Outdoor
Film series honors veterans
By Ryan Ritchie
On-line Forty-Niner
The
Long Beach Outdoor Film Series took on a
new meaning Friday evening when emcee Gen.
Richard Pierce took the stage.
With the Queen Mary prominently in the background,
Pierce took on the persona of Gen. George
S. Patton to lead the audience through a
tribute to those who dedicate their life
to protecting and defending the United States.
Authentic cars from the World War II era
and a replica of the USS Nevada were on
display, but the stars of the show were
the veterans, firefighters and police officers
from across the United States.
The sun made it difficult to see the five-woman
hula dance team known as the Hula Dreams
start the show. The women seemed a bit out
of place until Pierce explained this was
a pleasant reminder for soldiers who served
in Hawaii during Pearl Harbor.
Pierce began his speech by explaining the
“quiet heroes” of our nation. These are
“people who do their jobs without notoriety,”
Pierce said. He added that quiet heroes
want respect, not awards or medals.
As the sun set, Pierce emphasized the importance
of not discriminating against all Muslims
or Arabs like the U.S. government did to
Japanese-Americans during World War II.
The urgency in Pierce’s voice was met with
applause and cheers from the crowd.
With the sun now out of sight, the stars
in the sky and on stage emerged together
to bring the ceremony’s most touching tributes.
A few veterans made brief speeches and Pierce
read short bios of the people on stage.
Soldiers from World War II were applauded,
as was a firefighter originally from New
York but now working in Long Beach who has
returned to ground zero numerous times since
Sept. 11, 2001 to help in any way he can.
The loudest cheers of the night were for
the police officers who arrived at a Top
Valu market in Long Beach last May when
a gunman started shooting innocent victims,
killing two and wounding four others.
Pierce became visibly emotional when the
bios of the people on stage came to an end.
Two seats were left unoccupied and Pierce
had to pause and regroup when explaining
the meaning behind it. The first empty chair
symbolized the victims of Sept. 11, and
the other was for POWs and MIAs, Pierce
said.
Bruce Willis, a volunteer from the Fort
MacArthur Museum Association in San Pedro,
was on hand dressed in military fatigue
that soldiers would have been wearing while
not on duty around the time of the Pearl
Harbor attack. He said the night’s turnout
was good and was surprised at the number
of young people in the audience.
“It’s easy to get older folks here,” Willis
said.
The first part of the evening ended with
three men cutting a cake that said “United
We Stand” with a saber. Pierce told the
audience the slices would be for sale and
encouraged them to “eat their way into American
history.”
The events continued with a big screen showing
of the movie “Pearl Harbor.”
Organizers said the turnout for the evening
was good and said they expect a large crowd
on Friday when the movie “Shrek” will conclude
this summer’s Long Beach Outdoor Film Series.
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