WHAT: Honoring Senior Chief Petty Officer Kenton Stacy, EOD Technician, Purple Heart and Bronze Star Recipient
WHEN: Veterans Day, Monday, 11 November 2019, 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm.
WHERE: Mt. Soledad National Veterans Memorial, 6905 La Jolla Scenic Drive South, La Jolla, CA 92037.
WHY: The premiere Veterans Day ceremony in San Diego County. The Mt. Soledad National Veterans Memorial continues its mission of honoring veterans alive and those who have passed, who have proudly served their country to help preserve the freedoms we enjoy as Americans.
SPECIAL PLAQUE HONOREE:
Senior Chief Petty Officer Kenton Stacy, volunteered in the United States Navy and chose one of the most demanding and dangerous military occupational specialties to save others as an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Technician. After over fifty combat missions, an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) detonated and severely injuring Kenton in 2017 in Syria. When Kenton was injured, word spread quickly, especially in the Navy EOD community, and commanders assigned someone to be there with him in his hospital room. Every day. Kenton has received numerous awards for his service including a Purple Heart, two Bronze Star Medals, and three Navy Achievement Medals and proud to have been named the 2010 USO Sailor of the Year. His inspiration to his sailors, and to our San Diego community, make us proud to honor him, his family, and his Navy brethren this Veterans Day.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER:
Captain Oscar Rojas, assumed duties as Commodore, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group One in January 2019. He was raised in Dumas, Texas, and enlisted in the Navy as a Hospital Corpsman in June 1990. Captain Rojas’ shore tours include Joint Special Operations Command where he served as the EOD Branch Chief; Deputy Branch Chief for Expeditionary Warfare on the CNO Navy Staff; and most recently as the Director, Joint Special Operations Command Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Coordination Cell. Captain Rojas has earned the designation of Master Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician, Deep Sea Dive Officer, Naval Freefall Parachutist, and Surface Warfare Officer.
ABOUT MT SOLEDAD NATIONAL VETERANS MEMORIAL:
The Mt. Soledad National Veterans Memorial is one of the most unique veterans’ memorials in the United States and stands high on La Jolla’s Mt. Soledad, offering panoramic views of San Diego, the Laguna mountains, the Pacific Ocean and Mexico. It is the only Memorial that honors veterans, living or deceased, from the Revolutionary War to the current war on terrorism, with an image of the veteran. More than 5,200 individual veteran tributes, embedded on black granite plaques, are mounted onto 11 curved walls honoring our United States veterans. The Mt. Soledad National Veterans Memorial was originally conceived in 1952 by American Legion Post 275 of La Jolla, California. Annual ceremonies feature many amazing presentations and performances including: live music by Marine Band San Diego, the Marine Recruit Depot (MCRD) Color Guard presentation of the colors, and the Missing Man Formation Fly Over conducted by aircraft from the San Diego Salute Formation Team.
The Mt. Soledad National Veterans Memorial is located at 6905 La Jolla Scenic Drive South, La Jolla, CA 92037 and is open daily from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
(858) 459-2314
