Veterans honored across North Olympic Peninsula

More than 250 veterans, their families, friends and community members gathered Saturday, Nov. 11 in the hangar at U.S. Coast Guard Station Port Angeles for the annual Veterans Day celebration, honoring those who had served their country.

The music-filled event was sponsored by the Clallam County Veterans Association and hosted by the Coast Guard station.

Keynote speaker Capt. Holly Harrison, chief of staff for the 13th District of the Coast Guard, said those who served in the military share a common bond and it’s important they support each other.

Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell / Capt. Brent Paul, left, and Capt. Benjamin Leppard of Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Northwest lead the annual Veterans Day Remembrance Program at Gardiner Community Cemetery, in honor of Medal of Honor recipient construction mechanic third class Marvin G. Shields, on Nov. 11. Shields is the only Navy Seabee to have received the Medal of Honor. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for heroism above and beyond the call of duty in the Vietnam War. A native of Gardiner, Shields was buried with a Marine Corps honor guard at the Gardiner Cemetery on June 19, 1965.

“You can try to explain what it was like, but words just never seem to do it justice,” said Rowan, who in 2003 became the first woman in the history of the Coast Guard to earn the Bronze Star Medal for her service as a cutter commander during Operation Iraqi Freedom. “You can’t explain how you felt, how hot it was, how tired you were, how scared you were to someone who wasn’t in a similar situation.”

It does not matter where a person served, the branch of service or what he or she did, Harrison said.

Photo by Keith Thorpe/Olympic Peninsula News Group Cmdr. Brent Schmadeke, commanding officer of U.S. Coast Guard Air Station/Sector Field Office Port Angeles, left, introduces keynote speaker Capt. Holly Harrison of Coast Guard District 13, center, as Chaplain Mike VanProyen looks on during the Veterans Day program in Port Angeles on Nov. 11.

“When you look at the military, there’s more that unites us than separates us,” Harrison said. “There is something different about those who serve in uniform — the sense of duty, the sense of honor, the sense of purpose and dedication. We serve because we understand and value self-sacrifice for the greater good, and that is something you can’t explain. You simply have to feel it. It has to be who you are.”

Photo by Christi Baron/Olympic Peninsula News Group Pastor George Williams with the Forks Bible Church offers a short message and prayer to about 60 veterans and community members gathered at the Gold Star Families Memorial Monument on Nov. 11 in Forks.

Veterans from each of the armed forces stood as the Port Angeles High School band played their songs: “The Army Song,” “The Marines’ Hymn,” the U.S. Navy’s “Anchors Aweigh” and “The U.S. Air Force Song.” (The U.S. Space Force, established in 2019, was honored, but its song was not played.)

The Port Angeles High School Choir, the Grand Olympic Chorus and Juan de Fuca Harmony performed patriotic songs and joined together to sing “God Bless America.” The Marine Corps League Honor Guard provided a three-volley rifle salute and Coast Guard veteran Rick McKenzie of Port Angeles played “Amazing Grace” on bagpipes to close out the ceremony.

Organizers said the Port Angeles celebration was the largest sponsored Veterans Day event west of the Mississippi River.

Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell / The community honors Medal of Honor recipient construction mechanic third class Marvin G. Shields, at Gardiner Community Cemetery on Nov. 11. Shields is the only Navy Seabee to have received the Medal of Honor. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for heroism above and beyond the call of duty in the Vietnam War. A native of Gardiner, Shields was buried with a Marine Corps honor guard at the Gardiner Cemetery on June 19, 1965.