Manteca's Memorial Day event returns for first time since 2019
It's been since 2019 when the last Manteca Memorial Weekend Commemoration was held. It's being called the largest Memorial Day event west of the Mississippi, and it took a community effort to get this back up and running.
The community staple in Manteca on Memorial Day weekend was gone during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
"This event was one of the biggest events on the West Coast and when it went away, it was really sad for people because we're a very patriotic community," Regina Lackey, U.S. Air Force veteran and Manteca resident, said.
U.S. Army veteran and American Legion Post 249 Foundation board chairman Jeffrey Aksland was born and raised in Manteca. He and a group of around 500 volunteers linked arms to bring their community staple event back after it used to be led by a church group and Vietnam veteran, Pastor Mike Dillman, who then retired.
"Mike and I laugh, it's a young man's sport," Aksland said. "So, with his blessing, and we talked about it, he was happy to see us come and start this up again and bring this event back to the community."
One of the community projects started up by Pastor Dillman was a memorial cross display. This year, Aksland said volunteers placed 845 crosses, signifying the 764 Californians who died in the war on terror, with red poppies honoring the 66 from Manteca with 21 blue poppies honoring women who died in combat. In the middle, contractor Mike DeGroot built a replica of the Argonne cross in Arlington, while another contractor, Dave Uecker, built a flag stand for the three flags waving above the crosses.
Aksland said they expected about 15-20 people to help them put the crosses in, but they ended up with around 80 volunteers.
"It means so much because nobody's forgotten if we're remembering them," Aksland said. "You can't be forgotten if people remember you. I didn't know them, but I'm not forgetting them and neither will anybody else when we're doing this."
There's also a legacy project, where Lackey said they honor every war era from World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Global War on Terrorism, playing interviews of veterans from those war eras and giving a copy to their families. Lackey, who also serves as the city's vice mayor, was interviewed for her experience as a US Air Force veteran.
"What an honor it is to be a part of this history and to know that I'm able to be part of this community that we gave everything and this weekend is for those that gave everything," Lackey said. "We're going to be honoring our Gold Star families tomorrow morning with a breakfast.
And it's going to be solemn tomorrow, as it should be. I was privileged to be able to come home. Many, many weren't. As you can see, more than 31,000 wounded, 4,400 killed in the War on Terrorism."
On Memorial Day morning, there will be a sunrise prayer service at 6 a.m., a plane flyover, a color guard presenting the national flag, a U.S. Army band performance, and calling out the names of fallen heroes.
Along with a portion replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, there were banners honoring fallen heroes from Manteca, along with a Patriot Pavilion, where veterans can get health services, mental health services, and can adopt a pet. There are also food truck vendors, games and rides for kids, live bands, and a massive car show on Sunday.
Manteca Mayor Gary Singh said between 20,000 and 30,000 people showed up after a year of planning to bring this back to their city, as they don't want to forget what Memorial Day is all about.
"I have a special heart for a lot of our veterans," Mayor Singh said. "We are a patriotic city and it was very important for us to make sure that we don't forget, not just our soldiers and veterans, but also those that unfortunately, have lost their lives for us."