Decorate your car to show veterans your support!

By Gerald J.R. Wilson, Jr., President, Antioch Veterans Day Committee

Antioch Herald file photo.

Every year on Veterans Day, November 11, Antioch becomes the jewel of the California Delta with a whole day of events to recognize those that have served our great country.  We would be honored for you to be a part of this great Veterans Day Celebration.

The day’s festivities start off at the Antioch Veterans Memorial with a Drive-In Style Ceremony beginning at 10:00 at the foot of L Street next to the Antioch Marina and boat launch parking lots.

Please be parked by 9:50 A.M.  You will be able to tune into the ceremony on your radio at FM 87.9. We will have a Flag Raising Ceremony, our main speaker will be Dr. Dan Helix, we will be introducing the Antioch Lifetime Veteran of the Year and the Antioch Veteran of the Year for 2020/2021, and we will be introducing the artist for the Antioch Veterans Memorial Mural.

This year unfortunately, we will not be having a Veterans Day Parade, However, that doesn’t mean you can’t let our veterans know how much you support them by decorating your car in a patriotic theme. We ask that after the ceremony you take a self-guided tour in your patriotic decorated car to other Antioch veteran spots:

1. Antioch Veterans Memorial
2. Antioch Historical Society
3. WWI Veterans Memorial at the CCC Fairgrounds
4. Oak View Cemetery Veterans Memorial
5. Ending at the Antioch VFW

U.S.S. ATR-28. Sept. 28, 1944. Photo by Fulton Shipyard.

Antioch has a long history of supporting our local troops, The Fulton Shipyard, located on the historic waterfront, built ships for the U.S. Navy ships during World War II and the Korea Conflict (war). Fulton Shipyard began operations in 1924 on the western portion of the grounds. Frank Leslie Fulton and Angeline Fulton Fredericks purchased the property in 1924 and began doing business as Fulton Shipyard, a predecessor of Fulton Shipyard, Inc. in 1928. Shell Oil Company owned and operated a fuel transfer station on a portion of the Site. Fulton Shipyard, Inc. purchased it from the Shell Oil Company in 1942.

During WWII, the U.S. government confiscated the terminal and later transferred it to the Fulton family. Prior to the war, the shipyard primarily built and repaired small wooden and metal boats, mostly tugs and river freighters. During both wars they built a variety of ships including two Aggressive Class minesweepers. In later years, the shipyard focused on sandblasting and painting vessels, while engine repair work mostly ended in the 1970s. It closed in 1999.

City staff has put together a great video highlighting our past Veterans Day Parade and Celebration.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bL7VIWDRVIg

As in years past, the City of Antioch has partnered with the veterans’ community to bring this celebration of our veterans.  We want to recognize the City of Antioch departments and staff that have worked so hard to make sure the day’s events occur without a hitch.  THANK YOU!!!!

Please abide by the Contra Costa County COVID-19 health orders. Social distancing and please wear a mask at all times.

SACRAMENTO – Wednesday, Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 408, authored by Assemblymember Jim Frazier (D-Fairfield) into law. The bill requires the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to accept a certificate certifying that a veteran is disabled for the purpose of a disability license plate from a County Veteran Service Officer (CVSO) or the Department of Veteran Affairs (CalVet).

“On behalf of all the men and women who serve in our Armed Forces, I’m very pleased that Governor Newsom signed AB 408, which continues to build on the promise that we have made to our veterans,” said Frazier. “Veterans shouldn’t have to wait months on end to see results from a system that owes them a huge debt of gratitude. This bill ensures that they will get the timely services that they deserve.”

This legislation is even timelier as it has become more difficult for veterans to receive documentation certifying their disability status from traditional Veterans Affairs (VA) offices. AB 408 allows for expedited service and a better running system, but also has the added benefit of getting veterans in to see their CVSO in order to check if they are receiving other benefits and services that they may be entitled to receive. The legislation will become law on January 1, 2021. For more information about the Disable Veteran license plates, click here.

Damage Controlman 2nd Class Sammy Cohen. Left – U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Vincent E. Zline. Right – from his Facebook page 11-21-19.

By MC2 Jackson Brown, Navy Office of Community Outreach, Media Outreach Department, Millington, TN

200331-N-RU810-1009 PHILIPPINE SEA (March 31, 2020) Damage Controlman 2nd Class Sammy Cohen, from Antioch, California, assigned to amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6), dons a self-contained breathing apparatus during a damage control drill.

America, flagship of the America Expeditionary Strike Group, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit team is operating in the U.S. 7th fleet area of operations to enhance interoperability with allies and partners and serve as a ready response force to defend peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.

Cohen is a 2006 graduate of Deer Valley High School in Antioch.

“We’re very proud of my little brother and the man he has grown up to be,” his sister Natasha Esther shared.

Allen Payton contributed to this report.

Antioch native Payton Burke, left, received her United States Army commission from Salus University president Dr. Michael Mittelman on Feb. 29, 2020, during a ceremony on the university campus in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. Photos by Mike Morsch/Salus University.

Payton Burke will complete her fourth-year rotation in audiology at Walter Reed Military Hospital in Bethesda, MD.

Elkins Park, PA – When Antioch, California native, 2011 Deer Valley High and 2016 Penn State grad, Payton Burke decided to go into the United States Army, it wasn’t a big surprise to her mother, Joanie Burke. Payton’s grandfather, Leonard Horn, was in the Army and stationed at Redstone Arsenal Army base in Huntsville, AL In fact, Payton’s mother was born at that Army base in Alabama.

The family generational pull toward the Army took another step in providing service to the country recently when Burke, ’21AUD received her commission to the Army from Salus University president Michael Mittelman, OD ‘80, MPH, MBA, FAAO, FACHE, at a ceremony attended by family, friends, faculty, administrators and an Army recruiter Feb. 29, 2020, on the University’s Elkins Park, PA campus.

“My gosh, it’s amazing. I’m emotional, excited and proud,” said Joanie Burke, who had flown in from Antioch, with Payton’s brother, Ethan Burke, the day before the ceremony honoring her daughter. “She called a few years back and said this was what she was thinking of doing and asked how I would feel about it. I was a little nervous at the beginning and I told her, this is your life. You’ve made the right decisions all along your journey so far and I was confident she would make the right decision now.”

Payton asked Dr. Mittelman, a retired Rear Admiral in the United States Navy, to administer the oath. Although it’s somewhat unusual for a Navy officer to commission an Army recruit, Dr. Mittelman was honored to oblige a Salus student.

“Payton has been a wonderful student leader. Everything that she’s touched has been successful. She’s mature, she’s intelligent and she really understands what serving in leadership is all about. That’s why I’m thrilled to be able to do this. The Army is really getting a winner here,” said Dr. Mittelman, who also provided a brief history lesson before the ceremony of the oath, its meaning and the subtle differences on what the oath means to each branch of the military.

James Caldwell, OD ‘89, FAAO, EdM, dean of Student Affairs and assistant professor at Salus, has worked with Burke in a number of capacities as a student leader and is not surprised that she’s going to serve the country.

“When she hit campus as an enrolled student here, she raised her hand, she was curious about opportunities for leadership, and she rose into those positions. She represents her profession of audiology in an outstanding way. But most importantly, she really embraces our ‘One Salus’ mindset. Everything she did as a student leader, not only took care of her fellow audiology students, but she was really interested in creating a broad Salus community,” said Dr. Caldwell, who attended the ceremony. “It’s not at all surprising now that she’s going to serve our country. In my mind, it just fits into who she is as an individual, as a person and soon, as a healthcare provider. We’re so proud of her.”

Those words are echoed by Radhika Aravamudhan, PhD, dean of the University’s Osborne College of Audiology (OCA), who also attended the ceremony to see one of her own students advance her career path.

“This is our second audiology student to go through this ceremony, so this is pretty exciting,” said Dr. Aravamudhan. “The discipline and core values (in the military) are something that they learn a lot about. “I’m confident that Payton will enjoy everything, learn a lot and go on from there.”

For her part, Burke said she’s ready for the next step. She’ll have a four-week officer’s training commitment in Oklahoma this summer after which she’ll complete her fourth-year rotation at Walter Reed Military Hospital in Bethesda, Md. After that, she’s committed for three years as a military audiologist wherever the Army decides to send her.

“I feel like I’m ready. This ceremony meant so much to me and warmed my heart. I was just so happy to see everybody that came here today to share this with me,” she said.

About Salus University

Salus University, founded as the Pennsylvania College of Optometry in 1919, today is a diversified, globally recognized professional academic center of learning that offers a wide range of degree programs in the professions of Optometry, Audiology, Physician Assistant, Public Health, Blindness and Low Vision Studies, Biomedicine, Occupational Therapy and Speech-Language Pathology. Salus operates four clinical facilities in Philadelphia and Montgomery counties that provide highly specialized vision, hearing and balance, and speech-language pathology services. The University has more than 1,200 students, and more than 14,000 alumni worldwide. For more information, please visit www.salus.edu. Salus is currently celebrating a century of the Pennsylvania College of Optometry, its founding school. For more information about the legacy, please visit www.salus.edu/centennial.

On January 13th from 7:00-8:00 pm, we will talk with authors about the experiences and inspirations that shaped their literary works.  Authors Steven Burchik, Bill Nelson, Jerry Whiting, Shauna Springer, and Jason Roncoroni will discuss their work, and take live call in questions.

The Veterans’ Voices monthly program can be seen live online on the County’s website and Facebook @Veteransvoices1. The show will broadcast live and re-run multiple times on Contra Costa Television (CCTV) at www.contracostatv.org. CCTV can be found on Comcast Channel 27, Wave Channel 32, and AT&T U-Verse Channel 99 throughout Contra Costa County.

Viewers can share their own experiences or ask a question by calling into the program at (925) 313-1170, Facebook @Veteransvoices 1 or email veteransvoices@contracostatv.org

For more information about the program, show topic or to arrange interviews, including many Veterans who volunteer to work on this locally produced talk show for Veterans, contact County Veterans Service Officer, Nathan Johnson, at nathan@vs.cccounty.us or (925) 313-1481.

Our intention is to explore the process that turns military stories and experiences into published works, and perhaps inspire other Veterans to find a voice through writing. We want to invite you onto the show to be a participant in this conversation.

Mt Diablo lit Beacon. Photo by Clayton Worsdell

By funischeap.com

In honor of Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, we invite you to attend the annual “Eye of Diablo” beacon lighting ceremony to pay tribute to and honor our veterans, Saturday, Dec. 7 from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. Cost is free and the event will be held at Cal State East Bay – Concord Campus, 4700 Ygnacio Valley Road in Concord,

Every year since 1964, the Pearl Harbor survivors and their families have memorialized Pearl Harbor Day by relighting the historic Beacon atop Mount Diablo’s summit. When those who experienced Pearl Harbor are gone, the history is lost with them. That tragedy should never happen again, “Lest We Forget.”

“When that beacon light is turned on, that’s a tribute to those individuals that lost their lives at Pearl Harbor,” said Earl “Chuck” Kohler, Pearl Harbor Survivor

The Pearl Harbor Survivors and Save Mount Diablo are grateful for the assistance and support from Mount Diablo State Park, CCTV, California State University East Bay Concord Campus, Vietnam Helicopters Museum and the Sons & Daughters of Pearl Harbor Survivors.