15th Veterans Day Parade and Car Show Cruised into E Street

The traditional Cruzin’ E Street Parade and Car Show came back to San Bernardino this year on Saturday, Nov. 8. The event welcomed community members to join in on the event and explore the history of San Bernardino while supporting and appreciating local veterans. Classic cars were parked along E Street near San Bernardino High School. Mr. Mario, an event organizer, shared that the number of military vehicles has continued to increase annually since the first event. He estimated about 15 to 20 restored military vehicles of all kinds joined the parade this year. Mr. Mario hosted the short ceremony to present awards and certificates of recognition to those who helped bring the event to fruition. He started off by recognizing the local businesses that supported the event including Jovanna Rodriguez of Jovi’s Diner, Albert Okura of Juan Pollo restaurants, and the Route 66 Museum, where the ceremony was held. Assemblymember Cheryl Brown took the podium for a brief speech focusing primarily on the main purpose of the event: honoring veterans. Brown shared the history of her grandfather, her father and her brothers, who have all served in the military. As she thanked all the veterans, she encouraged them to apply for benefits if they hadn’t already done so and closed by saying, “Veterans, we love you, we care about, and we thank you for your service.” During the event Mr. Mario said, “This next part is the most important because this is all about our veterans.” He welcomed every single veteran to the stage to introduce themselves and share about their service. A wide range of veterans from all branches participated, with one veteran having served in World War II. Although they were told to share their experience and information about their time served, when four-year Vietnam Veteran John Zavela took the microphone, he did much more than that. Commenting on how great he felt the event was, he mentioned that his daughter, April, the “Vette Lady,” is famous in the car world and attends this event every year. “I came along to support her and I’m a proud Vietnam veteran… I like being involved in events that support veterans. It means the world to us,” he said. Raffle tickets were sold throughout the day with prizes given away including 40 inch flat-screen televisions and bicycles. Mr. Mario said, “This event is about the veterans and we shouldn’t only thank them on a day like this. Like Assemblymember Brown said, if you see a veteran, shake their hand and thank them for their service.”