A Veterans Day ceremony will be held at the Santa Monica Pier and hosted by Post 283.
Veterans Day, November 11, will be the site of a super celebration hosted by Post 283 at the Santa Monica Pier. This will serve as the launch for Ronald Reagan American Legion Post 283 national Alumni Ambassador campaign. The event will start at 11 a.m.
Bring the entire family to the pier, there is free parking for those attending the event. There will be free passes to ride the amusement park rides and roller coaster for children attending.
There will be a Blackhawk/Chinook flyorver and a Humvee/JLTV convoy.
The West Point Drill Team will perform, and music will be provided by the 300th Army Band.
General Andrew Poppas
General Andrew Poppas will be the distinguished guest speaker. He became the 24th commander of United States Army Forces Command, Fort Liberty, N.C., on July 8, 2022. As commander of the U.S. Army’s largest organization, he commands 212,000 active-component soldiers and 174,000 members of the U.S. Army Reserve, while also providing training and readiness oversight to the Army National Guard. In total, the Forces Command team includes more than 710,000 soldiers and 13,000 civilians.
In addition to his Bachelor of Science degree in National Security Affairs from the U.S. Military Academy, Poppas holds a Master of Science degree in Occupational Education from Kansas State University. He is also a graduate of the Defense Language Institute, the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, and a fellowship at Harvard University.
Also speaking will be former NFL star Andrew Whitworth. An offensive tackle, he played 11 seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals and five with the Los Angeles Rams. He retired in 2022, as the oldest tackle in NFL history and was the oldest offensive lineman to win a Super Bowl. The 40-year-old was part of the Rams team that defeated the Bengels 23-20 in Super Bowl LVI.
After retiring in 2022, Whitworth joined Amazon’s Thursday Night Football crew as an analyst.
Former NFL Rams player Andrew Whitworth.
Former Post 283 Commander Jim Cragg said, “This will be an epic event in an iconic location that will honor our veterans and soldiers. “
After the ceremony, 95.5 KLOS DJs/singers will provide entertainment.
“We want everyone in attendance to not only realize how great our military is but also be ever so proud to be associated with the greatest team in the world,” Cragg said. “This is a great way to uplift and elevate the public’s perception of our veterans.”