Veterans Day Ceremony – Monday, November 11, 2019. 2:00p.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Mt. Soledad National Veterans Memorial, La Jolla, California.
Senior Chief Petty Officer Kenton Stacy, volunteered in the United States Navy and chose one of the most stressful and dangerous military occupational specialties to save others as an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Technician. After over fifity combat missions, an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) detonated severely injuring Kenton in 2017 in Syria. When Kenton was injured, word spread quickly, especially in Navy EOD, a tight-knit world of about 1,800 enlisted sailors and 550 officers. Theirs is a bond forged by the work they do, underlined by a kind of gallows humor that shows up occasionally on T-shirts — “Initial success or total failure” — and bumper stickers. After the explosion, commanders assigned someone to be there with him in his hospital room. Every day. Kenton has received numerous awards for his service including a Purple Heart, a Bronze Star Medal, and three Navy Achievement Medals and proud to have been named the 2010 USO Sailor of the Year. His inspiration to his sailors, and to our San Diego community, make us proud to honor him, his family, and his Navy brethren this Veterans Day.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER:
Captain Oscar Rojas, assumed duties as Commodore, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group One in January 2019. Hewas raised in Dumas, Texas, and enlisted in the Navy as a Hospital Corpsman in June 1990. Captain Rojas’ shore tours include Joint Special Operations Command where he served as the EOD Branch Chief; Deputy Branch Chief for Expeditionary Warfare (OPNAV N95) on the CNO Navy Staff; and most recently the Director, Joint Special Operations Command Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Coordination Cell. He is designated as an EOD Warfare Officer and has earned the designation of Master Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician, Deep Sea Dive Officer, Naval Freefall Parachutist, and Surface Warfare Officer.
