The public is invited to attend the second local Wreaths Across America ceremony, to be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 18, at Sequim View Cemetery, 1505 Sequim-Dungeness Way.
This is held outside so please dress accordingly. It should last about half an hour before the attendees are asked to place the wreaths on the marked veterans graves. Cdr. Joan Snaith, the commanding officer of the U.S. Coast Guard base in Port Angeles, is the guest speaker. There will be a flyover with a 1944 Piper L-4H WWII spotter aircraft flown by U.S. Air Force Capt. David Woodcock, of Sequim.
This is the first year Space Force will be recognized. Col. Joey Lazzaro (U.S. Air Force, ret.), who was on the Apollo 13 Team and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, will place the wreath.
Parking will be available at the Seventh Day Adventist Church (30 Sanford Lane), at the bottom of the hill or throughout the cemetery as directed by the traffic coordinators.
Junior patriots
DAR’s Junior American Citizens (JAC) are learning and preparing for their participation in the Wreaths Across America ceremony at Sequim View Cemetery on Dec. 18. They will be sharing their knowledge with volunteers who come to lay wreaths on veterans’ graves, as well as leading the Pledge of Allegiance during the ceremony.
After having met so many veterans last month for Veterans Day, the children are excited to be a part of this upcoming event.
School-age children who are interested in joining in this JAC work should contact JAC co-chair Marianne Burton at mtc1918jac@gmail.com.
The next club meeting is at 4 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 6, at the American Legion Hall-Jack Grennan Post 62, 107 E. Prairie St.
Help a veteran
We have had a blustery, wet fall and winter is coming. Please remember that veterans and their families can come to the Veterans Center, 216 S. Francis St., Port Angeles, and ask to go in the Clothing Closet.
There, the center keeps warm clothes and coats, gloves and hats for men and women, non-perishable food, bath towels, sheet sets and blankets, a mix of new and gently used items. Also available are regular-sized hygiene items and small to-go bags of these items to take away.
All of this is free to veterans and their families.
The Clothing Closet is open when the Veterans Center is open — 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Monday through Thursday.
Steph and Lyn work hard to keep everything clean and neat and stocked. They are so happy when they see that items are being taken and used. Come in and check it out!
Hobucket House update
I hope you have been following the progress being made on Hobucket House, a permanent housing project for disabled veterans across the street from Sarge’s Place in Forks. The site work is almost complete. The house is finished and will be trucked to Forks in five pieces in January.
To make the house a home, there is a wish list of household items at a.co//2C4s1uh. This is an Amazon site with all the items listed. You can also click on Sarge’s Place and see what they need.
Thank you for your support to help get Hobucket House up and liveable!
Contributors: American Legion, Paul Renick, grennanalpost62@gmail.com; MOAA and Voices For Veterans, Lorri Gilchrist, cdrlgilchrist@gmail.com; Marine Corps League, Mark Schildknecht, markisin2day@gmail.com; Korean War Veterans, Jerry Rettela, eletteor@msn.com; VFW 4760, Steve Henrikson, secretary@vfwpost4760.com; VFW 6787, Joe Borden, borden@wavecable.com.
