Author Archives: Hannah Jaime

MOWW March Luncheon

Meet the fire experts blazing a trail in San Diego

On March 15, 2023, MOWW San Diego will be honored to hear from two fire captains dedicated to keeping San Diegans safe. These men of service have combatted municipal and wildland fires, they’ve worked alongside inmates on the fire lines and  been inserted via helicopter to battle ferocious flames. Captains Pascua and Cornette will open up about their impactful work and how you can support their efforts to keep our community safe.

MOWW San Diego March Luncheon
Where: San Diego Unified School District – Revere Center
6735 Gifford Way, Room 8, San Diego, CA 92111
Keynote Speakers: Capt. Brent Pascua & Capt. Michael Cornette
When: Wednesday, March. 15, 2023
Meet and Greet at 11:00 a.m.; Program 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Attire: Business casual
Open to the Public
Lunch: TBD
**RSVP required: Please contact COL Tim Swann at (858) 496-8203 or by email at tswann@sandi.net

Capt. Brent Pascua
CAL FIRE/San Diego County Fire


BACKGROUND: 
Brent Pascua is a Fire Captain with CAL FIRE/San Diego County Fire. He started his fire career in 2002 as a seasonal firefighter in San Diego and has worked at many fire stations throughout San Diego County. One of his favorite assignments was being a member of CAL FIRE Helitack, where he and his crew would be flown to wildland fires by helicopter and dropped off to fight the fire. He is currently serving in the Information Bureau, providing life safety information to communities throughout San Diego County. 

Capt. Michael Cornette
CAL FIRE/San Diego County Fire Information and Education Bureau


BACKGROUND: Michael Cornette currently serves as a Fire Captain in the CAL FIRE/San Diego County Fire Information and Education Bureau. Captain Cornette has worked in various locations throughout the State of California, including the gold country and central coast. He has also worked in a variety of programs ranging from municipal and wildland fire fighting to working with the inmate fire crews. Captain Cornette is a third-generation firefighter and started with CAL FIRE in 2006.

Honor Flight San Diego

By Holly Shaffner

Coming this spring – Honor Flight San Diego for WWII/Korea/Vietnam War Veterans and terminally ill Veterans from any era. The organization will fly 85 senior veterans on a three-day trip to Washington, D.C. to visit the memorials built for their service and to truly honor them for their service. The trip is planned for April 28-30, 2023, and a second trip is planned for Sept. 29-Oct. 1, 2023.

The Veterans will visit the WWII, Lincoln, Korea, Vietnam Memorials, the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps Memorials, and Changing of the Guard Ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, and women Veterans will visit the Military Women’s Memorial.

The trip is at no cost to the Veteran due to generous community supporters. Every Veteran is paired with a guardian/battle buddy who pays $900 to help offset the per person cost of the trip.

How can you help?

  • If you know a Veteran from WWII/Korea/Vietnam Wars, or a terminally ill veteran, please help them apply at: www.HonorFlightSanDiego.org. They can also call (800) 655-6997 to have a hard copy application sent to them.
  • Save the Date for Sunday, April 30 and Sunday, Oct. 1 to welcome them home at San Diego International Airport. There will be 800-1,000 people there to give our heroes the homecoming they deserve!
  • Share information about Mail Call to your community groups. The organization is collecting letters, cards, and notes for the Veterans going on the flight. Letters can be sent directly to: Donna Hester, 645 Front Street, Unit 614, San Diego, CA 92101. You can also contact Donna with questions or to request a letter pick up by emailing her: donna@thehesters.com or calling her cell: (619) 985-9729. Deadline to receive mail call for the spring flight is April 22nd.

Thank you for your support to get our SoCal Veterans on a “Trip of a Lifetime!”

National Vietnam War Veterans Day

If you served on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces (at any time) from November 1, 1955, to May 15, 1975, regardless of location, then this day is for you – National Vietnam War Veterans Day. 

Every year on March 29, our country gives a long overdue THANK YOU and honors Vietnam veterans, and their families, for their service and sacrifice. Many may ask, “Why March 29th?” This date is significant because it was March 29, 1973, when the United States Military Assistance Command, Vietnam was disestablished, and the day the last U.S. combat troops departed Vietnam. Also, on and around this same day Hanoi released the last of its acknowledged prisoners of war. 

Our nation can never forget the 58,000+ service members whose names are memorialized on the Vietnam Wall, or the 1,500+ service members who remain missing and unaccounted for. 

The Department of Veterans Affairs estimates there are more than 7 million U.S. Vietnam veterans living in America and abroad. Whether you served in-country, in-theater, or were stationed elsewhere during the Vietnam War period, you were called to serve your country.

Here in San Diego County, it is estimated that approximately 60,000 Vietnam Veterans live among us. We should thank our veterans every day for defending our freedoms, but especially on this day, this generation of American men and women deserve two words – Thank you!

Please join us at Miramar National Cemetery on March 29th at 9 a.m. for a special ceremony to truly say thank you to you and your family. While you are on the cemetery grounds, please visit the new Vietnam Veterans Memorial on our Memorial Walkway.  

Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans, Welcome Home!