“Every time you see someone who has served or is serving our country, just lean over and say ‘Thank you.’ That’s all most veterans need, and in most cases it will mean more than any medals they could have been awarded or were awarded,” said student trustee and veteran Felipe Grimaldo.

As the host of last Tuesday’s Veteran’s Day event at 11 a.m. on the Hill, he was one of the many who took the time to honor veterans and all the work they have done for our country.

He said, “We can never fully repay our debt of gratitude to the more than 650,000 American service members who died in battle or the 1.4 million who were wounded. We can, however, recognize and thank the more than 24 million veterans who are still living today.”

The event included speeches from members of the Student Veteran’s Club, veteran and homecoming queen Evie Mendoza, professor Dr. David Young, retiring of colors, poetry reading and something else that was considered extremely special by Grimaldo.

A few minutes before the event began, a helicopter flew over Falcon Square and continued to fly over to the backside of Cerritos College.

It was then confirmed by the commissioner of public affairs, David Cota, that the Army recruiting station dedicated that flight to Cerritos College.

Anthropology major Jesse Jode witnessed the flight and thought it was heartfelt.

“I think a simple thing like that reminds everyone of all the hard work and sacrifices by veterans that should be acknowledged and recognized everyday,” he said.

Members of the community were also involved in the Veteran’s Day event.

Dan Piedimonte has been collecting objects from that are used in the army for over 30 years.

He and Jerry Berry, who is also a veteran, contributed by bringing in their tanks and army objects collections to the campus.

“I think it is great that Cerritos Colleges takes the time to host this event,” said Piedimonte, “it shows it values all the efforts put in by veterans.”

Though this was only the second time the event was held, Grimaldo thinks it was a great turnout.

He said, “A lot of people showed up and showed great respect throughout the entire event. I think they also realized the importance of showing our gratitude to those who have sacrificed so much for us.”