Air Force Col. Anthony Mastalir, commander of the 30th Space Wing at Vandenberg Air Force Base, with Pierre Claeyssens Veterans Foundation board president John Blankenship at the foundation’s “Night at the Drive-In” event in honor of Veterans Day. Mastalir was the keynote speaker at the event. 
The West Wind Drive-In in Goleta serves as the site of the Veterans Day event. 
Pierre Claeyssens Veterans Foundation board vice president Hazel Blankenship and board member Thomas Van Stein greet each other with an elbow bump. 
The Color Guard includes UC Santa Barbara ROTC members, from left, Cadet Nelson, Cadet Bouvier, Cadet Wilcox, Cadet Chase and Cadet Hoover. 
Retired U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Cpl. Jose Martinez with Jonathan Church, retired from the U.S. Army. Church’s car won the contest for Best Decorated Car. 
A couple show their patriotic spirit with a decorated vehicle. 
The Trombone Society performs at the Veterans Day event. 
Volunteers Nancy Newquist-Nolan and Susan Stewart pass out beverages at the event. 
Guests tailgate at the drive-in. 
Decorated vehicles stream into the drive-in for the Veterans Day event.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic has ruled out large, in-person events, the Pierre Claeyssens Veterans Foundation kept the Veterans Day spirit alive on Nov. 11 with “Night at the Drive-In,” an event at which it honored all veterans and, notably, Santa Barbara World War II veterans Art Peterson and the late Ugo Arnoldi.
Each November, the Santa Barbara-based foundation presents its in-person Military Ball to show appreciation for veterans, but this year, because of the coronavirus, it pivoted to a drive-in event at the West Wind Drive-In in Goleta that adhered to social-distancing guidelines. The celebration included a boxed dinner with comfort food: barbecue chicken and beef, mac-and-cheese and a freshly baked cookie prepared by DJ’s California Catering.
The Color Guard was presented by UC Santa Barbara ROTC members Cadet Nelson, Cadet Bouvier, Cadet Wilcox, Cadet Chase and Cadet Hoover. Cadet Tally Darsonval of the UCSB ROTC led the Pledge of Allegiance.
David Gonzales, a retired Santa Barbara police sergeant, sang the national anthem. Jack Armstrong, U.S. Army (retired), gave the invocation.
“We are proud to have this opportunity to come together and properly honor our veterans,” said Air Force Col. Anthony Mastalir, the keynote speaker and commander of the 30th Space Wing at Vandenberg Air Force Base.
“This is a day of recognition and gratitude for the service of 20 million veterans living in the United States today, including 1.4 million in California. Our freedom must be protected.”
Mastalir also shared details on work being done by 3,000 service members at VAFB, as well as news on an upcoming launch at the base.
Motivational speaker Eileen McDargh, founder and CEO of The Resiliency Group, spoke about gratitude for the many veterans who served the United States.
Retired Navy Lt. John Blankenship closed the program before the presentation of the World War II movie Memphis Belle, starring Matthew Modine and Santa Barbara’s own Eric Stoltz, on the large outdoor screen.
“We are proud to be able to still have a Veterans Day event for Santa Barbara,” said Blankenship, co-founder and board president of the Pierre Claeyssens Veterans Foundation.
“We are excited to show support for our local veterans, and it is with our highest honor to show appreciation for Art and Ugo during this event.”
Peterson was a paratrooper in the Army’s 101st Airborne Division during World War II. On D-Day in 1944, he participated in the largest seaborne invasion in history and later fought in some of the biggest battles in the European war. He was just 17 years old and just finishing high school when the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor plunged the United States into World War II.
Peterson was sent to basic training at Camp Roberts, north of Paso Robles, where he volunteered as a paratrooper, and then was transferred to Fort Campbell in Kentucky. His unit, Fox Company, arrived in England in late 1943 for final training before the invasion.
Though he came through D-Day without a scratch, he wasn’t so lucky three months later as the 101st Airborne pushed into German-occupied Holland. He was preparing to jump out of a plane with his unit when a bullet came through the floor of the plane and hit him in the leg, severely wounding him. His sergeant ordered him not to jump, and to return to England instead.
Jeanette Arnoldi accepted the award for her late father, Ugo, who also served on D-Day and fought in the famed Battle of the Bulge. He was a machine gunner and a driver as the United States was breaking out of Normandy.
Arnoldi was drafted into the Army in June 1943 at age 18 and went through basic training at the Cavalry School at Fort Riley in Kansas. In 1944, he was sent to England to prepare for the D-Day invasion, where he was stationed on the Salisbury plains.
When the 3rd Army broke out of Normandy in early August, its movement across France proceeded very quickly. Resistance stiffened as it began to approach the German border. By early September, the 3rd Army was near Metz, Germany, and just south of Luxembourg.
Several months later, Arnoldi returned to the United States and left the Army on Jan. 10, 1946. He became the bookkeeper-accountant for his parents, who owned Arnoldi’s Café and a masonry company in Santa Barbara.
Sponsors of the drive-in event included Noozhawk, Home Improvement Center, KEYT-3 TV, Direct Mortgage Funding Santa Barbara, Union Bank, Montecito Motor Classic, the Bernstein Family Fund, Meg and Dan Burnham, Jon Parra, Alan Porter, Pat Rumpza, the Rudi Schulte Family Foundation, Sharol and Wayne Siemens, and others.
The Pierre Claeyssens Veterans Foundation is committed to honoring the men and women who have served in uniform. It supports veterans and active-duty members as well as related partner organizations in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, and it preserves military history and legacy. It works to uphold Pierre Claeyssens’ vision that those who have served are “never forgotten.”
The foundation is funded entirely by private donations. Click here for more information about the Pierre Claeyssens Veterans Foundation, or click here to make an online donation.
— Noozhawk contributing writer Rochelle Rose can be reached at rrose@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkSociety, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Become a fan of Noozhawk on Facebook.