Annual Veterans Day Gathering at Santa Barbara Cemetery

The annual Santa Barbara community Veterans Day Ceremony will be hosted by Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1649 and Pierre Claeyssens Veterans Foundation on Saturday, November 11, at the beautiful Santa Barbara Cemetery, located at 901 Channel Drive. 

An outdoor ceremony, it will begin with a flyover by the Condor Squadron at 11 a.m. sharp. That will be followed by presentations and performances by the UCSB Color Guard, Gold Coast Pipe & Drum Band, David Gonzales and the Santa Barbara Choral Society, The Prime Time Band, and local guest speakers.

The driveway of the cemetery will be decorated with dozens of American flags and the ceremony will take place near the main flagpole, with seating available for up to 500. There will also be additional standing room and plenty of parking, according to the organizers. 

Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1649 was established to assist veterans, and its mission is to foster camaraderie among U.S. veterans of overseas conflicts and to serve our veterans, the military, and our communities and advocate on behalf of all veterans. 

The other organizing group, Pierre Claeyssens Veterans Foundation, is funded entirely by private donations and is committed to honoring the men and women who have served in U.S. military efforts. They accomplish this by supporting veterans and active-duty members, and related partner organizations in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties as well as preserving military history and legacy. 

Veterans Day, which celebrates the service of all U.S. military veterans, was originally known as Armistice Day in the U.S. and is a national holiday that coincides with other holidays including Armistice Day and Remembrance Day, which are celebrated in other countries that mark the anniversary of the end of World War I. 

For more information about the Santa Barbara ceremony, see pcvf.org.