Newsom’s Veterans Day Proclamation
Ahead of Veterans Day, Governor Gavin Newsom visited veterans receiving COVID-19 vaccines and flu shots at the West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs Medical Center, where he highlighted the state’s ongoing efforts to increase vaccination rates and promote booster shots for eligible populations and investments to address veterans’ homelessness.
Newsom was Thursday’s KVML “Newsmaker of the Day”.
Joined by U.S. Senator Alex Padilla, California Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Dr. Vito Imbasciani, and California Health and Human Services Agency Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly, the Governor also announced a $750,000 donation from Lennar Homes and Five Point Communities that will purchase 86 tiny homes for veterans on the West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs campus to help ensure that veterans have a safe and dignified place to live. Most of the veterans from the “Veterans Row” encampment at San Vicente and Wilshire recently moved onto the campus.
“California is home to over 1.6 million veterans, the most of any state in the nation. We’re continually working to ensure that our veterans and their families receive the resources and support they need and have earned many times over,” said Governor Newsom. “Thanks to a partnership between California, the VA and Los Angeles County, more veterans in the region have a safe place to go to receive mental health services and health care, including their COVID-19 vaccines. Vaccines are how we end this pandemic, and boosters are how we keep our immunity strong.”
The Governor today also issued a proclamation declaring November 11, 2021, as Veterans Day. The proclamation reads:
“On this day each year, we celebrate the men and women who answered the call to join the U.S. Armed Forces. Regardless of when or why they joined, or their branch of service, on Veterans Day we honor all who served.
Veterans Day represents a time-honored tribute that began more than a century ago as Armistice Day, and its meaning remains as important as ever. We honor the heroes, past and present, who defended this nation in World War I and II, the Korean, Vietnam, Persian Gulf, Iraq -and Afghanistan wars, and during peacetime.
Today and every day, we must demonstrate our gratitude for the tremendous sacrifices made to this nation by the approximately 19 million living Americans who served, including over 1.6 million Californians. These individuals continue to serve their communities as small business owners, civic leaders, first responders, volunteers, mentors and in countless other roles.
Our value as Americans should be measured, in no small part, by how we honor and respect the brave men and women who answered their nation’s call to defend our freedoms and way of life.
As communities across the state and nation show their love and support for our veterans today, let us reaffirm our commitment to honoring those who have served with the respect, care and gratitude they deeply deserve.
NOW THEREFORE I, GAVIN NEWSOM, Governor of the State of California, do hereby proclaim November 11, 2021, as “Veterans Day.”
The “Newsmaker of the Day” is heard every weekday morning at 6:45, 7:45 and 8:45 on AM 1450 and FM 102.7 KVML.
