The Mesquite Chamber of Commerce hosted the sixth annual “Bring a Veteran to Lunch” event on Tuesday, Nov. 11. This year it was located in the Virgin River Event Tent.

Chamber President/CEO Austin Whetzel said, “There were 50 veterans at the luncheon. It was wonderful to see them all.” Each veteran was treated to lunch by a chamber member. Some members even treated more than one veteran. All the donated raffle prizes were given out to the veterans.

The guest speaker was Col. Gerald Berry, Marine Corps pilot, who was in town to celebrate the 250th birthday of the Marine Corps.

Col. Berry gave a short history of the American military, beginning with George Washington. He then went on to tell of his experience flying the last helicopter out of Saigon carrying the Saigon ambassador. Col. Berry had the undivided attention of all the veterans in the room. He took questions after and was able to clear up some misinformation heard from newscasters at the time.

Attendees enjoyed a chicken Parmigiana and pasta lunch. Mesquite Entertainment food trucks were also parked outside the tents, which worked quite well.

The Veterans Day luncheon was sponsored by Masters Villas, Mesquite Veterans Center, Conestoga Golf Club, Reliance Connects, Desert Pain Specialists and VanDyk Mortgage.