The Royal Neighbors Riverbank Chapter once again hosted its annual veterans luncheon this past Saturday, Nov. 6 at the Veterans Foundation of Stanislaus County in Modesto. The luncheon was well attended with 185 guests from all branches of the military.
“We had a pretty good showing,” stated Diane Talbert, Royal Neighbors Treasurer. “It was great to see all of their faces. We missed getting to see them in 2020.”
This would have been their 14th year but due to COVID the luncheon was canceled in 2020. They were able to resume this year making it the 13th year that the free lunch has been provided to veterans as a thank you for their service and sacrifice.
Talbert is an advocate for veterans and she looks forward to hosting the event each year. O’Brien’s Market catered the event serving up tri-tip, chicken Marsala, scalloped potatoes, a variety of salads, and fruit cobbler with ice cream for dessert.
“It was just a good day to see everybody,” said Talbert. “There were a lot of the guys that have been there since the very beginning in 2007. We look forward to putting it on and we were not able to last year so something was missing.”
The Marine Corps League Honor Guard presented the colors and there was an invocation delivered. Each veteran received a coffee mug.
“We were glad to have it,” added Talbert. “We had a great crowd. There were quite a few from our very first one in 2007. It is always nice to see and a few new ones too. Seeing all the camaraderie from all the veterans is always a highlight.”
The event was held for many years in Riverbank at the city’s community center. Now it has relocated to Modesto and there were several volunteers on hand to help make the event a success.
Veterans Day is a federal holiday observed in the United States on Nov. 11 to honor military veterans.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, Nov. 11 an observance of Veterans Day will occur at the Veterans Memorial Wall in front of the community center, 3600 Santa Fe. A special monument and plaques on the memorial wall recognize the service and sacrifice of service men and women from the area.
Veterans Day is distinct from Memorial Day, a U.S. public holiday in May. Veterans Day celebrates the service of all U.S. military veterans, while Memorial Day honors those who died while in military service. Veterans Day (originally known as Armistice Day) is a federal holiday in the United States observed annually on November 11, for honoring military veterans. It coincides with other holidays including Armistice Day and Remembrance Day which are celebrated in other countries that mark the anniversary of the end of World War I. Major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 when the Armistice with Germany went into effect. At the urging of major U.S. veteran organizations, Armistice Day was renamed Veterans Day in 1954.
News Correspondent Ric McGinnis contributed to this report.
