Veterans will be celebrated with ceremonies across the North Olympic Peninsula this week.
While most commemorations are on Friday, Veterans Day, some are planned Thursday.
Regional ceremony
PORT ANGELES — Coast Guard Air Station/Sector Field Office Port Angeles command will host its annual Veterans Day ceremony, sponsored by the Clallam County Veterans Association and combined with the centennial of Coast Guard aviation celebration, at 10:30 a.m. Friday.
Air Station/SFO Port Angeles has been designated as a regional Veterans Day observance site for the 20th straight year by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
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. Due to enhanced security requirements, visitors should plan to arrive early and expect delays at the gate.
All guests must arrive in a vehicle, no walk-ons will be permitted and visitors are required to present a valid government-issued form of identification in order to gain access to the base. Weapons will not be permitted on the base.
The ceremony will be conducted inside the air station hangar and the hangar doors will be open for the duration of the ceremony; the inside air temperature will reflect the outdoor air temperature.
All guests are invited to remain after the ceremony for complementary refreshments provided by the Clallam County Veterans Organization members.
For more information, contact the public affairs office at 360-417-5840.
Seabee hero honored
GARDINER — A ceremony honoring the nation’s only Seabee Medal of Honor recipient is planned for 11 a.m. Friday in Gardiner Cemetery.
The annual ceremony by Naval Facilities Engineering Command Northwest honors Marvin G. Shields of Port Townsend, a construction mechanic 3rd class petty officer in the Navy Seabees who died at the age of 25 during combat in Vietnam in 1965.
When his outpost came under attack, he carried a critically wounded man to safety, was himself wounded, then helped knock out a Viet Cong machine gun emplacement before he died of his wounds.
He was the first member of the Navy to earn the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War — and the first and only Seabee so honored.
A display honoring Shields was erected outside the Marvin G. Shields Memorial American Legion Post 26 in Port Townsend.
Shields’ family, the officers and enlisted members of NAVFAC Northwest and their families, alongside retirees and civilian employees, will gather at Shields’ gravesite in the Gardiner Cemetery, which is on Gardiner Cemetery Road just south of U.S. Highway 101.
Because of his “conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity” while under fire, Shields was posthumously awarded with the nation’s highest military honor, according to his Medal of Honor citation.
Port Townsend program
PORT TOWNSEND — The Marvin G. Shields Memorial Post 26 of the American Legion will host its annual Veterans Day program Friday.
A pre-ceremony concert by the Port Townsend Summer Band, conducted by Legion member Karl Bach, will begin at 10:30 a.m. at the post at 209 Monroe St.
The ceremony, led by Andy Okinczyc, commander, will immediately follow at 11 a.m.
During the ceremony, 25 local veterans will each be presented a quilt made by the local group of the Quilts of Valor Foundation, a national group that aims to provide a quilt for each veteran who has been touched by war.
Forks ceremony
FORKS — A salute to veterans is planned at the Forks Transit Center at 11 a.m. Friday.
The ceremony at the center at 551 S. Forks Ave. will be followed by a luncheon at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post hall at 110 S. Spartan Way.
Veterans and other members of the public are invited.
Sequim school assembly
SEQUIM — An assembly to honor veterans is planned at Sequim Middle School on Thursday.
The public is invited to the assembly at 8:20 a.m. at the school at 301 W. Hendrickson Road.
Visitors are asked to sign in at the main office before walking to the assembly in the gym.
An assembly at Sequim High School was held Monday.
Dry Creek School assembly
PORT ANGELES — Dry Creek Elementary School will hold an assembly Thursday honoring veterans.
The assembly, which is open to the public, will be at 8:30 a.m. at the school at 216 E. Fourth St.
Students will perform songs. All veterans who attend will be honored.
Peninsula College
PORT ANGELES — Peninsula College invites all in the community to honor veterans with several events Thursday.
The free events will be on the Port Angeles campus, 1502 E. Lauridesen Blvd.
A Studium Generale presentation, “Veteran Stories of Triumph,” will feature veterans from the college discussing how they overcame obstacles and found success in life. It will be from 12:35 p.m. to 1:25 p.m. in the Little Theater.
Immediately following the Studium presentation will be an American flag retirement ceremony at the flagpole outside the Pirate Union Building (PUB). Peninsula College staff will honor the existing flag and fly a new one.
At 7 p.m. in the Little Theater, Magic of Cinema will offer a screening of “Healing the Warrior’s Heart,” a documentary that explores post-traumatic stress disorder thorough the lens of Native American culture and how tribal groups have helped veterans transition back into society and manage their wartime experiences.
Veterans and those who wish to honor a special veteran are invited to share a photo as part of an interactive collage in the PUB through Monday. The collage is next to the coffee window in the PUB.
Film shown
PORT ANGELES — The Natural Healing Clinic will host a free showing of the film “Operation: Emotional Freedom” at 4 p.m. Thursday.
The films will be at the clinic at 162 S. Barr Road. Bus service goes to the bottom of the road. Those who need rides up the hill are asked to call the clinic.
The documentary follows a group of veterans and their families on a weeklong experiment with the Emotional Freedom Technique as a tool to end post-traumatic stress disorder.
Registration is requested. To register or for more information, call Rose Marschall at the clinic at 360-457-1515.
Special breakfast
PORT LUDLOW — The Resort at Port Ludlow will offer 50 percent off entrees for veterans during breakfast Friday.
The breakfast will be at 8 a.m. at the Fireside at The Resort at Port Ludlow, 1 Heron Road.
The bar will be open and a special drink will be available.
Call 360-437-7412 for reservations.
Parks’ free days
In honor of Veterans Day, state parks and Olympic National Park will offer free admission Friday.
No Discover Pass will be needed to visit state parks, which on the North Olympic Peninsula are Bogachiel near Forks, Dosewallips near Brinnon, Fort Flagler on Marrowstone Island, Fort Townsend and Fort Worden in Port Townsend, Anderson Lake State Park near Chimacum and Sequim Bay near Sequim.
The Olympic National Park entrance fee of $25 per automobile, $15 per motorcycle and $10 per hiker or bicyclist will be waived at all park entrances.
The Discover Pass, a $30 annual or $10 one-day permit, is still required to access lands managed by the state Department of Fish and Wildlife and state Department of Natural Resources.
Free days apply only to day-use access by vehicle, not overnight stays or rented facilities.
Toy Run
BLYN — The Biker Toy Run to benefit the Port Angeles Salvation Army will be Saturday.
Bikers will gather at 7 Cedars Casino at 10 a.m. and ride to the Salvation Army at 206 S. Peabody St., Port Angeles.
Registration is $10 and a toy, and will be held between 10 a.m. and 11:15 a.m.
Food will be available at the Salvation Army. Families are welcome.
The event will end at 2 p.m.
