Veterans celebrated at Two Strike Park in La Crescenta
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Veterans were honored Wednesday afternoon at Two Strike Park in La Crescenta, where more than 100 people sang “God Bless America,” and they gracefully retired worn American flags by gently tossing strips of red, white and blue into a fire prepared by Boy Scout Troop 288.
About 20 World War II veterans were also given certificates by American Legion Post 288, and veterans of other wars were honored, as well.
Among those attending were father and son, Jesse Hurtado, 44, and his son, Jesse Hurtado Jr., 19.
Jesse Hurtado Sr. served with the U.S. Marines during Desert Storm. His son, a Crescenta Valley High School graduate in the class of 2014, is preparing for his first deployment to Cuba on Dec. 10.
Nearly every year, the Hurtado family, who live in Montrose, attend the ceremony at Two Strike Park.
“We come up here and give our thanks and respect toward the other veterans,” Jesse Hurtado Sr. said.
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) attended the ceremony and noted during his speech that U.S. special-operations forces are preparing to head to Syria to assist the Kurds in fighting ISIS.
“They should be arriving shortly, if some of them are not already there. And they’re about in much as harm’s way as you can imagine,” he said. “Please keep these folks, like all men and women in uniform, very much in your thoughts and prayers.”
Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Glendale) encouraged attendees to learn veterans’ stories, and shared his own personal story about how he has recorded the histories of his family members who served, including his cousins and two uncles.
However, he did not tell his late father’s story.
Every Veterans Day, the son and father would have dinner together.
“We would have a simple dinner, but we would never talk about his experiences,” he said.
In November 2013, Gatto was unable to have dinner with his father because he flew to Sacramento for a series of meetings.
However, Gatto made sure to call his father on Veterans Day, he said.
“But, of course, it was yet another year in the 78 years of his life, and 40 years of mine, where I did not talk with him about his service,” he said.
The next day, Gatto’s father, Joseph, was shot to death in his Silver Lake home.
“With his death, our nation lost another veteran whose stories and experiences died with him. If there’s any message I’d give to you today…don’t let Veterans Day become bittersweet for you,” Mike Gatto said, and encouraged particularly young people to engage with the veterans they know.
Lynn McGinnis, commander of American Legion Post 288, said that if any veteran wishes to record their story, the post can facilitate the taping and mailing of the interviews to Washington, D.C., where he said the Smithsonian Institution is interested in capturing all veterans’ stories.
He said those who run the National World War II Memorial are also interested in recording stories of veterans who served in that war.
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Kelly Corrigan, kelly.corrigan@latimes.com
Twitter: @kellymcorrigan
