Murrieta Veterans Day Parade: Region Gathers to Pay Tribute

Thousands of southwest Riverside County residents—young and old—saluted veterans and active military Monday by either taking part in or watching the City of Murrieta’s 11th Annual Veterans Day Parade.

There were 67 entries in the 90-minute parade that started at Ivy Street and made its way along Washington Avenue to B Street, toward Town Square Park where 2,013 American flags waved under the Southern California sun for the Rotary Club of Murrieta’s Fifth Annual weeklong Field of Honor.

With an estimated crowd between 10,000 and 15,000, parking was filled to capacity as the 10 a.m. start of the event was signaled with a flyover by four Beechcraft T-34 Mentor airplanes flown by the San Diego Warbirds.

Parade-goers dressed in red, white and blue waved their flags and cheered for entries that included marching bands and Junior ROTC groups from Temecula and Murrieta high schools, Young Marines, Girls Scouts, Boy Scouts, local Veterans groups, local organizations and many more.

“I love this, it feels like such community. It’s beautiful,” said local resident Amber Barcenas, who sat watching the parade with her husband, Marine 1st Sgt. Anthony Barcenas and their two children. They are new to the community, having moved here about one year ago from San Diego.

Sgt. Barcenas, who stood at attention in full uniform, took a moment to share with Patch what Veterans Day means to him.

“I love doing what I’m doing, I love protecting our freedom,” said Barcenas, a 22-year veteran of the Marine Corps. “I feel it’s important as an American to be able to do your part, especially because I was not born here. I was born in Mexico but I moved here when I was 2 years old. I have been very proud of what America has offered and the only way I can pay it back, I feel, is serving what I consider my country.”

The grand marshal of the parade, Army Command Sgt. Major Hideshi Sasaki, is another veteran to have served the country proud. The Murrieta resident retired in 2008 after 25 years of service, including during Operation Iraqi Freedom. He earned numerous awards and decorations, including a Bronze Star.

Local elected officials such as Congressman Ken Calvert, R-Corona, Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez, R-Lake Elsinore, Riverside County Third District Supervisor Jeff Stone and Murrieta City Council members were also part of the parade.

“Veterans are such an integral part of our community,” said Murrieta Mayor Pro Tem Kelly Bennett, who drove a convertible car that carried Riverside County Superior Court Judge Mark Johnson, a retired Army colonel.

Bennett explained that the Council’s tradition for several years has been to honor local veterans by driving them along the parade route. Bennett, an attorney, further explained that Judge Johnson oversees a program that helps veterans navigate the court system.

“It was an honor for us to have him here today,” she said.

Bennett and Murrieta Mayor Rick Gibbs both marveled at the number of young participants in Monday’s parade, saying it was important for them to be involved.

“We feel, at least at the level of city government, that it is important to properly educate our youth as to what constitutes a high level of service and part of that is honoring those who have come before us,” Bennett said. “So it is extraordinarily important to us here, to honor and point out the wonderful examples of leadership for our nation that we have right here in our own town.”

As Council members prepared to walk to Town Square Park for the dedication of the new Murrieta Veterans Memorial Garden, Gibbs said Monday’s participation level showed that southwest Riverside County is similar to a “Midwestern community.”

“There are family values here, strong patriotic values and a sense of the history of what it all means,” Gibbs said. “This is about honoring those who have served, honoring those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, and conveying to our children and grandchildren that freedom is not free and hoping to instill a sense of patriotism throughout our community.

“I think you can see from all the young girls and boys in this parade that it is there and it comes out just loud and clear that this is a patriotic community.

“In four decades from now, some of these 5 and 6 year olds you saw out here today will be the leadership and hopefully we have given them a grounding of what it is to be an American.”

Of Note: 

The Murrieta Valley High School Crimson Cadets Marching Band and Color Guard—scheduled to perform in Washington D.C. on Memorial Day weekend 2014—performed at Town Square Park following the parade and for the dedication of the Murrieta Veterans Memorial Garden. Supervisor Jeff Stone allotted $10,000 in community block grant monies to help cover the cost of the group's trip to Washington D.C.

The Murrieta Veterans Memorial Garden, dedicated Monday, is a place where honorably discharged United States military veteran or current, active-duty United States military member in good standing can be honored through the purchase of a brick or a glazed tile, which will be placed in a designated location within the Honor Garden of the Veterans Memorial. For more information, visit the City of Murrieta website.