The largest Veterans Day ceremony on the North Olympic Peninsula will be at the Port Angeles Coast Guard station on Ediz Hook at 10:30 a.m. today.
The Clallam County Veterans Association will sponsor the regional Veterans Day ceremony at Coast Guard Air Station/Sector Field Office Port Angeles, 1 Ediz Hook Road.
The guest speaker will be Rear Adm. Scott Gray, commander, U.S. Navy Region Northwest.
The public is welcome to attend the free observance. The front gate will open at 9:30 a.m. All visitors must arrive by car, the Coast Guard said.
No bikes or walk-ons will be admitted. A valid, government-issued identification must be presented for admission.
Weapons will not be permitted on the base.
Bags will not be permitted outside of a vehicle, and anyone attempting to bring bags into the facility will be turned away.
The ceremony will be conducted inside the main hangar, but the doors will remain open during the ceremony so attendees are encouraged to dress for the weather.
All guests are invited to remain after the ceremony for complimentary refreshments provided by the Clallam County Veterans Association.
Air Station/SFO Port Angeles has been designated as a regional Veterans Day observance site for the 24th straight year by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
It generally draws at least 1,000 people from across the Peninsula.
For more information, call 360-417-5840.
Also today, annual observances are set in Gardiner, Port Townsend and Forks.
Honor ceremony
GARDINER — The public is invited to an honor ceremony for Petty Officer Marvin G. Shields at 11 a.m. today.
Naval Facilities Engineering Command Northwest conducts the annual event at the Gardiner Cemetery, 137 Gardiner Cemetery Road, Gardiner.
Parking is available at the Gardiner Community Center, 980 Old Gardiner Road, with ADA parking at the cemetery.
This year’s guest speaker will be retired Command Master Chief Petty Officer Doug Heiner.
The Capitol Battalion Sea Cadets from Olympia will provide the colors detachment.
The Navy Band Northwest will play and sailors from Naval Base Kitsap will provide the gun salute.
Shields, who is buried in the cemetery, posthumously received the Medal of Honor for saving many lives during a battle in Don Zoai, South Vietnam, in 1965.
He was 25 years old 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.
Shields was born and raised in the Port Townsend-Sequim area.
He is the only Navy Seabee to receive the Medal of Honor.
Veterans Day program
PORT TOWNSEND — The Marvin G. Shields Memorial Post 26 American Legion will host its annual Veterans Day program today.
A 10:30 a.m. pre-ceremony concert by the Port Townsend Summer Band will begin the day’s events at the post, 209 Monroe Road, Port Townsend.
The colors will be presented by Cub and Webelos Scouts from Troop 4479 of Port Townsend.
Following the program, Quilts of Valor will present hand-made quilts to 20 veterans.
The public is invited to the event.
Also today, veterans are invited to a special Seahawks party in Port Angeles and a dinner in Clallam Bay.
Veterans Day Ceremony
FORKS — Fletcher-Wittenborn Post 9106, Veterans of Foreign Wars will conduct a Veterans Day ceremony at 11 a.m. today.
The public is invited to the ceremony at the Forks Transit Center, 551 S. Forks Ave.
The transit center is also the location of the recently dedicated Gold Star Family Memorial Monument which honors families who have lost a loved one who was serving in the military.
For more information, call the post at 360-374-5489.
Seahawks football
PORT ANGELES — A special Veterans Day/Seahawks Watch Party is set for 4 p.m. today at the Naval Elks Lodge ballroom.
The lodge is at 131 E. First St., Port Angeles.
The free potluck includes a raffle, with all funds going to the Pennies for Quarters program for local homeless veterans. Raffle items include a signed Cliff Avril football.
The event, which features the Seahawks-versus-49ers Monday Night Football match-up, is co-hosted by the Elks and Olympic Peninsula Seahawkers.
Veterans dinner
CLALLAM BAY — All veterans and their spouses are invited to celebrate Veterans Day at 5 p.m. today.
The observance will be at the Clallam Bay-Sekiu Lions Den, 90 Bogachiel St. Dinner will be served at 6 p.m.
The public is welcome to ride for a $15 donation.
TUESDAY
Appreciation potluck
PORT ANGELES — Fairview Grange will host a veterans appreciation potluck at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
The meal at 161 Lake Farm Road in Port Angeles will be preceded by a short ceremony to honor veterans, active duty military personnel and those who have died.
The public is invited to attend non-veterans are asked to bring a potluck item.
For more information, call 360-461-9008.
