Herb Masi sat quietly throughout Monday’s Veterans Day ceremony, saluting the flag proudly at intervals, joining in proud song with the hundreds of people who sat and stood in the sunshine at Veteran’s Park.
Just that morning, Masi was released from the hospital, where he was admitted four days prior for inflammation of a recurring infection in his leg – a lifelong consequence of a shrapnel wound he received during battle in Vietnam.
But he was determined to attend Monday’s tribute  event in Redondo Beach, which he helped to organize as chairman of the Redondo Beach Veterans Memorial Task Force. So he took his place, and saluted his flag.
Major General Melvin Spiese shared Masi’s story during his keynote address, prompting applause from an audience that attended the event to honor Masi and so many other American veterans of war.
“There are many others here,” Spiese said, “who will invariably go unnamed, but whose service remains with them long after they have taken off their uniform… Many of our veterans carry with them the effects of their service, visible and invisible, who along with those who gave the ultimate sacrifice, remind us of the high cost of our liberty and freedom.”
Spiese spoke emotively to a crowd of people who observed with solemn emotion, waved miniature flags, and wore red, white, and blue. Some had medals of honor and valor pinned to their clothing.
A fire engine boosted an American flag high into the blue sky. Punctuated by rousing songs – the national anthem harmonized by a trio of sisters; the Armed Forces Medley by the Redondo Union High School Wind Ensemble; God Bless America – the ceremony was heartfelt and the patriotism palpable.
The Redondo Union High School’s Marine Corps JROTC performed a retiring of the colors and flag-folding ceremony, and six veterans – representatives of the U.S. Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, and prisoners of war missing in action – laid red, white, and blue wreaths at the foot of the Redondo Beach Veterans Memorial.
In attendance were two former prisoners of war, Harry Corre and Bernie Waldon, and Bea Cohen, who at 103 is the country’s oldest living Rosie the Riveter.
Spiese acknowledged that words, “no matter how heartfelt and sincere, are largely inadequate to express fully the depths of our gratitude” to the men and women who have served in the U.S. armed forces.
“What is most important is what we feel in our hearts and how we act as a result,” he said. “Today’s celebration, and those in attendance, speak to the importance of taking pause and recognizing the service and sacrifice of our veterans.”
Spiese spoke of unsung heroes, evoking their legacy with redolent imagery – of five Marines and a Navy corpsman raising Old Glory atop Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima; of swirling contrails of the Air Corps’ bombers and fighters over occupied Europe; of isolated foxholes, hot jungles, and lonely seas.
“It is no different today as I see the deserts and mountains where the young men and women of America – as soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines – have answered our nation’s call,” he said.
Then he turned, soberly, to the challenge armed forces meet today, noting that today’s armed forces are comprised of volunteers.
“As we gather here today to recognize and honor those who have served our nation in the past, we cannot let those who continue to deploy into harm’s way be forgotten,” Spiese said.
The military continues to serve with distinction, he said, and American men and women continue to earn the Medal of Honor with valiance.
“Without regard to the decisions of their political leaders, our service members marched into challenging, confusing, and deadly situations… These are truly amazing young men and women who wear the uniform today, no different than those who have gone before them for over two centuries of our nation’s history,” Spiese said.
“This latest, greatest generation [has] joined the ranks of other generations, very well represented here today, of Americans who have taken on this mantel of responsibility.”
Congressman Henry Waxman reiterated the nation’s collective obligation to its veterans, deriding the government shutdown as “ridiculous” and the backlog of veterans’ benefits claims at the Veterans Affairs Office as “inexcusable.”
Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi reported that Los Angeles county has the highest population of homeless veterans in the country.
“Our nation,” Muratsuchi said, referencing a speech President Obama delivered earlier that morning, “will be judged not only by the strength of our military overseas, but also how we treat our soldiers when they come home.”
To learn more about the Veterans Memorial in Veterans’ Park, visit www.RBVeteransMemorial.com.
