The USS Hornet Museum is celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month with a special event Saturday, Sept. 24.

The event is titled Hispanic Heritage Day at the Hornet. They will have special displays, exhibitors, speakers, open cockpits and more to celebrate Hispanic Americans in the armed forces throughout the history of the United States.

Captain Mama (Graciela Tiscareño-Sato) will be the Master of Ceremonies. The daughter of Mexican immigrants, Tiscareño-Sato flew in the active-duty U.S. Air Force for more than nine years as a navigator onboard KC-135 refueling tankers and became the first Hispanic female USAF aviator to earn an Air Medal for combat air operations.

Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) Marisol A. Chalas will be the special guest speaker. Chalas was born in Bani, Dominican Republic and moved to the U.S. with her family at the age of nine. She began her military career as an enlisted soldier in July 1990. In 2001 she was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Aviation branch from the Georgia Military Institute Officer Candidate School. Her international duties include Battle Captain and Platoon Leader during Operation Iraqi Freedom and much more.

The event will also include a panel discussion about the experiences of Hispanics in the military. The panelists include Michael Lema – Marine Veteran, Leo Madrid – Navy Veteran, Lt. Flor Joseph – Coast Guard and LTC Chalas – Army.

Lastly, the event will include several exhibitors from different military organizations. Some of the exhibitors include: Women’s Veteran Alliance, the premier network focused on directly impacting the quality of life of women veterans; San Francisco Veterans Film Festival, the Bay Area’s premier military and veteran film event; Vets in Tech, which supports current and returning veterans with reintegration services by connecting them to the national technology ecosystem; Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps at Cal Berkeley, one of six pioneering NROTC units founded throughout the country; and more. There are 16 exhibitors at the event in total.

Hispanic Heritage Month is an annual celebration of the history and culture of the U.S. Latinx and Hispanic communities. The event, which spans from September 15 to October 15, commemorates how those communities have influenced and contributed to American society at large.

The event begins at 10 a.m. To purchase tickets or to for more information about the USS Hornet Museum, visit www.uss-hornet.org.