Category Events
National Guard, America’s oldest fighting force, celebrates 383rd birthday December 13
The U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps celebrated their respective 244th birthdays, 28 days apart, in October and November. The U.S. Army was born on June 14 of that same year, 1775. But no American fighting force can match the longevity of the National Guard, which turns 383 years old this week. “The National Guard […]
Veterans Homes of California-Ventura will fete decade of serving veterans, spouses
Residents and staff of the Veterans Home of California-Ventura (VHC-Ventura) will mark the Home’s first decade with a Founder’s Day celebration on December 4 in Ventura. Then-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger dedicated the Home on December 4, 2009, opening the facility and completing a project that was more than a decade in the making. It became the […]
The monumental task behind building the California Veterans Memorial at the Capitol
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. The dozens of images etched onto the California Veterans Memorial in downtown Sacramento’s Capitol Park say not only a thousand words, but might also leave visitors with a thousand questions. Who were the men and women depicted on the 28-foot-tall obelisk? Where and when did they […]
‘You’re out of uniform!’ And that’s a good thing at Operation Dress Code, where women veterans can dress for success
SAN DIEGO – Five years after leaving the U.S. Coast Guard, Franchesca Avila emerged from Central Arkansas University with a degree in family and consumer science. Then came time to get a job as a civilian. The tight budget of a new graduate didn’t leave much extra cash for the attire she needed to interview […]
Remembering the Coast Guard, Marines crews who died in mid-air collision a decade ago
SACRAMENTO – On October 29, 2009, a Coast Guard HC-130 transport plane and a Marine AH-1 Cobra helicopter collided off the coast of Southern California. All seven crewmembers of the Hercules CG 1705 plane, based out of the U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Sacramento, perished along with two helicopter crewmen from Camp Pendleton. The collision […]
California Vietnam Veterans Memorial gets 20 additional names
Twenty new names will join the nearly 6,000 already inscribed on the California Vietnam Veterans Memorial during a ceremony this Sunday in Capitol Park. The event will begin at noon. More than 200 relatives and friends of those being remembered are expected to attend. It will include welcoming remarks by Master of Ceremonies Martin J. […]
CalVet Women Veterans award winner Captain Elizabeth L. Hillman truly a trailblazer
In 2013, the U.S. House Armed Services Committee appointed former Air Force Captain Elizabeth L. Hillman, an expert on sexual harassment, assault, and discrimination in the military, to serve on a panel probing sexual assault in the military. The panel exposed how little progress had been made since the so-called “Tailhook” scandal of 1991, when […]
From sea to shining sea: United States Navy celebrating 244th birthday
Here’s a trivia question: Which is older – the United States Navy or the United States of America? If you guessed the Navy, you’d be correct. You might wonder, how did the creation of the Navy precede the formation of the nation? Why not? The Navy even preceded itself. In the summer of 1775, General […]
California Central Coast Veterans Cemetery to receive national honor for quality
SEASIDE – The Central California Coast Veterans Cemetery (CCCVC) in Seaside has been selected to receive the prestigious Organizational Excellence Award from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (USDVA). The cemetery, which opened in 2016, is operated by the California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet). It was jointly developed and constructed by the USDVA, […]
CalVet officials participating in California Native American Day at State Capitol
Native American and soon-to-be Oscar recipient Wes Studi will be the keynote speaker September 27 during the 52nd annual California Native American Day, on the west steps of the State Capitol. The celebration of California Native American culture begins at 10 a.m. and concludes at 2 p.m. The event is open to the public, and […]
