Santa Monica Moves Its Veterans Day Ceremony to a Beach Parking Lot

The 11 a.m. ceremony at Beach Parking Lot 4 brings a Chinook and C-130 flyover and free Pacific Park rides for veterans.

A Chinook helicopter and a C-130 transport plane are set to fly over a Santa Monica beach parking lot Wednesday morning. Back in 2020, the Veterans Day ceremony they're flying for was a private gathering at the city's veterans memorial.

Now in its seventh year, the ceremony moves to Beach Parking Lot 4, between Santa Monica Beach and Crescent Bay Park, the Santa Monica Daily Press reported Monday. The city and the U.S. Army are co-hosting. The ceremony runs from 11 a.m. to noon, with music until 1 p.m., according to the city's Oct. 29 announcement. Coulson Aviation is supplying the aircraft.

The speaker list is a big step up from a private gathering. Gen. Ronald P. Clark, commanding general of the U.S. Army, gives the keynote, and Medal of Honor recipient Gary Littrell is set to speak. Pacific Park is handing out free ride tickets to veterans and active military, and Meals on Wheels is feeding them at no charge. Yo! Venice reported that the meals are boxed lunches and the rides are on the Santa Monica Pier.

Near the end, Maj. Gen. Shane Buzza of the 63rd Readiness Division is set to swear in a group of future soldiers, on the day set aside for the ones who already served. Sonki Hong, who put the event together and once served as a civilian aide to the Army's secretary, said in the city's announcement that he wants the day to "inspire future generations."

Source: smdp.com, retrieved November 10, 2026. Other sources: santamonica.gov, yovenice.com.