 1100 so called ‘disrupters’ trained to assassinate Hitler,” Goldstein said. “He served with Steven Spielberg’s uncle, Herschel Adler. I’m also here to honor my son’s friends who turned 18 around 9/11. They volunteered and many of them are no longer here, so I come to commemorate. I think of them every day — not just once in a while.”
Veteran Jim Cragg spoke of the difficulty many vets have.
“Many fear bullets, but many fear coming home,” he said. Cragg addressed the tragedy of roughly 20 veteran suicides daily, claiming he knows more people who have died by their own hand than in war.
Between speakers, patriotic songs were performed by local children’s groups including kids from Our Lady of Malibu, Malibu High School and a young men’s a capella group from Pepperdine.
One of the highlights of the day was during a spirited speech by Sarah Bettencourt, a former Marine and Naval helicopter pilot who is now confined to a wheelchair due to a rare neurological disorder. While encouraging vets to not be ashamed and ask for help when needed, a giant C-130 transport plane made a flyover, wowing the crowd.
The ceremony ended with Boy Scouts giving pins to all veterans in attendance and the crowd singing “America The Beautiful” together.
Although fewer were in attendance than last year, the day had an impact on many including Sophie Regan, a fifth-grader from Juan Cabrillo Elementary School.
“I think it’s great to be celebrating veterans,” Regan said. “I really wanted to come, so I asked my mom if we could go. We stopped by thinking we were going to stay for 10 minutes, but we ended up staying for the whole thing. It was really beautiful and all the veterans that were here — it was awesome.” Sophie is a member of the Peace Club at JCE. The club wrote letters to veterans and sold popsicles at school, raising $300 that was donated to a veterans’ charity.
