A regional Veterans Day ceremony will be held Saturday, Nov. 11, at the Coast Guard Base in Port Angeles.
Attendees can begin entering the base at 9 a.m. for the 11 a.m. ceremony. The ceremony will last one hour. Please wear warm clothes as it is in the hangar with minimal heat and protection. The Base Exchange will not be open. All attendees need to exit the base immediately following the ceremony.
Showing up for the Stand Down
The 2023 Port Angeles Stand Down served 175 veterans with 31 service providers and 110 volunteers, including providers. There were 29 female veterans, seven of them homeless. There were 26 total homeless veterans. More than 300 meals were served and flu shots were available.
This was the final Stand Down of the year. Voices for Veterans is the 501(c)3 nonprofit that makes the annual Stand Downs in Forks, Port Townsend and Port Angeles happen. You can become a member of the organization by reaching out to Rita at rita.frangione@gmail.com.
It takes a lot of volunteers to put on a Stand Down so please consider helping next year. These events support homeless and at-risk veterans and their families.
All year long veterans can receive help from 9 a.m.-2 p.m., Monday through Thursday, at the Veterans Center, 216 S. Francis St., Port Angeles. Go there to get questions answered, help filling out VA claims and access the Clothing Closet.
Habitat’s veteran housing
The Clallam County Habitat for Humanity is going to do a Veteran Build of a four-plex in Port Angeles, exclusively for veterans. The units are two bedroom, one bath homes.
Veterans can get the applications at either the Sequim Habitat Boutique Store, 154 W. Washington St. (10 a.m.-5 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday) or at the Port Angeles Habitat office, 728 E. Front St. (10 a.m.-5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday).
Paper applications should be available starting Friday, Nov. 10, and should be submitted between Nov. 11-Dec. 12. Applications are also available online at habitatclallam.org.
Free Thanksgiving meal
The Sequim VFW and Sun Taxi will host a free Thanksgiving dinner from 1-4 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 23) at the VFW, 169 E. Washington St. The dinner is open to all.
Wreaths Across America
Michael Trebert Chapter (MTC) DAR will present the fourth local Wreaths Across America ceremony at 11 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 16, at Mount Angeles Memorial Park, 45 Monroe Road.
Wreaths Across America is a national program that places live Balsam veterans’ wreaths on veterans graves. MTC places them in 10 Clallam County Cemeteries to “Remember the fallen, Honor those that serve and their families and Teach the next generation the value of freedom.”
It is estimated that 2,800 wreaths are needed in the ten cemeteries. You can sponsor a live balsam veteran wreath for $17 by going to wreathsacrossamerica.org/WA0153. If you purchase two wreaths for $34, MTC gets a third wreath free. Make sure you use “WA0153” so you are getting wreaths for peninsula cemeteries.If you have questions please email me at cdrlgilchrist@gmail.com.
Toys for Tots
The Mount Olympus Detachment of the Marine Corps League spearheads the local Toys for Tots program. They are asking all individual family requests to go through the agencies listed on the Toys for Tots website.
Because of the sheer numbers that were experienced last year they are unable to fulfill individual requests; volunteers are limited and travel in potentially bad weather are key reasons.
Collection times are all 9 a.m.-2p.m. Collection locations and dates are as follows: The Longhouse Market & Deli (near 7 Cedars) 271020 U.S. highway 101, Nov. 25 and Dec. 9; Swain’s General Store, 602 E. First St., Port Angeles, Nov. 25 and Fridays-Saturdays in December through Dec. 16; Walmart stores in Sequim (1110 W. Washington St.) and Port Angeles (3411 E. Kolonels Way) Dec. 1-2, Dec. 8-9 and Dec. 15-16.
Please give new, unwrapped toys for babies to 16 years old.
Contributors: American Legion, Carl Bradshaw, grennanalpost62@gmail.com; DAR and MOAA, Lorri Gilchrist, cdrlgilchrist@gmail.com; Voices For Veterans, Rita Frangione rita.frangione@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, Rod Lee, sealteam120473@gmail.com.
