War Heroes on Water, the Landmark Annual Sportfishing Event that Honors and Serves Combat-Wounded Veterans, Adds a Newport Harbor Boat Parade to its Upcoming 2020 Tournament Itinerary

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., Aug. 28, 2020 -- War Heroes on Water, (WHOW) the landmark sportfishing event conceptualized by loanDepot Founder and CEO Anthony Hsieh, will feature a new aspect this year—a patriotic boat parade through Newport Harbor. The 2020 WHOW Boat Parade gives the Southern California community an opportunity to share and show their immense gratitude for the sacrifices made by our nation's greatest heroes—our veterans.

"These unprecedented times have created unique challenges for our veteran community, who are at particular risk when isolated and removed from their regular routines," said Hsieh. "We have made it a priority to safely and responsibly continue on with WHOW's mission in 2020, so that we can continue providing healing and therapeutic services for veterans during this very challenging time. WHOW changes and saves lives through the healing properties of being at sea, and through the lifelong bonds that are formed on the water."

This year's WHOW Tournament, dubbed the WHOW 2020 Reunion Tournament, will host 30 combat-wounded veterans who have participated in past WHOW events. These veterans will board 12 of the top sportfishing vessels in Southern California and launch the Tournament by leading the WHOW Boat Parade at 4:30pm on Oct. 1.

The parade will begin in the Newport Harbor Turning Basin, and proceed west along Lido Isle, turning at the Lido Isle Bridge before turning east and following the Balboa Peninsula shoreline. At the end of the peninsula, the parade will turn north toward Balboa Island and then continue westbound along Balboa Island and Linda Island, and then circle back along the north shore of Lido Island. A map of the parade route can be found at www.warheroesonwater.com.

Following the parade, the 2020 Tournament will begin, with the WHOW veterans heading out to sea with their teams to begin two days of highly-competitive sportfishing in the beautiful waters of Southern California. The 2020 WHOW Tournament will conclude with closing ceremonies and a precision formation flyover on Sat., Oct. 3, in Avalon and with an awards ceremony in Newport Beach on Sun., Oct. 4. 

"The fact that Anthony, the WHOW team and fleet is making a 2020 WHOW Tournament happen, despite the current environmental challenges, speaks volumes," said Josh Miles, Program Director for Freedom Alliance, War Heroes on Water's charitable partner. "No one else does anything like WHOW does, in this way, in this magnitude. There's truly nothing else like it."

Since its inception in 2018, WHOW has raised nearly $1M to support therapeutic programs for thousands of combat-wounded veterans across the nation, and next year's Tournament will be even larger in scale. Hsieh plans to grow WHOW in 2021, hosting 100 Veterans and aiming to raise $1M. This planned expansion will ultimately make WHOW one of the largest on-water combat-wounded veteran therapeutic programs of its kind.

"It's imperative that after all that our veterans have done for us, and given to us, that we do whatever we can to support and help them," said Hsieh. "We need to show veterans that we have their backs."

For those interested in participating in the 2020 WHOW Boat Parade, please visit or contact Rod Halperin at [email protected]. To learn more about the War Heroes on Water sportfishing tournaments, or to make a donation, please visit www.warheroesonwater.com. To learn more about WHOW's philanthropic partner, Freedom Alliance, please visit www.freedomalliance.org.

Note: WHOW raises funds in coordination with our partner philanthropic organization, Freedom Alliance. Freedom Alliance is recognized by the IRS as a public charity organized under section 501(c)(3) of the IRS Code. loanDepot and Freedom Alliance are not affiliated in any way.

About War Heroes On Water (WHOW)
War Heroes On Water (WHOW) is an annual sportfishing Tournament of unprecedented scale that supports combat-wounded veterans programs. It was conceptualized in 2018 by loanDepot Founder and CEO, Anthony Hsieh, who is also owner and leader of Team Bad Company, a world-class, record-holding competitive sportfishing fleet. Through Hsieh's deep connections with the Southern California sportfishing and business community, WHOW has grown exponentially, raising nearly $1M for Veterans since its inception.

About Freedom Alliance
Freedom Alliance is a charitable organization which provides help and support to wounded troops and military families. Freedom Alliance has awarded more than $13 million in college scholarships to the children of military heroes killed or disabled in military service and spent millions more helping injured veterans and military families with outdoor recreational therapy trips, Heroes Vacations, care packages for deployed troops, mortgage-free homes, all-terrain wheel chairs and much more. To learn more, visit www.FreedomAlliance.org or Facebook.com/FreedomAlliance.

Media Contact:
Lori Wildrick
(949) 330-8791
[email protected]

SOURCE War Heroes on Water

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