Around Town: Veterans Day ceremony to feature local ties

By Anita S. Brenner

Nov. 5, 2015 12:12 PM PT

Calling all veterans, service members and Boy and Girl Scouts. On Wednesday, Nov. 11, our neighbor, the city of Pasadena, will present a free Veterans Day ceremony on the steps of Pasadena’s City Hall, at 10:30 a.m.

The ceremony will be full of La Cañadans, including U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. Garth P. Massey, the head of the 2nd Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment, also known as “2/23,” headquartered in Pasadena. The Massey family, which includes five school-age children, is well-known in La Cañada.

There will be free parking near Pasadena City Hall, located at 100 N. Garfield Ave. The area in front, known as Centennial Plaza, will be blocked off for the ceremony.

Pasadena’s exquisite City Hall was inspired by the 16th Century Italian early Renaissance. The architects, John Bakewell and Arthur Brown, were influenced by 16th century Italian architect Andrea Palladio.

The highest point of City Hall is 206 feet above the ground. On Veterans Day, a squadron of vintage military aircraft will fly in formation at least 210 feet high, over the City Hall dome. It’s quite a sight. You never know what will happen.

This year, besides La Cañada’s Lt. Col. Massey, dignitaries at the Veterans Day ceremony will include Pasadena Mayor Terry Tornek, Rep. Judy Chu, Pasadena City College Trustee and event emcee Bill Thomson. Music will be performed by the Pasadena City College Pep Band. There will be displays of military vehicles from the Marines, free hot dogs and all the fixins’, grilled by the International Assn. of Fire Fighters Local 809. The dogs and buns were donated by Farmer John and Wheatland Bakery.

This is a special time of year. We marked the anniversaries of the autumn deaths of two of our fallen. 1st Lt. Todd Bryant, U.S. Army, a 1998 graduate of La Cañada High School, was killed in Fallujah on Oct. 31, 2003. Despite the risk of all deployments, Todd’s death was a shock. We miss him, his courage, his sense of humor and his smile.

Nov. 11 is also the anniversary of the death of Flintridge Prep’s 1st Lt. J.P. Blecksmith, USMC, also killed in Fallujah in 2004. J.P.’s death was also a shock. He was a tall, strong young man. He seemed invincible. The Marines from 2/23 are based in Blecksmith Hall and there’s a display for J.P in the foyer.

Last week, President Obama authorized additional forces, including 50 special operations troops to be deployed to fight ISIS in Syria, and we are reminded, again, of the length of this Long War, the longest in our nation’s history.

That said, Veterans Day is also a day of celebration. It is a chance to acknowledge our hundreds of local veterans, young and old, representing all wars and conflicts from World War II to the present.

ANITA SUSAN BRENNER is a longtime La Cañada Flintridge resident and an attorney with Law Offices of Torres and Brenner in Pasadena. Follow her on Instagram @realanitabrenner, Facebook and on Twitter @anitabrenner.