{"id":247371,"date":"2014-06-06T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-06-06T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdnews.com\/the-center-holds-memorial-day-ceremony-at-pride-flag\/"},"modified":"2014-06-06T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2014-06-06T07:00:00","slug":"the-center-holds-memorial-day-ceremony-at-pride-flag","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/the-center-holds-memorial-day-ceremony-at-pride-flag\/","title":{"rendered":"El Centro celebra la ceremonia del D\u00eda de los Ca\u00eddos en Pride Flag"},"content":{"rendered":"

Michael gr\u00faa | Noticias de la zona alta<\/p>\n

More than just a three-day weekend and the unofficial start to summer, Memorial Day is the time to remember the hundreds of thousands who gave the ultimate sacrifice to defend American freedoms. That remembrance was made a little more complete this year when the San Diego LGBT Community Center hosted the first Memorial Day ceremony at the Hillcrest Pride Flag. <\/p>\n

Active service members, veterans and local civilians gathered at the intersection of University Avenue and Normal Street for the short ceremony on May 26, which was coordinated by The Center and the San Diego County Office of Veterans Services. Veterans reflected on comrades who never made it home and spoke on the importance of honoring their memory every year.<\/p>\n

\"Vietnam<\/a>
Vietnam veteran and Normal Heights resident Frank Salerno speaks at the Memorial Day ceremony. (Photo by Michael Crane)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The military\u2019s long ban on LGBT service members was still fresh in the minds of those who attended.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t really care why everyone thought we should be there, we cared that we were there, and that our comrades were there, that our brothers were there,\u201d said Sean McHugh, a hospital corpsman in the Navy who served multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. \u201cThat\u2019s the reason I was there. I know that when I\u2019m there, it\u2019s the guy next to me that I really care about.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since the controversial \u201cdon\u2019t ask don\u2019t tell\u201d policy was repealed in September of 2011, giving gays and lesbians the authority to finally serve openly, the LGBT Center has worked with the County Veterans Service Office to honor veterans in the community and help them apply for benefits.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Don\u2019t ask don\u2019t tell\u2019 was [17] years long, so it\u2019s kind of like unraveling the things we couldn\u2019t celebrate before,\u201d said Sean Sala, an Iraq War veteran who helped organize the event. \u201cWe couldn\u2019t march in Pride parades, we couldn\u2019t be open about ourselves, or our spouses \u2026 and we couldn\u2019t stand in front of a rainbow flag monument and honor service members on Memorial Day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Jordan Reckmann sang \u201cThe Star-Spangled Banner\u201d to open the ceremony, and he was followed by retired Air Force Master Sgt. Frank Salerno, who shared his story of being shipped off to Vietnam when he was 18 years old. Salerno recalled the loss of close friends and comrades, as well as the hostile welcome he encountered upon returning to the U.S.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you see a Vietnam veteran walking around homeless, remember that they were young and confused when they came back, because certainly when we came back, we were not welcomed,\u201d Salerno said. \u201cTalk about going into another double closet. I did. We were not welcomed at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

County Veterans Service Officer Tom Splitgerber recalled his time as a dental officer in the Navy and of the patients he lost in the Vietnam War. He also spoke on the importance of raising awareness about getting veterans the help they need. According to Sala, only 20 percent of veterans living in San Diego apply for their benefits.<\/p>\n

\"Sean<\/a>
Sean Sala (foreground) listens as Navy MA2 Jordan Reckmann (center) sings \u201cThe Star Spangled Banner\u201d at a Memorial Day ceremony hosted by the San Diego LGBT Community Center.
(Photo by Michael Crane)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cFor the prisoners of war, those forgotten and those we will never know, our duty today is to remember them and to care for our war-torn veterans, and to the numerous people who have lost friends to PTSD,\u201d Sala said. \u201cWe owe them, because although there are many people returning from war right now, 22 veterans a day commit suicide. In 2013, that was a higher number than the casualties in Afghanistan.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sala said he hopes the Memorial Day ceremony will become an annual event like The Center\u2019s LGBT Veteran\u2019s Wall of Honor ceremony, which takes place in November near Veterans Day. He said he will also be involved with a Sept. 6 workshop presented by The Center and the County\u2019s Veterans Service Office, which will assist veterans in applying for their benefits.<\/p>\n

\u201cI truly believe there\u2019s no better way to honor those who have fallen than to make sure our veterans are taken care of,\u201d said Sala. \u201cThose who have passed on can\u2019t speak, but they are speaking. They are speaking today.\u201d<\/p>\n

To learn more about the LGBT Center\u2019s programs for veterans, visit thecentersd.org. The San Diego County Veterans Service Office can be reached at 858-694-3222.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Michael Crane |\u00a0Uptown News More than just a three-day weekend and the unofficial start to summer, Memorial Day is the time to remember the hundreds of thousands who gave the ultimate sacrifice to defend American freedoms. That remembrance was made a little more complete this year when the San Diego LGBT Community Center hosted the […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1375,"featured_media":247372,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11555","_seopress_titles_title":"The Center holds Memorial Day ceremony at Pride Flag","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11547,11551,11555],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-247371","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","category-news","category-uptown-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247371","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1375"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=247371"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247371\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/247372"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=247371"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=247371"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=247371"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}