In Memoriam Archives - Gold Coast Veterans Foundation

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September 8, 2020

Veterans: A Gold Star for Mom Shows a Painful Sacrifice

By Donna Lockwood, GCVF “Mobile Veteran Outreach” Support Specialist and Daughter of a Korean War Combat Veteran Kathryn Steffen, mother of Marine Gunnery Sgt. Diego Pongo of Simi Valley, received this memorial necklace on Mother’s Day. This necklace contains a Gold Star, topped with a glass purple bead with Diego’s portrait etched inside. Sgt. Pongo […]

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August 3, 2020

Veterans Column: Purple Heart Day for a Sacred Military Decoration

By Alexander G. Deraney, U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.) and GCVF “Mobile Veteran Outreach” Team Member During this unprecedented time of unrest, defined by a deadly and growing pandemic, powerful and pervasive social unrest, an uncertain economy and sharp political divisions, Americans could be excused for being distracted from the Nation’s observation of Purple Heart […]

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May 22, 2020

VA National Cemeteries to Commemorate Memorial Day

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs’ (VA) National Cemetery Administration (NCA) announced today it will commemorate Memorial Day this year with solemn wreath laying ceremonies. Another offering is a new online memorial feature allowing the public to pay tribute to Veterans interred in VA national cemeteries across the country. “This year, by necessity, will be different […]

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May 5, 2020

Veterans Column: Local Veterans of Foreign Wars Reflect on Memorial Day

Memorial Day 2020; Memorial Day; Moorpark Field of Valor, Moorpark Morning Rotary Club, Field of Valor Moorpark

Author: Vince Gangi, U.S. Air Force veteran and GCVF volunteer. In 1999, Congress selected May as Military Appreciation Month. Each year, the president issues a proclamation for Americans to take time to participate in an event to honor the men, women and families of the armed services past and present. May was chosen because of the […]

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March 26, 2020

Veterans Can Attend Virtual Events for National Vietnam War Veterans Day

National Vietnam War Veterans Day is March 29. Organizers canceled or postponed many events to slow the spread of COVID-19 through social distancing. Veterans are encouraged to stay connected and participate in virtual events. Here’s a list of some of those events. On VA Social Media For Veterans with a Facebook account, they can download […]

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March 11, 2020

Simi Valley Marine Diego Pongo Killed in Iraq Strike on ISIS Bastion

A highly decorated Simi Valley Marine known for his “larger-than-life” personality was killed during a mission against an Islamic State stronghold in north central Iraq, the Defense Department said Tuesday. Gunnery Sgt. Diego D. Pongo, a critical-skills operator from Simi Valley, and Capt. Moises A. Navas, a special operations officer from Germantown, Maryland, suffered fatal […]

December 7, 2018

Oldest US Military Survivor of Pearl Harbor Dies at Age 106

Ray Chavez, 106 and the oldest U.S. military veteran survivor of the attack on Pearl Harbor 77 years ago, has died. A resident of Poway, Calif., Chavez died in his sleep Wednesday. He had been suffering from pneumonia, said his daughter, Kathleen Chavez, according to Associated Press and San Francisco Chronicle reports. Daniel Martinez, chief […]

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October 3, 2018

Veterans Group Places Thousands of Flags on National Mall to Draw Attention to Suicide Crisis

WASHINGTON — Thousands of American flags filled a grassy expanse on the National Mall on Wednesday morning, each of them representing a veteran or a servicemember who died by suicide in 2018 so far. Maj. Sandra Lee Altamirano of the Army Reserve said she took military leave to help place the 5,520 U.S. flags. She recently lost […]

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September 21, 2018

Navy Cmdr. Killed During the Vietnam War Identified as Californian

Honoring Our Fallen: CalVet honors members of the U.S. Armed Forces who made the ultimate sacrifice for our great nation. Efforts continue to bring home those who went missing in action, including 72,906 American service members unaccounted for from World War II, 7,699 from the Korean War and 1,594 from the Vietnam War. Early last week, […]

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September 11, 2018

Trump Remembers 9/11 as “the Moment When America Fought Back”

NEW YORK — Americans looked back on 9/11 Tuesday with tears and somber tributes as President Donald Trump hailed “the moment when America fought back” on one of the hijacked planes used as weapons in the deadliest terror attack on U.S. soil. Victims’ relatives said prayers for their country, pleaded for national unity and pressed […]