Paul Ybarra’s family accepts the Mayor’s Proclamation.

By Tracy McCue, Sumner Newscow — While Paul Ybarra was not in attendance himself, his family was there to accept Mayor Joe Soria’s Proclamation to name June 25, 2025, “Paul Ybarra Day.”

Paul Ybarra in 2019. 

Family members who attended the Wellington City Council meeting on Tuesday were (from left in the photo above, including the Mayor in the middle): Flo Ybarra, daughter-in-law; Steve Ybarra, son; Paula Campa, daughter; and Casimiro Campa, son-in-law. Veronica Tirana, a daughter, was not pictured.

Soria read a proclamation that outlined his service from serving in the U.S. Army, to landing on Normandy during the D-Day Invasion, to winning two Purple Hearts, to working on the Santa Fe Railroad for 40 years (see story here).

Soria, who got choked up during the reading of the Proclamation, then gave a personal story that he has a picture of his parents (Manual and Savina Soria) on their wedding day, and Paul is in the image as part of the wedding party.

“If it weren’t for your Dad and what he and his fellow soldiers did on that day, none of us would be here,” Soria said.

The proclamation ceremony concluded with everyone in the room singing “Happy Birthday” to Ybarra.

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There will be a VFW Celebration on June 28 to commemorate Ybarra’s birthday, starting at 2 p.m. The come-and-go reception will take place from 2 to 4 p.m. at the VFW Hall, located at 424 East Harvey St.