Free American Flags, Salute to Veterans at Padres Game Sunday

The San Diego Padres will conduct a Salute to Veterans at Sunday’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Petco Park, including giving all fans an American flag.

Retired U.S. Marine Corps Cols. Robert Modrzejewski and Jay Vargas will unveil the recently released U.S. Postal Service stamps honoring their fellow Vietnam War Medal of Honor recipients.

Vietnam veterans will line the baselines during the pregame ceremony and nine Vietnam veterans will take the field with the Padres’ starting nine.

The ceremonial first pitch will be thrown by 103-year-old Raymond Chavez, the oldest survivor of the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor, and Jack Paris, who served on the U.S. Navy battleship USS Colorado during World War II and was on it when it was in Tokyo Bay when Japan surrendered to end World War II.

Retired U.S. Navy Cmdr. Abe Thompson will perform the national anthem before the game and “God Bless America” during the seventh inning stretch.

Thompson’s performance of the national anthem will be followed by a flyover of F/A-18 Hornet fighter and attack aircraft from Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 323 based at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.

Fans will be asked to stand and hold the flags they were given when entering the stadium during the singing of “God Bless America” and “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.”

--City News Service; Photo via WikiMedia