WHY THIS PEACE DAY IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER BEFORE

Since 2006 our veteran service organization has hosted “International Day of Peace” in the Inland Empire of Southern California, For most of that period we held one of only a handful of Peace Day ceremonies in our state. Former State Assembly Member, Eduardo Garcia, would present our chapter with a State Assembly Resolution. Riverside County Supervisor Manuel Perez would have the Board of Supervisors vote on a resolution proclaiming September 21 as International Day of Peace Day in our county.

You may have never heard of International Day of Peace. This special day was established by the United Nations in 1981. It is a day of ceasefire in both wars and in our personal relationships. Sadly, this day is not a holiday and there are no greeting cards for this day. My goal for the past twenty years has been to make Peace Day more important than Groundhog Day.

Peace Day has been effective. Several years ago, President Barack Obama postponed the test firing of a missile because it was scheduled to launch on Peace Day. President Donald Trump did not recognize Peace Days during his first term. Let us watch what he does this year.

For obvious reasons peace is especially important this year. We have the horrific war in Ukraine and the war in Gaza. We have gang violence, domestic violence, bullying, school shootings, homophobia, racism, terrorism, bullying, anti-Semitism and so many other forms of hatred that disrupt our peace.

What stands out this year is that we have military troops in American cities. This is unnecessary and illegal. As a former United States Marine, I am disgusted with scenes of our Marine Corps troops in the streets of Los Angeles. These troops are deployed as a show of force for a President seeking to be an authoritarian. This stunt is designed to scare and intimidate any opponents of Trump. The military troop invasion in our streets has also been an attempt to turn our attention away from release of the Epstein files held by the U.S. Department of Justice. So, this year we need to get involved and promote Peace Day more than ever.

I have grown weary of universities, law firms, TV news networks, elected officials and others bending the knee to Trump. I only bend my knee when I go to church. That is why on Peace Day our chapter is distributing for free yellow coffee mugs that send a bold message as shown below:

JON CASTRO CHAPTER, VETERANS FOR PEACE

FRANK MOULTON, AMVETS POST 66

Invite You to Attend the 20th Annual

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE

Established by the United Nations

AWARDS CEREMONY

SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 21, 2025

6:00 PM – 8:00 PM

MIRACLE SPRINGS RESORT AND SPA

Joshua Tree Room

10625 Palm Drive, Desert Hot Springs, CA

KEYNOTE SPEAKER:

STEPHANIE MANESIS, Fargo, North Dakota

AWARDS:

INLAND COALITION FOR IMMIGRATION JUSTICE

REV. JAMES BOWES, PEACE LUTHERAN CHURCH

ANYSE SMITH, COMMUNITY LEADER

JOSH DUNN, CEASE FIRE IN GAZA ACTIVIST

USO PALM SPRINGS

MARCIE MAXWELL, PRESIDENT DEMOCRATS OF THE DESERT

KARINA QUINTANILLA, PALM DESERT CITYCOUNCIL

OTHER SPEAKERS:

GARY GARDNER, MAYOR PRO TEM, DESERT HOT SPRINGS

FREE!

MUSIC

FOOD AND DRINKS SERVED

For information call Tom Swann Hernandez at (760) 324-5670

or write to: tomswannhernandez@earthlink.net