.png)
.png)
Tributes for service by veterans in and out of uniform mark annual Nov. 11 gatherings in Juneau
Some locals attend Veterans Day events, others an Armistice Day observance at the Capitol; spirit of support is similar at all
By Mark Sabbatini
Juneau Independent
Bill Arnold’s salute to fellow veterans this year included voting for them as write-in candidates in last week’s election before joining them at an Armistice Day gathering in front of the Alaska State Capitol on Wednesday.
The U.S. Air Force veteran showed some of them a ballot crib indicating Juneau residents John Dunker and KJ Metcalf as his first-choice picks for U.S. Senate and House, respectively, along with other names to fill other slots in top races.
"Absolutely I’d vote them in," he said in an interview before the observance hosted by the Juneau chapter of Veterans for Peace started at 11 a.m., marking the hour of the signing of an armistice on Nov. 11, 1919, that ended World War I.
The Armistice Day gathering is one of three traditional events in Juneau paying tribute to veterans and active-duty service members, all beginning at or about 11 a.m. The others were a Veterans Day gathering at Centennial Hall co-hosted by the Veterans of Foreign Wars Taku Post #5559 and American Legion Post #25, and a commemoration by Southeast Alaska Native Veterans at the Tlingit and Haida Community Council Building.
About 20 people gathered in rainy and windy conditions at the Capitol for the Armistice Day observance. Organizers say Armistice Day honors the spirit of a holiday known by that name until it was changed to Veterans Day in 1954 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Craig Wilson, president of the local chapter of Veterans for Peace, mentioned last week’s election during brief remarks to those gathered outside the Capitol shortly before 11 a.m.
"People want peace," he said. "The recent elections showed that. The people that started the Iran war, that abducted Venezuela’s president, that blew up boats in the Caribbean without cause — the recent election results repudiated them."
At exactly 11 a.m. the participants, standing in a long line, began one-by-one ringing a replica of the Liberty Bell in front of the Capitol using a well-worn wooden mallet.
After the ringing ended, Arnold said he comes to the Armistice Day gathering every year because "I feel more affinity with Veterans With Peace." His Senate pick, Dunker, is a co-founder of the local chapter and Metcalf is an advocate for the organization.
An emphasis on service in many forms was emphasized during a keynote speech at the Veterans Day observance at Centennial Hall by Twayne Hickman, a U.S. Marine Corps combat veteran and professor of military strategy at the Ted Stephens Center for Arctic Security Studies.
"We talk about being on active duty, but ‘in the service’ had meaning and it still has meaning," he said. "The spirit of service doesn't end just when the uniform comes off. So in addition to ‘in the service’ we've also been in service to each other and in service with each other, which is a little bit different than in a service."
"We've all taken oaths to support and defend the Constitution, but often what you'll hear is the driving factor was not the Constitution whom we were serving, but it was those on our left and right. The willingness to sacrifice, accept responsibility and put others first."
Hickman, in an interview after the event, said the invitation to come to Juneau to speak for Veterans Day was a first. He said the theme for his remarks was inspired in part by a birthday tribute for the Marine Corps — founded on Nov. 10, 1775 — hosted by the Navy League at the Juneau Yacht Club on Tuesday night.
Clint Scott has participated in the VFW and American Legion Post event for about 15 years since moving to Juneau, but this year was his first time helping organize the gathering. He is a U.S. Navy veteran from 1996 to 2002, deployed to multiple regions abroad.
When asked what he’s thinking about — and what other people should be thinking about when it comes to current-day matters involving military veterans — Scott cited services provided by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, especially healthcare, which have been strong for many years until recently suffering a decline.
"They've lost a lot of staff and services have changed," he said, while noting "the people there are still great."
VFW Post Quartermaster Dan McCrummen, who presided over the event, said in closing remarks he spent 26 years on active duty and has now been retired for 26 years "so it's been a long, long road." But like Hickman, he said the desire to keep serving after doing so for one’s country is a persistent one.
"I walked away — I mean, I was done with serving," McCrummen said. "I was looking for a job, moving on with my life, and it took me some time for that ‘I’ to come around and say, I enjoyed serving and I want to continue serving."
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or 907-957-2306.
.jpg)
.jpg)