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# Santa Monica honors veterans with beachside ceremony
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/santa-monica-honors-veterans-with-beachside-ceremony/
- Published: 2026-11-12T00:25:49.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-12T08:09:31.000Z
- Author: Gabe Kaplan
- Tags: #socials, Events

Santa Monica held its seventh annual Veterans Day ceremony Wednesday, where veterans, service members, families and neighbors gathered to honor those who have served.

The city and the U.S. Army hosted the event, which moved this year from the Santa Monica Pier to Beach Parking Lot 4 between Santa Monica Beach and Crescent Bay Park.

During the ceremony, SMFD, SMPD and Army vehicles were parked in the lot. Children climbed into the cabs and stood in the cargo beds as soldiers and parents stood guard.

![Children play in a M1083 Medium Tactical Vehicle](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/11/DSC02104-1.JPG)

Source: Gabe Kaplan

The program included: a posting of the colors by the U.S. Army Los Angeles Recruiting Battalion; the national anthem by Rora Wilde; remarks from Mayor Caroline Torosis, Maj. Gen. Dianne Del Rosso, deputy chief of Army Reserve, and Medal of Honor recipient Gary Littrell; and a Chinook and C-130 flyover.

City Councilmember Dan Hall, a former Army captain and Apache helicopter pilot, gave the opening remarks and introduced the keynote speaker, Gen. Ronald P. Clark, commanding general of U.S. Army Pacific.

![Gen. Ronald P. Clark, commanding general of U.S. Army Pacific.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/11/DSC02108-1.JPG)

Source: Gabe Kaplan

In his speech, Clark said he had been at West Point while Hall was a cadet there, and joked that now that Hall would be mayor and he, a 4-star general, “things turned out all right.”

For Dan Hall, the ceremony’s highlight is the swearing-in of future soldiers. This year it was led by Maj. Gen. Shane Buzza, commanding general of the 63rd Readiness Division.

Music and entertainment followed the ceremony until approximately 1 p.m.

Watch the video recap on our social media: