Veterans to share memories, experiences of war and service at Heroes Hall Saturday
Anyone who’s ever thanked a military veteran for his or her service may want to mark their calendars for Saturday, when a powerful speaker series — the “VOICES” Veterans Storytelling Project — returns to the O.C. fairgrounds’ Heroes Hall museum.
Four former military servicemen and women from throughout Orange County will weave together their individual experiences and memories of military duty and shed light on how their service has shaped their lives for better or worse.
The talk, which begins at 5 p.m., is the culmination of a six-week project in which veterans are encouraged to explore, through a series of questions and answers, issues of identity, pride, service and reintegration into civilian life.
Carole Singleton, director of exhibits and education for the Orange County Fair & Event Center and herself an Army veteran, participated as a speaker in 2019 and recalls the program as an intimate and powerful experience.
“It’s kind of like a counseling session,” she said of the workshops leading up to the talk. “For a lot of veterans, it’s the first time they’re facing these gut-wrenching topics. It’s a way for people to reach down deep and tell their heartfelt stories. It also helps the audience understand the experiences veterans are going through.”
Fountain Valley resident and Army veteran Giovanni Berdejo serves as the facilitator for VOICES, a collaboration with Arts Orange County and Tustin’s Tierney Center for Veteran Services. Like Singleton he spoke at a previous storytelling event, in 2020.
He shared how he was mobilized to Germany and served on two humanitarian missions in El Salvador before being deployed to Afghanistan in 2008. When he came back after eight years of service, Berdejo had a hard time transitioning to civilian life.
“I didn’t know about all the services available to me, that I could go to the VA for assistance and job training,” he said, recalling how he’d managed a hospital in the Army but could not get hired at home. “For a while I thought, what was all this experience for? It felt like I was given a raw deal.”
Berdejo penned the 2019 book “One Angry Veteran,” in which he illustrates his struggles with the military, war, PTSD and the difficult journey of reintegration to help others like him. Today, he works as a program coordinator at Cal State Fullerton helping train and prepare student veterans for the workplace.
As facilitator, he worked with the four veterans speaking at Saturday’s event to help them reflect on their experiences, good and bad, so they could share their stories with others.
Speakers Saturday are Khang Phi, of Anaheim, who served as an Army specialist from 2004 to 2007; Orange resident Elizabeth Rocha, a U.S. Marine sergeant from 2015 to 2020; Fullerton’s Tori Rhoades, who served as a corporal in the Marines from 1994 to 2000 and Jersson Nieto, of Baldwin Park, a sergeant in the Army from 2015 to 2023.
Berdejo encouraged all who support service members and veterans to come to Saturday’s talk.
“We hear from civilians, ‘thank you for your service,’ and that’s fine. But if you really want to thank a service person for their service, go to things like this,” Berdejo said. “Support them in their endeavors, in their small businesses and their art and their expressions — giving them the time means the world.”
VOICES is free to the public and takes place Saturday, from 5 to 7 p.m.. Heroes Hall is located at the Orange County Fair & Event Center, 88 Fair Drive, in Costa Mesa. To RSVP, visit voicesmay2023.eventbrite.com.
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