Veterans to be feted throughout Peninsula during holiday events today
Published 12:01 am Wednesday, November 11, 2015
Veterans will be celebrated with ceremonies across the North Olympic Peninsula today, including a regional ceremony at the Port Angeles Coast Guard station on Ediz Hook.
The regional commemoration will be at 10:30 a.m.
The public is welcome to attend and can enter the facility from the front gate at 1 Ediz Hook starting at 9:15 a.m.
All guests are required to present valid government-issued identification. No visitors can carry weapons on their person or in their vehicle. No walk-ons will be allowed on base.
The guest speaker will be Tom Beard, who retired as a lieutenant commander from the Coast Guard, where he worked as a rescue pilot.
Beard wrote The Coast Guard, which was published in 2004.
Music will be provided by the Port Angeles High School band and the Sequim High School Choir.
The station has been designated a regional Veterans Day observance site for the 19th consecutive year by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
The ceremony will be sponsored by the Clallam County Veterans Association.
Nearly 700 guests packed the helicopter hangar at the Coast Guard base for the ceremony in 2014.
Social to follow
The Clallam County Veterans Association will host a coffee-and-cookie social after the annual Veterans Day ceremony at Coast Guard Air Station/Sector Field Office Port Angeles.
The social will begin at noon at the Clallam County Veterans Center, 216 S. Francis St., Port Angeles, near the Olympic Peninsula YMCA.
For the first time since 2010, Clallam Transit will run a regular schedule of buses on Veterans Day this year.
Paratransit operations also will be available during the holiday.
GARDINER
Remembrance set
GARDINER — Navy Seabees will conduct a Veterans Day remembrance program honoring Marvin G. Shields, a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, as well as veterans of all wars, at 11 a.m.
The ceremony, which is open to the public, will be at Gardiner Community Cemetery, which is on Gardiner Cemetery Road just south of U.S. Highway 101 east of Sequim.
Due to limited parking at the cemetery, a bus will provide transportation there from the Gardiner Community Center, 980 Old Gardiner Road, starting at 10:30 a.m.
Petty Officer 3rd Class Construction Mechanic Shields is the only Navy Seabee to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
He posthumously received the Medal of Honor from President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1967 for saving many lives during a battle in Dong Zoai, South Vietnam, on June 10, 1965.
Shields was 25 when he volunteered to take out a Viet Cong machine gun nest.
He fought while wounded, rescued another wounded soldier and kept fighting for hours.
Shields later died of a gunshot wound.
This will be the 49th honor ceremony for Shields by the Navy Seabee Veterans Association.
For more information, phone Jim Hueter at 360-681-2786.
SEQUIM
Concert, free buffet
SEQUIM — A Veterans Day concert at 7 Cedars Casino will raise money for the Captain Joseph House Foundation.
The concert featuring Chance McKinney will be at 7 p.m. at the casino at 270756 U.S. Highway 101.
Also, active military and veterans can enjoy a free home-style buffet from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. in 7 Cedars’ Salish Room on Wednesday.
Tickets to the concert are $10. Proceeds will go to the Captain Joseph House at 1108 S. Oak St. in Port Angeles, a former inn that is undergoing renovation as a respite center for families of those killed in the military.
Tickets are available at www.brownpapertickets.com or at the Totem Rewards Club at the casino.
For more information, phone 360-683-7777.
Free veterans meals
SEQUIM — Applebee’s, 130 River Road, will offer a variety of six meals to veterans and active-duty military on Veterans Day from 10 a.m. to midnight.
The free meal offering is to those in uniform or with a military card ID.
PORT TOWNSEND
Legion ceremony
PORT TOWNSEND — The Marvin G. Shields Memorial Post 26 of the American Legion will conduct its annual Veterans Day ceremony at its building on the corner of Monroe and Water streets at
11 a.m.
The public is invited to attend.
The ceremony this year is a departure from those in past years; the theme this year is the United Service Organizations, or USO.
The executive director of USO Northwest, retired Navy Cmdr. Donald M. Leingang, will speak.
Leingang was a naval aviator for 24 years.
The American Legion Post building originally was the USO building in Port Townsend during World War II.
During the ceremony, a Legionnaire of the Year will be announced and presented a special award, veterans with membership of more than 20 years will be recognized and veterans who served in the various branches of the military will be honored by the performance of their respective service songs.
Following the formal ceremony will be a dance at the USO.
Music during the ceremony and afterward will be provided by the Port Townsend Summer Band.
For information about the American Legion and its programs, phone 360-385-3454.
PORT ANGELES
Elks feed vets for free
PORT ANGELES — The Elks Naval Lodge, 131 E. First St., will provide veterans with a free spaghetti dinner at 6 p.m. today.
Veteran family members and friends will pay $10 per adult and $7.50 for children.
No reservations are required.
Clean out closet drive
PORT ANGELES — Serenity House of Clallam County’s two Housing Resource Centers are celebrating Veterans Day with a Clean Out Your Closet Drive at two locations.
Donations for homeless veterans will be accepted at 583 W. Washington St. in Sequim and 520 E. First St. in Port Angeles from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. today.
Among the new or gently used items that will be accepted are jackets, sleeping bags, backpacks, outdoor cooking gear, nonperishable food and rain gear.
These supplies are used to help homeless veterans while they work with case managers to find permanent housing.
For more information, phone Hailey McLaughlin at 360-565-5041 or email hmclaughlinserenity@gmail.com.
Sweaters for veterans
PORT ANGELES — The sixth annual Sweaters for Veterans drive, started by Drennan-Ford Funeral Home , will last through today.
New or gently used sweaters, as well as warm clothing, blankets, rain gear, gloves, hats, socks and other items for warmth or comfort, can be donated between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. at the funeral home, 206 Monroe Road.
Clallam County Voices for Veterans will distribute them to veterans.
For the past five years, the funeral home has collected thousands of these articles as a “thank you” to veterans, according to a news release.
For more information, phone funeral director/co-owner Steve Ford at 360-457-1210, email steve@drennanford.com or visit www.drennanford.com.
Park View Villas
PORT ANGELES — Park View Villas will host a Veterans Day ceremony at 10 a.m.
The ceremony will be at the facility at 1430 Park View Lane.
Veteran residents have been invited to participate with a photo and best memories for a Veterans Day display.
CLALLAM BAY
Lions Club dinner
CLALLAM BAY — The Clallam Bay Lions Club will host a veterans dinner from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. today.
The free dinner at the club at 90 Bogachiel St. is for veterans and their spouses or family members.
For more information, phone Patty White at 360-963-2668.
FORKS
Ceremony, luncheon
FORKS — The Veterans of Foreign Wars will host a ceremony and luncheon on Veterans Day.
The ceremony will begin at 11 a.m. at the Forks Cemetery on Calawah Way.
It will be followed by lunch at the post hall at 110 S. Spartan Way.
Veterans and other members of the public are invited.
Veterans Day assembly
FORKS — A Veterans Day assembly is planned in the Forks High School gym at 2 p.m. today.
The public is invited to the ceremony at the high school at 261 Spartan Ave.
Veterans dinner
FORKS — The Forks Elks Lodge will host a Veterans Dinner at 5 p.m. Sunday.
The full-course buffet meal at the lodge at 941 Merchants Road will be free to veterans and their widows.
Spouses of veterans are asked to make donations.
All others will pay $6 for adults and $3 for those 12 and younger.
