San Rafael, CA – A real-life “Rosie the Riveter” will serve as the keynote speaker for Marin County’s annual Veterans Day ceremony on Saturday, November 11, at the Marin Veterans Memorial Auditorium in San Rafael.
The Veterans Day ceremony starts at 9:30 a.m.
on Saturday, November 11, at Veterans Memorial Auditorium in San Rafael.
For about three years,
Phyllis Gould of Fairfax worked as a welder at the Kaiser Shipyards in Richmond during World War II. She was one of the first women to achieve journeyman classification among her union cohorts as she worked on crews building Victory and Liberty cargo and transport ships. Even in her 90s, she has been at the forefront of a movement to have the federal government recognize a national Rosie the Riveter Day.
The annual Veterans Day event, presented by the Marin County United Veterans Council and sponsored by the County of Marin, honors all Americans who served in the line of duty with our military forces, with a special emphasis on Marin’s own heroes. Event officials are actively seeking veterans from recent overseas conflicts in the Middle East to attend the ceremony and become active in veterans affairs in Marin.
The event will feature the voice of San Andreas High School senior Alexis Reed and patriotic songs played by the Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District Non-Marching Band, aka the Sewer Band. Cadets from the U.S. Air Force Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) based at Novato High School will present the colors.
The event begins with music at 9:30 a.m., and the official ceremony begins at 10. After the indoor ceremony, the program continues outdoors in front of the memorials on the Avenue of the Flags. A moment of silence will be observed in honor of the 99th anniversary of the World War I armistice agreement, which was signed in the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918. Wreaths will be laid at the foot of the statues to honor fallen comrades. Refreshments will be served in the Redwood Foyer of the Marin Veterans Memorial Auditorium after the outdoor event.
Note that the event’s start time 30 minutes earlier than the annual Memorial Day event to accommodate the “11-11-11” playing of “Taps.” For more information, contact Ray Mullin of the Marin County United Veterans Council at rayzer44@yahoo.com.
The Veterans Services Office of the Marin County Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has a staff of four people to provide timely assistance to the estimated 15,500 military vets living in the county. Veterans’ most acute needs are in applying for federal benefits, pension claims and health care services. Most veterans need more assistance as they get older, and new veterans from recent foreign conflicts need aid as they assimilate back to civilian life.
The Veterans Services Office is at 10 North San Pedro Road in San Rafael, across the street from the Marin County Civic Center. Learn more about the Veterans Service Office at www.marinhhs.org/veterans-services.