Veterans were honored Wednesday at the Faces of Freedom Veterans Memorial in Atascadero.
Every year, hundreds of people gather at the memorial for both Veterans Day and Memorial Day.
Despite the pandemic, many people attended Wednesday’s ceremony to pay their respect for the men and women who have served in the armed forces.
Some of the vets on hand said it’s great to see how many people appreciate the sacrifices they’ve made.
“The fact that this community puts this on and comes together like this religious every single year, regardless of rain, heat, pandemic, it doesn’t matter, it’s amazing, and I’m so incredibly blessed to be a part of this,” said Leia Larson, Marine Corps veteran.
Navy veteran Al Fonzi said, “This is a place of healing. It’s not a war memorial, it’s a veterans memorial and we want people to understand that we honor the service of fallen veterans and everyone who’s ever served because we’re getting to be a smaller and smaller group.”
The site at 9029 Morro Road has been in place since 2008.
