A group of 25 disabled veterans, family members, friends and caregivers boarded the M/V John A. B. Dillard, Jr., May 25 for a tour of such Bay Area landmarks as the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz and concluding at AT&T Park for a Giants-Padres baseball game. The veterans are residents at the Veterans Community Services Living and Resource Rehabilitation Center in Martinez, Calif.
The group included veterans from every conflict from World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. The oldest was 97-year-old Mickey Ganitch, a Pearl Harbor survivor (USS Pennsylvania), and the youngest was a 32-year-old Afghanistan veteran. The outing was organized by Michael Steinbaugh of the Department of California Disabled American Veterans.
"This is our fourth year of providing tickets to the Giants game on the Dillard, and we look forward to working with the great people at the Corps and the outstanding captain and crew," said Steinbaugh.
The group boarded the Dillard at the Bay Model dock facility for a trip across the Bay to the Marina Entrance at AT&T Park, passing under the Bay Bridge, cruising along the city waterfront and marinas to the dock just outside the ballpark.
"This is one of the most important jobs we do -- giving back to those veterans who gave so much," said Kixon Meyer, captain of the Dillard.