thedrifter
11-10-02, 04:18 PM
Respect for those who serve, desire for peace mingle at parade
November 10, 2002
By SAM KENNEDY
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Some marched on their own two feet, others walked with the help of crutches or canes, and still others smiled gently and waved from surplus Army jeeps that carried them through downtown Petaluma on Saturday afternoon in the North Bay Veterans Day Parade.
They were white-haired World War II and Korean War veterans, graying Vietnam vets and others, living symbols of past sacrifices and a reminder of what soon may come.
With war against Iraq looming, many participants said this year's parade took on a special significance.
"I think, in general, people are feeling more patriotic," said Bettie Crandall, 79, of Windsor, who was a member of the Navy WAVES -- Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service -- during World War II.
Broneil Baytkarim, 16, a member of the Sea Cadets, an organization that prepares teen-agers for Navy careers, said his thoughts were of those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
"A lot of people have lost their lives, and I keep that in mind," said Baytkarim, who is from San Bruno.
"Some people," added Jack Clifford, a cadet who is also 16 and from San Bruno, "might lose their lives again."
Petaluma held its first Veterans Day parade in 1920, a year after President Woodrow Wilson declared Nov. 11 Armistice Day, a national holiday in honor of the treaty that ended World War I.
Several hundred people -- fewer than in recent years -- lined the streets Saturday despite the threat of rain. A few held signs protesting possible military action in Iraq.
Other spectators, who quietly watched the procession of high school bands, firetrucks and old soldiers, said they attended the event with mixed feelings.
Hope Stewart, 64, of Petaluma described herself as a staunch opponent of war with Iraq. But she said she also wanted to honor those who serve in the military.
"I may be part of a war protest, but I'll be here at the parade, too," she said.
George Stucky, 72, of Petaluma suggested that President Bush should travel to Iraq and speak directly to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein before he sends American men and women overseas to kill and die there.
Yet Stucky, who served in the Army during the Korean War, said his feelings about war don't translate into ill will against those who wear the uniform. "I'm a veteran," he said. "I respect those in the service."
Among the roughly 100 entries in the parade Saturday, troops who served in long-ago wars were also represented. Some participants were dressed in the blue Union uniforms of the Civil War and the khaki fatigues of the Spanish-American War.
Robert Garbish, a 57-year old Vietnam veteran from Vallejo, wore an olive-green uniform from the American Expeditionary Force in World War I.
The parade lost its last real World War I veteran when Earl Macklin Murphy of Santa Rosa died last year at age 103.
The event concluded with a memorial ceremony in Walnut Park. About 100 people, displaying the spectrum of uniform colors, bowed their heads in silence to the solemn notes of "Taps" on the bugle.
Sempers,
Roger
November 10, 2002
By SAM KENNEDY
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Some marched on their own two feet, others walked with the help of crutches or canes, and still others smiled gently and waved from surplus Army jeeps that carried them through downtown Petaluma on Saturday afternoon in the North Bay Veterans Day Parade.
They were white-haired World War II and Korean War veterans, graying Vietnam vets and others, living symbols of past sacrifices and a reminder of what soon may come.
With war against Iraq looming, many participants said this year's parade took on a special significance.
"I think, in general, people are feeling more patriotic," said Bettie Crandall, 79, of Windsor, who was a member of the Navy WAVES -- Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service -- during World War II.
Broneil Baytkarim, 16, a member of the Sea Cadets, an organization that prepares teen-agers for Navy careers, said his thoughts were of those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
"A lot of people have lost their lives, and I keep that in mind," said Baytkarim, who is from San Bruno.
"Some people," added Jack Clifford, a cadet who is also 16 and from San Bruno, "might lose their lives again."
Petaluma held its first Veterans Day parade in 1920, a year after President Woodrow Wilson declared Nov. 11 Armistice Day, a national holiday in honor of the treaty that ended World War I.
Several hundred people -- fewer than in recent years -- lined the streets Saturday despite the threat of rain. A few held signs protesting possible military action in Iraq.
Other spectators, who quietly watched the procession of high school bands, firetrucks and old soldiers, said they attended the event with mixed feelings.
Hope Stewart, 64, of Petaluma described herself as a staunch opponent of war with Iraq. But she said she also wanted to honor those who serve in the military.
"I may be part of a war protest, but I'll be here at the parade, too," she said.
George Stucky, 72, of Petaluma suggested that President Bush should travel to Iraq and speak directly to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein before he sends American men and women overseas to kill and die there.
Yet Stucky, who served in the Army during the Korean War, said his feelings about war don't translate into ill will against those who wear the uniform. "I'm a veteran," he said. "I respect those in the service."
Among the roughly 100 entries in the parade Saturday, troops who served in long-ago wars were also represented. Some participants were dressed in the blue Union uniforms of the Civil War and the khaki fatigues of the Spanish-American War.
Robert Garbish, a 57-year old Vietnam veteran from Vallejo, wore an olive-green uniform from the American Expeditionary Force in World War I.
The parade lost its last real World War I veteran when Earl Macklin Murphy of Santa Rosa died last year at age 103.
The event concluded with a memorial ceremony in Walnut Park. About 100 people, displaying the spectrum of uniform colors, bowed their heads in silence to the solemn notes of "Taps" on the bugle.
Sempers,
Roger