Veterans Day ceremonies sprinkled the Pasadena, Whittier and San Gabriel Valley areas on Monday, bringing reflection on sacrifice.

Take Cathy Warner, who, on the heels of the nation’s presidential election, wanted to remind people who made it all possible.

The descendant of military men from America’s founding days, Warner recounted how her great-grandfather Richard Payson Dunn fought in the Battle of the Crater in Virginia during the Civil War.

Captured by Confederates, he later escaped and rejoined his unit in guarding the Lincoln White House. Cannon fire from the battle had deafened Dunn, who brought his family to settle in Whittier in 1920 and is one of the first veterans buried at Rose Hills.“Talk about the stories and share those stories with your family and thank all veterans, not just in our families, but those in our community, those in our state and those in our country,” said Warner, mayor pro tem of Whittier.

More than 300 people attended the Veterans Day ceremony at Whittier’s City Hall Monday. Guests were treated to doughnuts and coffee as they mingled with veterans in uniform or headgear announcing their service branch affiliations.

“I am here because this is my passion,” said Kathleen Lohran, CEO of Bridges 4 Heroes Inc., which does humanitarian work with homeless veterans.

“Many times, the hierarchy and bureaucracy that’s supposed to help veterans turns out to be their worst enemy,” she said. “No one reaches out to them so they lose all hope. We have a purpose to get homeless vets off the streets and bring back their dignity, bring back their life.”

Other Veterans Day celebrations were held in Alhambra, Baldwin Park, and West Covina. In Pasadena, Col. Juan M. Mora, chief of staff, 40th Infantry Division, led a “Yellow Ribbon” ceremony to honor the 2D Battalion 23D Marine Corps Regiment. The Condor Squadron flew over City Hall. The city of San Gabriel and the San Gabriel Veterans Memorial Coalition honored its veterans on Saturday.

Gilbert Palmer, 76, commander of the post, spent 42 years in the Armed Forces, enlisting in the U.S. Navy in 1968 and serving in Vietnam.

“I come from a whole family of veterans,” Palmer said. “I’ve never regretted serving. (To people here) I say be proud of your veterans. Salute them and ask them how they’re doing.”

Mayor Joe Vinatieri explained why children are always a vital element in the city’s Veterans Day ceremonies.

“From generation to generation, children need to understand that freedom is not free and they have to hear and learn why veterans are so important,” he said. “Our military ensures we can be out here in the beauty of this morning and enjoy the freedoms we have to talk and to go to church. It’s a hallmark of our community to say thank you to our veterans. It’s who we are.”

Teacher Shannon Carter, herself the mother of an Air Force veteran, brought her third, fourth and fifth graders from Hoover Elementary’s school choir.

“It is a very little thing for us to come on our day off and sing for you,” she told the assembly, before leading her group in a medley of Armed Forces anthems.

Army veteran Armando Ruiz said he couldn’t be more proud of his 9-year-old daughter Summer, who sang with the choir and sings the national anthem at events “everywhere,” her father said.

“I have a son serving in the Army now and 16 cousins who have served,” Ruiz said. “My father and uncles are veterans. What does it mean for me to be here? I am a proud American.”

City Councilmember Octavio Martinez told veterans “your service and sacrifice represent the best of us in America.” He exhorted the crowd to listen to veterans and their stories as a way to thank them. He also suggested everyone read, understand and memorize America’s founding documents.

For Sylvia Ramos, the day wasn’t so much about the premier of a city-produced documentary about her husband Jose. Top of mind for her was to thank all veterans and anyone who helps them, adding “Welcome home to each and every veteran here.”

Her late husband Jose Ramos made a mantra of that greeting. The Vietnam veteran championed the creation of “Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day” on March 29, signed into law by President Trump in 2017. Ramos’ hometown has honored him with a park memorial and a museum exhibit. The post office on Whittier’s Michigan Avenue was renamed in his honor in 2022. How to explain his passion for standing up for fellow veterans?

“He just had an easy way of relating with people,” his widow said. “I’d say to him, mi viejito, how do you do it? And it was just in him. I’m sure he is smiling down from heaven.”

For Warner, Veterans Day wouldn’t be complete without a trip to a gravesite in Rose Hills. She and her family will bring flags to plant on the ground. They will also wield some garden tools. She said the grass around their beloved veteran’s grave always needs tending.