We are grateful to the Place of Refuge Church and the Welcome Home Heroes Foundation for the excellent celebrations they put on each year to honor our heroes. This is the biggest Memorial Day celebration on the west coast and they want to dedicate this year’s event to Mark.
The irony is they first decided they wanted to honor Mark, and then found out he served as a full time missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in that area. So we look forward to meeting some of the people Mark served with and among when we visit.
The founder of this event is a Vietnam veteran and was not welcomed home from war. He vowed to not let that happen again. This church and organization are very patriotic and sponsor events throughout the year.
Mark’s name and picture will be added to the below memorial wall, on panel 11. As you can see, they don’t half-way do anything.
Click HERE to go to the official web site for the event.
This past weekend was a special event. They welcomed Marine Lance Cpl. Ronnie Porta. Ronnie was serving in Iraq with Marine Lance Corporal Charles Palmer, of Manteca, CA, when their vehicle was attacked by an IED and Charles was killed. Ronnie was severely burned from the explosion in 2007. The good folks of the Manteca area welcomed him to town last Saturday, along with other veterans and the Patriot Guard Riders.
These are two really good articles on Ronnie and this event:
You will want to read more about this Marine. The picture below was taken as he arrived in Manteca on January 14. We salute you, Ronnie Porta. Thank you for serving.
