LA HABRA : Up to 5,000 Veterans Expected at Reunion

As many as 5,000 people from across the nation and around the world are expected to attend the second annual Vietnam War veterans reunion at El Centro Park on Saturday.

The event, sponsored by the Brothers of Vietnam, a La Habra-based organization, will be held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. It will offer a host of activities and give veterans a chance to rekindle friendships with their former brothers in arms.

“The main thing is that we hope to find some partners we served with,” said Larry Hughes, the group’s commander.

Entertainment will be provided by a disc jockey playing music from the Vietnam War era and a live band that is scheduled to perform in the afternoon.

Ceremonies for fallen comrades, Gold Star mothers, veterans, prisoners of war and those missing in action are planned. A special dedication will be held for Fullerton Police Officer and Vietnam War veteran Tommy De La Rosa, who was killed in the line of duty this summer.

“I was apprehensive about doing anything like this. But (it is good) to be with brothers again and feel a love and brotherhood,” said Dennis Seitz, the group’s treasurer. Seitz was an Army infantryman in Vietnam.

Booths will be set up for games, raffles, food and the sale of pins, patches and T-shirts. Guest speakers, including local dignitaries, will address the crowd and make presentations to veterans.

Brothers of Vietnam meets on the first and third Wednesday of each month in the La Habra American Legion Hall at 209 E. Orange St. Members celebrate birthdays and schedule other social events.

Hughes said they mostly get together just to talk. “We have rap sessions about Vietnam. We’re not political. We’re just all veterans. We have a bond like we had in Vietnam. We help each other out come hell or high water,” he said.

For information about Saturday’s reunion or the Brothers of Vietnam, call Hughes at (714) 680-4106 or Seitz at (714) 529-5929.