Guess where I was on Saturday evening, Nov. 5, six days before Veterans Day.
You got it—hobnobbing with the military at the 20th annual Pierre Claeyssens Veterans Foundation (PCVF) Military Ball, at the Fess Parker Resort in Santa Barbara.
Seven hundred guests filled the hotel’s humongous ballroom. I hobnobbed amid a sea of spiffy uniforms bedecked with so many medals and so much gold braid. Be still, my patriotic heart.
This gala attracts service people on active duty along with members of the Reserves and the National Guard, and retirees.
There were people from all points on the age spectrum: young, old, and in between.
At this particular event, the PCVF paid homage to a recent Medal of Honor winner, retired Army Capt. Florent Groberg, who was bestowed with the nation’s highest accolade at the White House in November 2015, for heroism in Afghanistan.
As part of the program celebrating the military, the 33-year-old Groberg gave the keynote speech. During his engaging talk, the charismatic captain turned to the tables of ROTC cadets from UCSB and told them that it was a great honor for him to have worn the U.S. military uniform and to have served his country.
It was my pleasure to join Capt. Groberg and several others on the dance floor—this was not cheek-to-cheek stuff, just general freelance moving about and having a mini-workout. But still, whoever thought I would have been dancing with a Medal of Honor winner?
The night was chock full of tidbits of interesting information and chatter. Thank goodness I know an admiral from a general and a swabbie from a Seabee.
I spoke with two young women stationed with the Navy at Port Hueneme, and a former Marine who had been in Kuwait. I chatted with two women in Air Force blue, then said hello to a gent with gray hair—he had been in the Merchant Marines. I spoke with a young man who is captain of a Coast Guard vessel stationed in Santa Barbara.
Marines were all over the place and hard to miss. I talked to two Marine sergeants and a retired Marine Corps brigadier general.
I said hello to two young Marines who are stationed at Twenty-Nine Palms (a U.S. Marine Corps base), and to a fellow wearing an Army cavalry hat.
Everyone I talked to called me “ma’am.” It must be my new name.
The only North County people that I spied during the evening were Sheriff Bill Brown, Donna Brown, supervisorial candidate and West Point grad Bruce Porter, Janette Porter, the Firestones, and the Chumash’s Kenneth Kahn.
Kate Firestone and her daughter, PCPA actress Polly Firestone Walker, were at a table with family patriarch, Army veteran Brooks Firestone, who received the Generations of Service Award. Brooks’ and Kate’s son and grandson served in the Marines.
The event began at 5:30 p.m. with complimentary champagne and wine and serious schmoozing. At 10:15 p.m., the crowd started to thin out, but there were still diehards on the dance floor enjoying the music of the Art Deco Orchestra.
Dinner was worth the trip down the freeway: filet mignon with three grilled shrimp, white asparagus, spinach, and a tasty risotto. Dessert was crème anglaise in a pastry cup with fruit.
Happy Veterans Day to all.
If you want to hobnob with Helen, you may contact her at helenthom232@yahoo.com.
This article appears in Nov 10-17, 2016.
