Veterans will be celebrated with ceremonies across the North Olympic Peninsula this week.
Most ceremonies are Wednesday, Veterans Day, while the Sequim School District honored veterans with a commemoration Monday and will have more today. Fairview Grange in Port Angeles plans a special dinner today.
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.
Regional ceremony
A regional ceremony is planned at the Port Angeles Coast Guard station on Ediz Hook at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday.
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 persons or in their vehicles.
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 choir, the Coast Guard said.
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 on Wednesday.
The ceremony will begin at noon at the Clallam County Veterans Center, 216 S. Francis St., Port Angeles, near the Olympic Peninsula YMCA.
GARDINER
Gardiner Cemetery
GARDINER — Navy Seabees will conduct a Veterans Day remembrance program honoring Marvin G. Shields, a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, at 11 a.m. Wednesday.
The ceremony will be at Gardiner Community Cemetery, whichis on Gardiner Cemetery Road just south of U.S. Highway 101 east of Sequim.
The public is invited to attend.
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
Sequim schools
SEQUIM — The Sequim School District plans assemblies today, with veterans and other members of the public invited to attend one of them.
Schools and the district office will be closed Wednesday in honor of Veterans Day.
A ceremony was held Monday at Sequim High School.
All veterans and the public are invited to an assembly at 8:30 a.m. today in the Sequim Middle School gym, 301 W. Hendrickson Road.
All guests are asked to check in at the front office.
Veterans are asked to arrive a few minutes early so they may be escorted to a special seating area.
Also today, two assemblies — one at 8:30 a.m. and one at 9:20 a.m. — are planned in the gymnasium at Helen Haller Elementary School, 350 W. Fir St.
Because of limited space in the gymnasium, only family members of Haller students who have served in the military are invited to attend.
Another assembly will be held at 9 a.m. today in the multi-purpose room at Greywolf Elementary School, 171 Carlsborg Road, Carlsborg.
Space limitations prevent an open invitation to the public, but special guests from the military will be honored during the assembly.
For more information, phone the district office at 360-582-3260.
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, which 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
American 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. Wednesday.
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
Fairview Grange dinner
PORT ANGELES — Fairview Grange, 161 Lake Farm Road, is hosting a Veterans Appreciation Potluck at 6 p.m. today.
The event is open to the public. Those attending are asked to bring a potluck item to share. Veterans do not need to bring anything.
Following a short ceremony, a small token of appreciation will be given to all veterans.
For more information, phone Patti Morris at 360-461-9008.
Sweaters for veterans
PORT ANGELES — The sixth annual Sweaters for Veterans drive, started by Drennan-Ford Funeral Home & Crematory, will last through Wednesday.
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. daily at the funeral home, 206 Monroe Road.
Clallam County Voices for Veterans will distribute them to veterans.
For the last 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. Wednesday.
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.
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. Wednesday.
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 Merchant Road will be free to veterans and their widows.
All others will pay $6 for adults and $3 for those ages 12 and younger.
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. Wednesday.
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.
