USS Iowa to Host Veterans Appreciation Festival

Byline: Shane Scott

USS Iowa to Host Veterans Appreciation Festival

SAN PEDRO — The vessel that carried President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to the Tehran Conference to meet with Winston Churchill, was used by presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, and was subsequently nicknamed the ‘Presidential Battleship,” will be hosting a veterans’ celebration aboard, on Nov. 9.

The Veterans Appreciation Festival, scheduled from 10 a.m.-4 p.m., will offer live music, kid-friendly activities, food trucks, patriotic Harley riders and more.

“Were going to have a lot of vets: anywhere between 5,000 and 10,000, said Andrew Bossenmeyer, a USS Iowa spokesman. “This is the second annual USS Iowa Veterans Day event and its presented with the city of Los Angeles.”

Veterans and active military service members (with ID) will receive free Battleship Iowa tours Nov. 9-11.

“In the area of Los Angeles, there really hasn’t been a focal point for military veterans for years,” Bossenmeyer said. “Now that USS Iowa is resident in L.A. Harbor, it’s becoming a place for people to gather.

“We still have a lot of World War II vets alive out here,” he added. “There are other groups out there as well, and we are trying to get as much information and interviews out of them while we can. We don’t want to forget them.”

The public is invited to attend and show their appreciation for all veterans. Family members of veterans will receive $10 tour tickets. Parking is available for $3 at Swinford Street and Harbor Boulevard.

For more information, visit pacificbattleship.com.

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