The opening ceremony will be at noon Saturday, Nov. 5, in Patriot Park
Volunteers are needed to help the Rotary Clubs of Cathedral City as they prepare for the 11th annual Healing Field event, which is scheduled to take place from Nov. 5 through 12 at Patriot Park.
Patriot Park is located on the corner of Dinah Shore and Date Palm Drive in Cathedral City. Its physical address is 33998 Date Palm Drive.
More than 5,000 U.S. flags will be set up at Patriot Park for the Healing Field event, which honors the 6,893 men and women who have died in service to this country since 9/11.
“We need volunteers at 10:00 a.m. this Friday, November 4, to help prepare the field with the rebar for placement of the flags,” said Betsy Hayes, a Healing Field organizer, adding that close to 100 volunteers are typically needed to assist with the event.
“We also look forward to volunteers of all ages on opening day, Saturday, November 5, to first enjoy the opening ceremony and then carry out over 5,000 flags and place them on the Healing Field.”
Hayes said the volunteers are also needed to attach the 6,893 name tags to the flag poles. Each name tag bears the name, rank, branch of service, age, and hometown of each fallen hero.
Volunteers will also stand at the podium and read out loud the names of each of the 6,893 fallen heroes along with their personal details contained in each name tag.
“We’re hoping to recruit as many volunteers as possible now so we know who we can count on,” Hayes said. “We’ll also need volunteers to help us take down the flags on closing day, November 12, so we can put them back into storage.”
The Rotary Club of Cathedral City has organized a Healing Field event every year for the past 11 years. This year’s event includes an opening ceremony at 9 a.m. Nov. 5 with a speech by Master Gunnery Sergeant William M. Neudauer from the Twentynine Palms Marine Corps Base.
To volunteer, please contact Betsy Hayes at (760) 902-6031 or email her at bhayes@lamar.com.
