City of Menifee holds event to honor Vietnam veterans
Vietnam veteran Joseph Quinn addresses the audience at Wednesday's event at Paloma Valley High School. Story and photos by Kelvin Portil...
Story and photos by Kelvin Portillo, Correspondent
The City of Menifee held a “Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans” event recognizing the valiant efforts of the men and women who fought in the Vietnam war on Wednesday at Paloma Valley High School.
The event, which was open to the public, included several notable speakers and presentations that honored all U.S. military service branches. Hosted in collaboration with the students and organizations of Paloma Valley High School, it brought a few hundred people in attendance, most of whom were veterans. Honorees received a gift bag with a challenge coin and a commemorative dog tag.
Mayor Pro Tem Dean Deines, a veteran, had the idea to propose the event on the Menifee City Council agenda on Feb. 2 and said:
“I was alive to witness the Vietnam War and saw the aftermath and what our returning veterans endured when they came home, so this is a really big deal. There are are a lot of Vietnam veterans in the city and it’s time they are honored.”
Keynote speaker Lt. Joseph Quinn eloquently regaled the audience with stories about his time served in the war and his grasp of the importance of the Vietnam war.
“To me this is what Vietnam is about: stopping the expansion of a political structure whose value does not include such words as human freedom, human dignity, religious freedom, and value to the individual,” Quinn said.
High praise was received from all honorees about a day dedicated to their efforts and sacrifices. From Veterans of Foreign Wars to members of the Menifee Fire department, every community member shared the same sentiment of honoring those who sacrificed so much, so long ago.
