Contra Costa sets its Veterans Day ceremony for Nov. 3 in Martinez

Contra Costa County's Board of Supervisors will hold its annual Veterans Day ceremony at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3, in the Board Chambers at 1025 Escobar St. in Martinez, the county said in a save-the-date notice posted Sept. 17.\n\nThis year's theme is "The Service Ends, the Commitment Continues." The county said the program will focus on what veterans carry into the rest of their lives — the work they do, the families they raise, the towns they settle in — rather than only on the years in uniform.\n\nVeterans, active-duty service members, military families and friends are invited. The notice does not list an RSVP, a ticket or a registration link.\n\nThe date is eight days ahead of Veterans Day itself, which falls on Wednesday, Nov. 11 this year, according to the federal holiday calendar. Holding the ceremony on a Tuesday puts it on the Board of Supervisors' own turf, in the chamber where the board meets.\n\nLast year's ceremony marked the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. The county said that program remembered the Tuskegee Airmen, the Black aviators who flew with distinction abroad while facing discrimination at home; the Rosie the Riveters, who kept wartime factories running; and the Code Talkers, whose Native languages protected military communications. It also singled out Papa Jake Larson, whom the county called one of the community's own, and linked a 2025 tribute to him.\n\nThe ceremony runs during the workday, at 1025 Escobar St. in Martinez. The county has not published a program or a speaker list.