Veterans Honoring Veterans
Renaissance Villages celebrated the Riverside National Cemetary Memorial Honor Detail, consisting of veterans representing all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces. Over 150 veterans, local community members and political leaders attended this event. We celebrated these veterans with a presentation at our soon-to-be-completed luxury senior living. We estimate that Renaissance Village Rancho Belago will open in October. With a goal of honoring veterans, we presented on creating awareness for the importance of volunteerism in the community.
The proceedings kicked off with the troops marching in lockstep to present the colors. In addition, they raised the first U.S. Flag over the new community. Forty (40+) military veterans took part in the ceremony. More than 35,000 deceased veterans at the Riverside National Cemetary receive honor from the all-volunteer Memorial Honor Detail. Most important, they do it at no charge, which they’ve done since the group’s inception in 1996.
Master Gunnery Sergeant Dan Smith, and chairman of the honor detail believes it is important to continue honoring deceased veterans. “All the men and women we do military honors for gave all that they had. We have volunteers right now, some as old as 95 years old.”
Earlier, Smith presented Al Rattan, President of Continental East Development, with the Challenge Coin. This is an honor from the United States Marines, indicating Rattan and the Renaissance team are “part of the unity,” and valued partners.
The Importance of Volunteering
During the opening remarks, Rattan spoke of his son, an active Army Captain serving in Afghanistan. He also mentioned his own 28 years of service as a volunteer sworn reserve investigator deputy sheriff with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. Al also cited the volunteer spirit as exemplified by the Memorial Honor Detail.
“What’s interesting is that all of these men have served actively in the service. And here, even in their senior years, they’re showing up in uniform,” Rattan said. “When families need their services, most of them are not aware that it’s absolutely free. So, we want to get them out here today to raise our first flag here at Renaissance.”
Rattan described the “Renaissance Lifestyle,” which includes an active and engaging lifestyle for seniors. However, this also includes the important aspect of volunteerism for all ages and abilities.
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