Tag archives: John Blankenship
A cavalcade of uniforms from all branches of the Department of Defense descended on the cavernous Hilton ballroom for the 24th Annual Military Ball organized by the Pierre Claeyssens Veterans Foundation. Some 300 guests attended the fun fete, co-chaired by John and Hazel Blankenship, which honored all service veterans. Singer David Gonzales, a retired sergeant […]
The Pierre Claeyssens Veterans Foundation (PCVF) knows how to produce an unforgettable Fourth of July. This year it was held at the Santa Barbara Cemetery in Montecito, with dozens of American flags lining the roadway leading to the hilltop. Co-founded with wife, Hazel, Lt. John Blankenship (U.S. Navy, ret.) welcomed the crowd and the Vandenberg […]
“To be killed in war is not the worst. To be lost in war is not the worst. To be forgotten is the worst.” – Pierre Claeyssens The Pierre Claeyssens Veterans Foundation (PCVF) is all about remembering our men and women who have done so much for all of us. Navy lieutenant (retired) John Blankenship, […]
Instead of getting all decked out in long gowns and tuxes for the Military Ball, we donned our best drive-in attire to pay tribute to veterans and have a night at the West Wind Drive-In. “Pierre Claeyssens Veterans Foundation (PCVF) is proud to be able to have a Veterans Day event for Santa Barbara since […]
For the past 22 years, the Pierre Claeyssens Veterans Foundation has celebrated Veterans Day in style with gala events at the Hilton Waterfront Resort (formerly the Fess Parker). The group is named after the Belgian-born architect and humanitarian who fondly remembered his homeland’s First World War rescue by allied troops before moving to Santa Barbara […]
Montecito author Alicia St. John is bringing her award-winning children’s book Piglet Willy to film. The work, which I helped narrate some years back, won the CALM Celebrity Authors award the year it was published and was endorsed by Thomas Steinbeck, son of novelist John Steinbeck. Now Dan Goldbacher, director of the Dana Point Ocean […]
They were all there! Rosie the Riveter, movie stars, socialites, dancers, military, and medical personnel in the USO Hollywood Canteen aka the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum (SBMM). This was their annual fundraising gala stepping back in time to the 1940s. The evening’s honorees were Pierre Claeyssens Veterans Foundation and the Santa Barbara Navy League. Sounds […]
If you like to honor all who served in the military, the place to go on Veterans Day is the Santa Barbara Cemetery just off of Channel Drive. This year was especially poignant because it marked the end of WWI one hundred years ago. The ceremony is put on by the Pierre Claeyssens Veterans Foundation, […]
A recent incident in Los Angeles caught my attention and has really troubled me. A high school teacher was fired for his reaction and rant to a student wearing a shirt that had the word Marines on it. His diatribe on the status of anyone in the military as being the “lowest of the low” […]
The Pierre Claeyssens Veterans Foundation (PCVF) held its 22nd annual Military Ball honoring excellence in service and to remember Armistice Day at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort. Philanthropist Pierre Claeyssens initiated the Ball in 1996 as a way of paying tribute to the U.S. Armed Forces, past and present, in Santa Barbara and Ventura […]
“To be killed in war is not the worst. To be lost in war is not the worst. To be forgotten is the worst.” – Pierre Claeyssens The 21st annual Military Ball was held for more than 700 people – veterans, active-duty service members, their families, and friends at The Fess Parker, the biggest ever. […]
