Santa and Soldiers March from Fort Irwin to Barstow Vet Home

[boardman]

Santa and Soldiers March from Fort Irwin to Barstow Veterans Home

WHO: U.S. Army’s 11th Armored Calvary Regiment (ACR), Santa Claus

WHAT: 18TH Annual Holiday Road March

WHEN: March begins Monday, December 15, 2014 - Dawn

March ends Tuesday, December 16, 2014 - 10:30 a. m.

WHERE: Fort Irwin National Training Center to California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet) Veterans Home, 100 E. Veterans Parkway, Barstow, CA

BACKGROUND: Every year around the holidays, approximately 500 soldiers with the 11th ACR and Santa Claus march 38 miles from the Fort Irwin National Training Center to our CalVet Veterans Home in Barstow. The Army brings holiday cheer and gifts honoring our home’s nearly 200 residents. The soldiers and Santa leave the training center at dawn, hike through the desert, and then camp on the outskirts of Barstow. The following morning, the march ends at our Veterans Home. Marchers are greeted by local Veterans, our Veterans Home residents and staff, and guests watching from the hilltop and lining the main drive to our home. Soldiers are treated to a luncheon and a chance to swap stories with our Veterans home residents.

For information about the march, please contact Captain Christinea Wagner at 760- 380-8358. B-roll and stills are available upon request. For information about Barstow Veterans Home activities, please call Teresa Rochester at 760-252-6256.

The Veterans Home of California, Barstow is one of eight homes for older and disabled Veterans operated by CalVet. Opened in 1996, VHC-Barstow is a 220-bed facility on 22-acres providing skilled nursing, intermediate care and independent living to qualified veterans and their spouses.