Murrieta’s Field of Honor reflects on local heroes

Heroes come in all shapes and sizes. From military war veterans to first responders and even doctors, Murrieta celebrates them all with the ninth annual Field of Honor.

Hosted by the Rotary Club of Murrieta, the event serves as a focal point for the community’s annual remembrance of the sacrifices made by brave men and women who chose to serve in the Armed Forces or in the public safety sector. The weeklong patriotic event pays honor and expresses thanks to those who have served and those who continue to serve the citizens of the United States of America.

The event opened Saturday, Nov. 5, in Murrieta’s Town Square Park located on the corner of Kalmia and Jefferson and will continue through Saturday, Nov. 12. The event features over 2,000 flags flying in silent testament to our personal heroes, soldiers, first responders, veterans and others, those who dedicate their lives to make ours better, according to Murrieta Rotary’s Director Of Public Relations Jann Gentry.

The Field of Honor played host to a number of activities throughout the week. Each year the event grows and evolves with the expansion of those activities along with the Field of Honor. One of the highlights for volunteers is the hundreds of fifth-graders who come from area schools to visit the field and learn the history that goes along with it. More than 3,000 students visited the field Monday through Thursday as docents and teachers led them on tours throughout the park visiting the war memorials, the Medal of Honor recipients section, the historic flags section, Local Heroes section and new this year, the 50 state flags section.

“One of the things that is growing is the kind of response we are getting and the number of people involved,” she said.

Gentry said the number of students who will visit the Field of Honor has more than doubled with the addition of the new students who toured the Field throughout the week. Students taking the tour are educated on the flags, the sacrifices, the history and what the field is all about. She said the group is excited to reach out to more children in their efforts to teach them about patriotism.

“This is the age at which they are learning about our country and the wars and the things that make our country great,” she said. “How do you give them real life visual effects that this is what happened and this is why we are free? So having more than 3,000 students attending the Field is very exciting for us.”

This year’s event opened with the inaugural “Run Forest Run” 5k which featured hundreds of runners. All proceeds from the event will benefit the Gary Sinise Foundation which builds specialty homes for wounded warriors.

Also new this year was the Military Family Expo hosted by the Women’s Council of Realtors Riverside County. All vendors at the expo had a service or product geared to military personnel and their families. Paul Mitchell the School of Temecula conducted a Cut-a-thon where haircuts ranged from $5 to $10. About 30 student stylists were on-hand at the event.

Returning this year was the Patriots Chalk Walk which was completely full, the Veterans Luncheon, and the candlelight concert featuring MVUSD Middle Schools combined choir held Wednesday, Nov. 8, at 6 p.m. According to Gentry, this year also had a record number of sponsors and for the first time ever featured the state flag from all 50 states.

The Marine Corps Birthday celebration was held Thursday, Nov. 9, at 1 p.m. followed by the Final Salute, a flag retirement ceremony conducted by the Boy Scouts at 5 p.m. Over 500 flags that have served their country well were ceremoniously retired and give one, final salute.

Friday is Veterans Day and the City of Murrieta will hold its annual parade scheduled to finish at the park amid the flags. Saturday, Nov. 12, the Patriots Ball will officially close the field and honor this year’s selected heroes. The semi-formal Ball features a band, dinner, dancing and auctions.

The Field of Honor is open for viewing every day through Saturday from 9 a.m. to dusk. For more information on the Field of Honor and the full schedule, visit www.murrietafieldofhonor.com.

The Field of Honor is a fundraiser for the Murrieta Rotary Club so the club may continue to fund student scholarships, leadership camps for students, community projects and international concerns. For more information about the Rotary Club, visit www.MurrietaRotary.org.

The post Murrieta’s Field of Honor reflects on local heroes appeared first on Valley News.