San Rafael, CA – Rick Saber, a retired U.S. Navy and civilian aviator and the commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7816 in Novato, will serve as the keynote speaker for Marin County’s annual Veterans Day ceremony on Saturday, November 11, at the military monuments at the Marin County Civic Center.
Novato resident Rick Saber, shown on a combat flight over Vietnam, is the featured speaker for the Veterans Day ceremony scheduled for 9 AM Saturday, November 11.The host of the ceremony is the Marin County United Veterans Council, representing veterans organizations and military family support groups. The event, which begins at “zero nine hundred” (9 AM), will mark the 105th anniversary of the end of World War I, which took place in the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918. As per tradition, “Taps” will be played during that 11th hour.
As in recent pandemic years, it will be an outdoor ceremony only with folding chairs for visitors set up along Avenue of the Flags. Major construction is taking place at the Marin Veterans Memorial Auditorium and the Marin Center parking lot area, but County officials are accommodating the Veterans Day event near where Civic Center Drive meetings Avenue of the Flags.
Here are some logistical notes about the event:
- Veterans Day visitors are asked to park at the office of the Marin County Employee Retirement Association, at 1 McInnis Parkway, and make a short walk to the monuments area. That parking lot has four disabled parking spots and two electric vehicle charging stations.
- Street parking will be available on McInnis Parkway.
- Parking is not permitted at the unpaved Christmas Tree Lot near the monuments; it is rented to a business setting up for tree sales.
- To prevent traffic problems, there will be no passenger dropoffs allowed next to the monuments where Avenue of the Flags meets Civic Center Drive.
- There will be no passenger dropoffs allowed at the nearby bus stop or SMART station; they are red zones.
- Portable toilets will be in place near the military monuments.
Saber, a native San Franciscan and a Novato resident, enlisted in the Navy in 1958 and flew missions over Vietnam during the Cold War. He was on active duty and the reserves for 11 years, reaching the rank of lieutenant. He spent 35 years flying international routes for United Airlines and added 17 more years in the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary serving in leadership roles. He has been commander of VFW Post 7816 in downtown Novato since 2021.
The annual Veterans Day event, 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 to attend the ceremony and become active in Marin’s veterans groups.
In addition to Saber, the event will feature the Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District Non-Marching Band, aka the Sewer Band, the singing voices of Alicia Elkin and Kaylie Edwards, the Marin/Sonoma Honor Guard, and Veterans Council President Glenn Ross. After a closing prayer, the ceremony wraps up with free coffee and doughnuts.
Veterans Day, always celebrated on November 11 regardless which day of the week on which it falls, will be observed as a closed-door holiday by the County of Marin, government offices and many businesses on Friday, November 10.
The Marin County 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 12,000 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.