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THE 68TH ANNUAL ARMED FORCES DAY PARADE STARTS AT 10 A.M. SATURDAY, MAY 21

ArmedForces

2016 Festival Guide

Armed Forces Day Parade set in traditionBy LESLIE KELLYlkelly@soundpublishing.com

Anyone who lives in or near Bremerton knows that it’s a Navy town. And they come out in full force

to celebrate that on Armed Forces Day each year.

Bremerton will celebrate its 68th annual Armed Forces Day on May 21 with a parade, pancake breakfast, barbecue luncheon and a host of festive activities honoring our veterans, active duty and reserve personnel.

According to local officials, this event is the longest-running Armed Forces Day parade in the U.S. and is officially recognized by the Department of Defense.

The parade begins at 10 a.m. sharp, fol-lowed by a Heroes’ Barbecue. Free hot dogs, chips and soda are served to all active-duty, reserve, retired and veteran service personnel.

The parade’s annual attendance is 25,000 to 40,000 people from all over Western Washington. Entries come from as far away as Oregon and Spokane to participate in this event.

The parade includes all branches of the military, police and firefighters, youth organizations, dignitaries, commercial busi-nesses, car clubs and more.

This year’s parade grand marshal is Adm. Scott Swift, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet. He was appointed to the posi-tion on May 27, 2015. He is the 35th com-mander since the fleet was established in February 1941, with headquarters at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

Swift attended San Diego State University and received his commission in 1979 through the Aviation Reserve Officer Candidate program. He received his mas-

ter’s degree from the Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island.

His operational assignments include Attack Squadron (VA) 94; VA-97; Carrier Air Wing 11 staff; commander, Strike Fighter Attack Squadron 97; commander, Carrier Air Wing 14; deputy commander, Naval Forces, U.S. Central Command; commander, Carrier Strike Group 9; and commander, U.S. 7th Fleet. During those tours he participated in combat Operations Praying Mantis, Southern Watch, Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.

His shore tour assignments include VA-122; Naval War College; commander of Strike Fighter Weapons School, Pacific; F/A-18 requirements officer, OPNAV; commander, VFA-122; officer of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics staff; and direc-tor of operations, U.S. Pacific Command.

Prior to assuming command at U.S. Pacific Fleet, he was assigned to the Pentagon as the director, Navy Staff.

The parade is sponsored and planned by the Bremerton Chamber of Commerce and the Bremerton Central Lions Club.

Bremerton Chamber Executive Director Gena Wales said she anticipates 147 entries, including 16 marching bands, in this year’s parade.

Bremerton started the parade in 1948 to honor John “Bud” Hawk, who died in November 2013. Known as Bremerton’s hometown hero, Hawk entered the service in Bremerton and was awarded a Medal of Honor by President Harry Truman at the Washington State Capitol in Olympia.

Hawk, who taught fifth and sixth grades in Kitsap County beginning in 1952, started his teaching career at Tracyton Elementary School. In addition to his Medal of Honor, Hawk was the recipient of four Purple Hearts and a Distinguished Conduct Medal from the United Kingdom. He also has an elementary school in Silverdale named in his honor.

The first Armed Forces Day was cel-ebrated nationally on May 20, 1950, one month before the Korean War began. The holiday was officially designated in 1949. Prior to that, each branch of the military had its own special day. The day was cre-ated by President Truman on Aug. 31, 1949. The five branches of the armed forces had just been consolidated under

the Department of Defense.In a speech announcing the formation

of the day, President Harry S Truman “praised the work of the military services at home and across the seas” and said, “it is vital to the security of the nation and to the establishment of a desirable peace.” In an excerpt from the Presidential Proclamation of Feb. 27, 1950, Truman stated:

“Armed Forces Day, Saturday, May 20, 1950, marks the first combined demonstration by America’s defense team of its progress, under the National Security Act, towards the goal of readiness for any eventuality. It is the first parade of preparedness by the unified forces of our land, sea, and air defense.”

Bremerton’s Armed Forces Day cel-ebration in 1950 had the slogan, “Teamed for Defense.” C.A. “Buzz” King, chair-man of that year’s event, wrote in a typed and mimeographed report to Capt. C.O.

Humphreys that an estimated 14,000 people attended the parade, 800 people attended a military ball and 11,750 individu-als visited the Bremerton shipyard and shops.

The 1950 Bremerton Armed Forces Day sched-ule of events included a public judging of baked beans and a cornbread contest (won by the U.S. Navy barracks) at the shipyard cafeteria, forma-tions of Navy aircraft from Whidbey Island flying over Bremerton and a public military ball at the Bremerton Civic Center from 9 p.m. to midnight.

While still maintain-ing the tradition of the parade, Bremerton has incorporated additional events, such as an annual golf tournament, a pan-cake breakfast and a free barbecue for active duty and reserve personnel and veterans.

Parade attendance is two or three people deep along the entire parade

route. This year’s parade route is much the same as last year’s, except the staging area has changed locations, according to Wales. A complete parade route map is included in this section. The parade starts at Sixth and Chester and continues along Sixth Street, to Park Avenue, to Fourth Street, to Pacific Avenue ending at Eight Street and Pacific Avenue.

Expected again this year will be some vendors along the sidewalks on Fifth Street, including parade souvenirs and arts and crafts.

The parade will have many local military dignitaries in restored military vehicles driven by members of the West Sound Military Vehicles Collector’s Club. Classic cars and the Shriners clowns will also be in the parade. Come early and have break-fast. At the Lions pancake breakfast, which begins at 7 a.m., more than 1,200 eggs and 1,200 sausages are expected to be served.

Adm. Scott Swift

A drill team member in a previous parade. File photo

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PAGE 2 ARMED FORCES 2016 FESTIVAL GUIDE MAY 20, 2016

Events are planned. Everything’s in place. So why not make this weekend all about Armed Forces Day?

The parade is the big thing. But there are many other activities to watch or take part in.

Here’s the line up:• 7 a.m. to 10 a.m.: Bremerton Lions

Pancake Breakfast at Fourth Street between Washington and Pacific.

• 7:30 a.m.: 5K run sponsored by the Fast Attack Run Club on PSNS (through the tun-nel then on to Manette).

• 10 a.m.: Kitsap Credit Union 68th annual Armed Forces Day Parade (downtown.)

• 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.: Puget Sound Energy Heroes’ Barbecue on Pacific Avenue between Burwell and Fourth.

• 6 p.m.: Navy League Gala, Admiral Theatre, 515 Pacific Ave.

But don’t stop there. Bremerton has many things to do downtown to fill your day.

Downtown, the town’s connection to the Navy, is made even more apparent. The sail of the USS Parche — a decommissioned Sturgeon-class nuclear submarine — rises from the concrete near the Bremerton Ferry Terminal. A short walk away is the Harborside Fountain Park which features mesmerizing synchronized water fountains. Each artistic fountain mimics the shape of a submarine sail.

Nearby is the Puget Sound Navy Museum,

which tells the story of the U.S. Navy and the Pacific Northwest’s naval heritage.

The museum’s feature exhibit is on the USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74), which gives visitors an idea of what life is like aboard a nuclear aircraft carrier, including how sailors sleep, eat, and what their missions are like. A special exhibit, “When Baseball Went to War,” is open through the summer.

Admission to the museum is free. It is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Visit www.pugetsound navymuseum.org for more information.

Just outside the museum, a harbor board-walk leads one past the Bremerton Ferry Terminal. Washington’s famed ferries can whisk vehicles and foot passengers to down-town Seattle in about 55 minutes.

Further along the walkway is the Bremerton marina, and also the USS Turner Joy (DD-951), a Forrest Sherman class destroyer that served 1958-1982. One-hour tours of the ship are conducted regularly.

The Turner Joy was the first ship in action in the Vietnam War and was involved in the Gulf of Tonkin Incident. Visit www.ussturner joy.org for more information about this his-toric ship.

The Bremerton Harborside District also features several coffee shops, gift stores, restaurants, two major hotels and two brew pubs.

Parade, museums, events downtown will fill your day

MAY 20, 2016 ARMED FORCES 2016 FESTIVAL GUIDE PAGE 3

Burke Waldron: Once a sailor, always a sailorBy LESLIE KELLYlkelly@soundpublishing.com

Anyone who has attended Bremerton’s Armed Forces Day parades in the past knows Burke

Waldron.He’s the “aging” U.S. Navy veteran in

his dress whites, walking the entire dis-tance of the parade.

And he’ll do it again this year.But this year, Waldron, who is 92, will

be walking with the Puget Sound Honor Flight float.

Puget Sound Honor Flight is part of a national nonprofit network created to honor America’s veterans. Its mission: “To transport the nation’s heroes on ‘One Last Mission,’ a trip to Washington, D.C. to visit the memorials built in their honor.”

Waldron, a World War II veteran, made his honor flight two years ago.

And because of that, Stephen Talkington, who also is a retired Navy veteran, arranged for Waldron to walk alongside the Honor Flight float in this year’s parade. Talkington, of Bremerton, is active in the Puget Sound Honor Flight organization.

The float, which will include a deco-rated boat being pulled along the route, will feature Renee Peavey, the state’s Honor Flight director.

Waldron, who served in the Navy from 1943-46, has marched in 16 Armed Forces Day parades in Bremerton.

“It’s a big deal,” Waldron said. “I dress in my whites and fall in somewhere along the parade route and just go with it. It’s quite an honor to represent all those who didn’t come home.”

Waldron grew up in Utah, east of Salt Lake. After high school, all his buddies were being drafted. But he never got the call. So he went to ask why and found that they’d lost his draft registration.

“The guy said, ‘Report to Fort Douglas tomorrow morning at eight o’clock,’ ” Waldron said. “I went to the Federal Building and joined the Navy, because my father had been in the Army in the trenches in World War I and I didn’t want that.”

He completed his basic training, went to service school for general tests and, “because I was a bad speller, they assigned me to signal school at the University of Chicago,” Waldron said.

That was almost luxury compared to what he would see later in his mili-tary service. In Chicago, he stayed in

a gymnasium that had been converted to barracks and he ate in the school’s cafeteria.

“Because we were in the service, they waited on us,” he said. “We were served our food.”

And liberty was in the city, where “everything was given to us for free,” he said.

Following that he was transferred to Camp Pendleton, California, where he became part of the armed guard and was assigned to a ship.

“I had one day’s training on how to hold a rifle,” he said. “And then we were off to Pearl Harbor.”

From there he was on a troop ship as part of the invasion of Makin Islands, southwest of Hawaii.

He and his fellow sailors established a command post where they could inter-cept transmissions from the Japanese troops. He also was part of the Sipan Invasion as part of GROPAC (Ground Forces of the Pacific) No. 8.

“That was the scariest thing I ever had to do,” he said of getting off the ship by jumping down cargo nets into boats occupied by U.S. Marines. “We were in full gear with our equipment and we just had to close our eyes and jump.”

VE Day came after that in July of 1945. He was sent to Shoemaker, California to serve out his time until he could be discharged.

“I never had any leave in three years,” he said. “The only time off I had was

a liberty in Chicago and one at Pearl Harbor. A bunch of us planned to go ashore because there was a rodeo in Honolulu. But everybody got food poi-soning from something they served us, except me. So I went by myself.

“As I was sitting in the hot sun watch-ing the rodeo, it hit me. I got real sick. So I left and tried to walk back to the ship. But I was stumbling around so much that I got arrested as a drunk.”

He tried to explain, and finally the police called his commander and he was allowed to go home.

“From then, on we called the chow station ‘Tomain Taverns,’ ” he said.

Waldron said he had a lot of really good friendships from his Navy service. When he was discharged, he returned to Garfield, Utah, married and had five children.

Sixteen years ago, he moved from Utah to the Pacific Northwest. He became a general contractor and owns his own business. And still, at 92, he’s up at 5:30 a.m. to exercise on a miniature trampoline in his living room while he watches the morning news. And then, he heads off to a job site. Currently, he has a deck he’s re-doing and a some windows to replace.

“I was so busy all these years taking care of my family and my own house that I never paid myself,” he said. “I never got to retire.”

His wife, Taye, died in 2010. His five children three in Utah, one in Nevada and one in Hawaii, visit often. He also has 17 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.

Taking his Honor Flight in 2014 was a special moment for him.

“We saw everything,” he said. “We were treated so well.”

And when Waldron returned home, he celebrated his 90th birthday in style the following week.

“I went sky-diving with a friend from my church,” he said.

Waldron’s been offered a spot to ride in a military vehicle in the parade, but he told then “No.

“I’m an old guy, but I can walk,” he said.

And the best part about being the parades, other than honoring those who didn’t return from war, is the special attention.

“Sometimes the girls along the route will step out and give me a kiss,” he said.

To learn more about the Puget Sound Honor Flight, go to www.PugetSoundHonorFlight.org. The group takes four flights a year from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, two in the spring and two in the fall.

Each flight has up to 55 veterans and their escorts. The most recent returned home May 9.

From left, Stephen Talkington and Burke Waldron have been friends since Waldron’s Honor Flight in 2014 Leslie Kelly photo

Burke Waldron in Washington, D.C. during his Honor Flight in 2014. Cathy Towers, left, Tarkington’s daughter, travels as the nurse on the flights. Contributed photo

Burke Waldron in 1943.

PAGE 4 ARMED FORCES 2016 FESTIVAL GUIDE MAY 20, 2016

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Making it all happen on time and in orderBy LESLIE KELLYlkelly@soundpublishing.com

Just how do you get 100-plus floats, bands, horse patrols, military ensembles and various princesses to line up in order?

Ask Chris Funke. Funke, a member of the Bremerton

Kiwanis, is in charge of the Kiwanis Parade Marshals for this year’s Armed Forces Day Parade.

For more than 15 years, Kiwanis members have volunteered their time as parade marshals, making sure that the parade goes off without a hitch.

“Some people call it ‘organized chaos,’” Funke said. “But we take this job pretty seriously. It’s a great oppor-tunity to show those who serve, those who have served, and their families who have sacrificed so much, how much they mean to us.”

According to Funke, it takes from 35 to 40 volunteers to get parade entrants lined up on Saturday morning. Along with Kiwanis, several members of the Key Club at Bremerton High School, arrive as early at 7 a.m. The parade begins at 10 a.m.

“We’re standing by at the staging area where all entrants show up between 7:30 and 9:30 a.m.,” he said. “It’s a complex project to get everybody lined up and for them to know who they follow.”

Assigned by numbers, the parade participants begin to take order. The number tags are important, too, because that’s what the judges use to give out awards.

This year, the staging area is along Sixth Street, between Naval Avenue to almost Chester Avenue, where the parade begins. Bands stage at the Kiwanis Park on Fifth Avenue.

“This is going to be easier than last

year when we assembled at Olympic College and Evergreen Park and then converged together,” Funke said. “That was a challenge.”

Funke admits that getting all the bands lined up is one of the toughest jobs of the day because there are so many members in each band. But he said, they follow orders well.

The Kiwanis Parade Marshals work in tandem with Bremerton Police offi-

cers. Funke said the police act as parade control and make sure that the crowd is up and out of the street as the parade progresses down its route. After the parade gets going, some of the marshals walk the route to see if they can be of any help.

“At the corner of Park and Pacific, where we make that turn, that’s where the police always have to move the crowd back so the parade can go by,” he said. “Those large boats and military vehicles, they need room.”

Funke is in awe of the bands and others who perform in the Bremerton Armed Forces Day parade in the morn-ing, and then, do it all over again in the Poulsbo Viking Fest parade in the after-noon.

“Some of these bands travel from outside Kitsap County to be in these parades,” he said. “I can’t imagine how tired they are at the end of the day.”

And, just incase you’re wondering, parade marshals don’t scoop poop.

“The equestrian groups supply their own pooper-scoopers,” he said. “We’re happy about that.”

While the job only lasts a few hours, Funke said Kiwanianss are happy to provide the service. “It’s pretty neat. We get to see the parade from behind the scenes. But we are relieved when it’s over.”

Central Kitsap High School Marching Band and their mascot perform in a previous Armed Forces Day Parade. Lining up bands is a big task for the Kiwanis. File photo

MAY 20, 2016 ARMED FORCES 2016 FESTIVAL GUIDE PAGE 5

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And the BHS band plays on in every paradeBy LESLIE KELLYlkelly@soundpublishing.com

There’s nothing like a big old brass marching band in a parade. And, in fact, the Armed Forces Day Parade will have many. But there’s one that seems to always win the highest accolades.

It’s the Bremerton High School Marching Band, Drill Team and Flag Team. Band members will be dressed in their black and gold uniforms, and the drill team members will be wearing sailor hats in honor of the military.

Band Director Max Karler knows that many in the crowd will be looking for them. After all, they are the hometown band. Although it’s only his third year teaching at Bremerton High School, Karler said this is “the” parade of the year for them.

“I can’t imagine not being in this parade,” he said, noting that the school’s band had been in this parade for many, many years. “It’s just something that’s always on our calendar.”

This year there are 50 members of the band, 16 on the drill team and 12 in the flag team. The drill team is coached by Felicity Jaramillo and the flag team’s coach is Catherine Derry. They all practice together two times a week, each for 90 minutes.

“That’s the organized practices,” he said. “Many of the section leaders hold other rehearsals on their own time.”

Band members are “dedicated,” he said,

and they give the band the time that it needs.

“The students say that the band is the missing piece in their lives,” Karler said. “No other school activity gives them the artistic place they need. This is where they let out their creativity. And they become a commu-nity. They do it for the enjoyment and to be part of something quite exceptional.”

Karler previously taught in Tacoma at a school where there wasn’t even a band. He spent several years building up a music pro-

gram there. Then he accepted the job in Bremerton.

Just what makes a good band? “What’s most important is ‘Does

it sound good?’” he said. “Our stu-dents put in time every day. They work hard and they get better as we go along.”

Next, he said, is how they look.“Their feet need to be in step,” he

said. “They have to perform as one cohesive band. Uniformity in how they look and move is important.”

Bremerton High’s band takes care of details, and Karler thinks that’s why they usually win awards.

“Students take a lot of ownership of the program,” he said. “They really take pride in being the best band.”

On May 21, the band will play its school fight song, “Anchors Away,” and two other songs that the stu-

dents have picked. Those are “Starships,” by Nicki Minaj and “Crazy in Love,” by Beyonce.

And as in past years, prior to the parade, they’ll get dressed in uniforms and make a lap around the block where the high school sits.

“It’s our way of thanking the neighbor-hood for putting up with us,” Karler said. “That block is our practice route and the people who live there get to hear us all year

long. On parade day, most of them come out on their porches and cheer for us.”

The band usually plays in three parades each year. This year was a special year because the entire band flew to Disney World in Florida during spring break in April and played there.

“It’s a trip that rewards them and helps teach them life skills,” he said. “It’s some-thing we wanted to do for the students.”

That was their first parade this year, and they’ll play in the Armed Forces Day Parade and a parade in Sequim.

Longtime Bremerton resident and busi-nessman Jerry Soriano recalls marching in a few Armed Forces Day parades, too.

Although he attended West Bremerton High School, which since has closed, he said the band would line up at the main gate at the (PSNS) shipyard.

“Bill Bissell was our director,” said Soriano, who graduated in 1962. “He went on to teach at the University of Washington. He was a great director.”

Bissell’s bands also performed in the Torchlight parades in Seattle and made recordings.

Soriano remembered that, back then, the Navy jets from Whidbey Island would do a flyover, over the parade.

“Sometimes the jets would fly so low and make so much noise that we had to stop playing,” he said. “It was a lot of fun. It was a great time.”

Bremerton High School Marching Band at Disney World in April. Contributed photo

PAGE 6 ARMED FORCES 2016 FESTIVAL GUIDE MAY 20, 2016

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Don’t miss Combat Veterans at parade’s endBy LESLIE KELLYlkelly@soundpublishing.com

Don’t leave the 2016 Armed Forces Day Parade early or you’ll miss the motor-cycles.

As in past years, the Combat Veterans International Chapter 5 motorcycle group is the last entry in the parade.

“We like our spot,” said Dave “Pancho” DeAlba, vice president of the chapter. “It’s like we’re going out in style.”

DeAlba said the group, which numbers about 20 active members, rides to honor veterans and active military members.

“Most of us served in Vietnam and we want to make sure that veterans get hon-ored and aren’t treated the way we were when we came home.”

DeAlba referred to the way Vietnam veterans were treated after the war. Many were spit on when they arrived back in the U.S. They were told not to wear their uniforms on the way home for their own safety.

When it comes to the May 21 parade, DeAlba thinks there may be as many as 40 motorcycles riding with them.

“We bring up the rear,” he said. “But all throughout the route, we’ll get off our bikes and go over and shake hands

with any veterans we see in the crowd. Especially the older ones who wear their (veterans group’s) caps.”

And the group stops and gets off their bikes at the stage where the military offi-cers view the parade.

“We dismount, stand in cadence, salute them, and then get back on our bikes and ride on,” he said.

Most of them carry the American Flag and the POW Flag with them attached to their bikes, and even their Combat Veterans International chapter flag.

The chapter formed in 2005 and includes veterans from Kitsap, Mason and Pierce counties. Some members are from Port Orchard and Bremerton. One member, who served in the Iraq war, is a Bronze Star recipient, DeAlba said.

And the group does more than just ride motorcycles.

“We’re here to help all veterans,” DeAlba said. “When we find a veteran who needs help, we help him or her. Recently, we were able to help a veteran with rent money and another veteran, we got him connected to the VA. He had a service-connected disability and didn’t know that. So now he has medical care.”

This year, the group also will fund three $1,000 for military members, their family members or veterans.

“We are a charitable group,” he said. “We set up at stores and events and ask for donations.”

Members ring bells at Christmas for the Salvation Army and they help low income families at Thanksgiving.

But the most important event the chap-

ter does each year it the Unforgotten Run to Tahoma, where they escort the remains of veterans for burial in the Tahoma Cemetery. That happens on Memorial Day Weekend.

“It’s a very touching thing,” DeAlba said of the run. “It brings tears to everybody’s eyes.”

DeAlba, who served in the U.S. Navy from 1968 to 1970 in Vietnam, has been riding a motorcycle since 1980. He got his road name “Pancho” from the chapter members because his grandfather rode with Pancho Villa.

“Once you are in long enough and get patched, you get your road name,” he said. “We’re just like any other motorcycle club.”

As for why he and many of the others ride, it’s a way to cope.

“It’s a therapeutic thing,” he said. “Many of us have PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome). When you go out and ride, you are in a different world. It helps you forget.”

For more on the group, or to donate, go to www.combatveterans.com/Chapter5/chapter5.shtml.

Military members in Afghanistan hold the Combat Veterans flag. Contributed photo

MAY 20, 2016 ARMED FORCES 2016 FESTIVAL GUIDE PAGE 7

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It wasn’t always called ‘Armed Forces Day’By LUCIANO MARANOlmarano@soundpublishing.com

In the pantheon of great American presidents, there are several perennial names. It seems an almost unanimous conclusion among the American people that the list of our country’s greatest leaders, against which all others are measured, includes at least George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy.

A name not mentioned often enough — a man who surely deserves to be counted among these exemplary indi-viduals — is Harry S Truman.

President Truman inherited the posi-tion of commander in chief following the sudden passing of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, having only held the position of vice president for 82 days.

With no real experience in the field of foreign policy, let alone wartime deci-sion-making, President Truman under-took the grim task of authorizing the use of the atomic bomb in the ending of the second World War. Within six months of assuming office, he had signed the offi-cial charter ratifying the United Nations.

Seemingly at his best during times of conflict, it was arguably President Truman’s policy of containment that enabled the country to avoid actual com-bat against the Soviet Union, thus begin-ning the Cold War.

He also authorized the country’s initial involvement in the Korean War. It should come as no surprise then, that a politician dealing so heavily with the military would be the one to create Armed Forces Appreciation Day, which is still recognized annually on the third Saturday of May.

“Armed Forces Day, Saturday, May 20, 1950, marks the first combined dem-onstration by America’s defense team of its progress, under the National Security Act, towards the goal of readiness for any eventuality,” President Truman said in his Presidential Proclamation of Feb. 27, 1950. “It is the first parade of pre-paredness by the unified forces of our land, sea, and air defense.”

According to an article on the Department of Defense public web-site, “On August 31, 1949, Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson announced the creation of Armed Forces Day to replace separate Army, Navy and Air Force Days.”

It goes on to say that “the single day celebration stemmed from the unification of the Armed Forces under one department — the Department of Defense.”

The article says that the theme for the first Armed Forces Day was “Teamed for Defense” and was chosen as a means of expressing the unification of all the

military forces under a single depart-ment of the government.

It was a type of “educational program for civilians,” one in which there would be an increased awareness of the Armed Forces.

The annual event is typically cel-ebrated with parades, military installa-tion “open houses” or public displays and even air shows. Of course, the very nature of the business of defending the nation means that not everyone in the services will be able to enjoy the down time and festivities. Somebody always has to be on duty.

It was a notion addressed very well in a New York Times article published May 17, 1952.

The paper wrote that Armed Forces Day “is the day on which we have the welcome opportunity to pay special trib-ute to the men and women of the Armed Forces … to all the individuals who are in the service of their country all over the world.

Armed Forces Day won’t be a matter of parades and receptions for a good many of them. They will be in the line of duty and some of them may give their lives in that duty.”

The Times went on to write, “It is our most earnest hope that those who are in positions of peril, that those who have made exceptional sacrifices, yes,

and those who are afflicted with plain drudgery and boredom, may somehow know that we hold them in exceptional esteem.

Perhaps if we are a little more con-scious of our debt of honored affection they may be a little more aware of how much we think of them.”

Regardless of personal politics and beliefs, it is imperative that we as a nation remember that the Armed Forces is an organization that exists primarily for our own protection.

We have finally advanced our national mindset so that the people know you can be against the war and still be for the troops. The men and women of the Armed Forces are our mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, our chil-dren and our friends.

To give pause and thank them for all that they do, even just once a year, is not too much to ask.

Today, through ever-improving technological advances and a highly qualified all-volunteer based military like no other on the planet, we are closer than ever to achieving what President Truman had called “readiness for any eventuality.”

— Luciano Marano is a U.S. Navy vet-eran and served aboard the USS Lincoln. He is now a full-time staff writer for the Brainbridge Island Review.

PAGE 8 ARMED FORCES 2016 FESTIVAL GUIDE MAY 20, 2016

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Know how to honor the United States flag By LESLIE KELLYlkelly@soundpublishing.com

The Flag Code, which formalizes and unifies the traditional ways in which respect is given to the U.S. flag, also contains specific instructions on how the flag is not to be used.

Federal law stipulates many aspects of flag etiquette. The section of law deal-ing with U.S. flag etiquette is generally referred to as the Flag Code.

Here’s what you need to know:• The flag should never be dipped to

any person or thing. It is flown upside down only as a distress signal.

• The flag should not be used as a drapery, or for covering a speakers desk, draping a platform, or for any decoration in general. Bunting of blue, white and red stripes is available for these purposes. The blue stripe of the bunting should be on the top.

• The flag should never be used for any advertising purpose. It should not be embroidered, printed or otherwise impressed on such articles as cushions, handkerchiefs, napkins, boxes, or any-thing intended to be discarded after tem-porary use. Advertising signs should not be attached to the staff or halyard.

• The flag should not be used as part of a costume or athletic uniform, except that a flag patch may be used on the uniform of military personnel, fireman, policeman and members of patriotic

organizations.• The flag should be lighted at all

times, either by sunlight or by an appro-priate light source.

• The flag should be flown in fair weather, unless the flag is designed for inclement weather use.

• The flag should never have placed

on it, or attached to it, any mark, insig-nia, letter, word, number, figure, or drawing of any kind.

• The flag should never be used as a receptacle for receiving, holding, carry-ing, or delivering anything.

• When the flag is lowered, no part of it should touch the ground or any other

object; it should be received by waiting hands and arms. To store the flag it should be folded neatly and ceremoni-ously.

• The flag should be cleaned and mended when necessary.

• When a flag is so worn it is no lon-ger fit to serve as a symbol of our coun-try, it should be destroyed by burning in a dignified manner.

Parading and Saluting the FlagWhen carried in a procession, the flag

should be to the right of the marchers. When other flags are carried, the flag of the United States may be centered in front of the others or carried to their right.

When the flag passes in a procession, or when it is hoisted or lowered, all should face the flag and salute.

The saluteTo salute, all persons come to atten-

tion. Those in uniform give the appropri-ate formal salute.

Citizens not in uniform salute by plac-ing their right hand over the heart and men with head cover should remove it and hold it to left shoulder, hand over the heart.

Members of organizations in forma-tion salute upon command of the person in charge.

Students in a previous parade wave the U.S. flag from their school bus. Posting the U.S. flag during parades is an acceptable use of the flag. File photo

MAY 20, 2016 ARMED FORCES 2016 FESTIVAL GUIDE PAGE 9

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Lions serve up breakfast year after year By LESLIE KELLYlkelly@soundpublishing.com

Long-time Bremertonians know all about the Lions’ pancake feed.

But for any newcomers, take it from us — it’s the place to be prior to the Armed Forces Day Parade.

The line forms at Fourth Street and Pacific Avenue. “It’s just a great location,” said Margie Torbron, a member of the Bremerton Central Lions Club. “It’s right on the parade route.”

The Lions expect up to 800 this year. Usually, they feed from 400 to 500.

“We have four people making eggs and sausages and four people on the other side cooking pancakes,” she said. “Our Lions members get up real early and get going and then they go for hours.”

For $5, each guest gets two pancakes, two eggs, two sausages, coffee and juice.

“And we have students who come down and help serve and clear the tables,” she said. “They are our helpers.”

The action really starts the afternoon before the parade, said Ida Malone, a Lions Club member.

“We start setting up tables just as soon as they close the street for us. And then a couple of the guys bring down a mobile home and stay there all night, sleeping — or, actually, playing cards.”

At 6 a.m., they begin putting on the cof-fee and pancakes are ready about 7 a.m.

“It takes a lot of work,” she said. “A lot of

preparation.”Malone said their celebrity chef is

Mayor Patty Lent, who helps cook the eggs.

“The mayor always puts on a apron and comes down to help,” she said. “She really enjoys it.”

Malone isn’t a cook, and doesn’t cook, but rather makes sure all the tables are clean and the napkins and silverware hold-ers are filled.

In all, more than 60 Lions are involved in the pancake feed. Others volunteer to help out, including spouses of members, local Boy Scouts, students at the Washington Youth Academy, and the county’s pageant princesses.

“If there’s a long line, we serve coffee to those who are waiting in line, just so they stay happy,” Malone said.

Malone thinks the Lions have been hav-ing a pancake breakfast for more than 46 years. She said they used to host it at the Kitsap County Fairgrounds during the rodeo and stampede, in the days before the fair was the county fair.

“Then they asked us to come down and be a part of the Armed Forces Day Parade, and we said ‘yes.’ ”

Planning for the pancake feed starts in the fall. “But in the last few weeks before the parade date, we go full blast,” Malone said.

Lions Club members say they cook more than 1,200 eggs and 1,200 sausages during the breakfast. And, again, about that many pancakes.

The Lions usually make about $2,500 to $3,000 which goes directly into scholar-ships awarded through its Ambassadors program.

The Lions began the Ambassadors pro-gram as a way of offering scholarships to area high school students. Students are leaders and selected competitively.

They were honored at a special ceremo-

ny May 11. Be sure to walk off the pancakes by

lunch time, when hot dogs will be ready on the grill, free for military attendees and their families, thanks to a handful of sponsors, including Puget Sound Energy. According to Tom Brobst, PSE’s com-munity engagement spokesman, PSE pro-vides the big gas grill. Brobst said he got involved in 2009 through a friend and fel-low East Bremerton Rotary Club member.

“In 2009, they used a couple of regular backyard barbecue grills to cook the hot dogs,” Brobst said. “It was grueling. So, after that experience, I talked with the (Bremerton) chamber to see if the PSE grill was an option.”

Indeed, that worked out and once the large, more commercial-style PSE grill was used in 2010, the chamber asked if PSE would be the barbecue’s title sponsor.

“I talked with my supervisor about PSE becoming the sponsor for the hero’s bar-becue and we have been the title sponsor ever since,” Brobst said.

Most years, about 2,500 hotdogs are grilled and served to active-duty military, veterans and their family members.

Logistics support is given by JPL Habitability and McCloud’s Grill.

“It is a great volunteer opportunity for family and friends to show our support for our armed service members,” Brobst said.

Mayor Patty Lent helps the Lions serve pan-cakes at a past celebration. Contributed photo

PAGE 10 ARMED FORCES 2016 FESTIVAL GUIDE MAY 20, 2016

Students work to create monument replicaBy LESLIE KELLYlkelly@soundpublishing.com

There will be a special float in this year’s Armed Forces Day Parade. And many of those at the parade will recog-nize it.

For the past four months, students at West Sound Technical Skills Center have been crafting a replica of the 9/11 Memorial that sits at Evergreen Park in Bremerton. The replica is one-fourth the size of the original and has been put together by students in the school’s public safety, welding, construction, and collision repair classes.

The idea came from one of their instructors, Dennis Bringham, who is commander of the VFW Post 239 in Bremerton. He teaches public safety occupations at the school.

The post has an agreement with the City of Bremerton to care for the actual memorial, which consists of steel beams from the World Trade Center in New York that was attacked by terror-ists on Sept. 11, 2001. A group of local residents worked to bring the beams to Kitsap County and helped create the memorial, which includes hand-painted tiles made by local elementary students, and a timeline that surrounds the memorial, denoting the flights of all four planes that crashed on 9-11.

“Some of us at the VFW were talk-ing about what we wanted to do for this year’s parade,” Bringham said. “We usually have members walk in the parade, or ride in golf carts. But we came up with the idea of creat-ing a miniature replica of the 9/11 Memorial.”

Last year, the VFW had West Sound students re-create a 1700s-era deck cannon, which is now at home at the VFW post, he said.

“That project went so well that we decided the 9/11 Memorial would be a great one to try next,” he said. “I spoke with the other teachers and they liked the idea.”

About a dozen students were picked to work on the project and met at the site of the 9/11 Memorial where Dave Fergus, of Rice Fergus Miller Architects told them about the creation of the memorial. That firm designed the 9/11 Memorial at Evergreen Park.

“Students measured the original memorial and we took pictures of it, so that we could come back to school and re-design it at one-quarter the size,” Bringham said.

The replica is an exact replica, and even shows the concrete that is attached to the original in the exact locations as on it. The students weren’t able to find beams that were the needed size, so they made them, and welding students worked to bend them to match the original. One beam on the float weighs 25 pounds and the other weighs 30 pounds. Collision repair students were in charge of painting the model. The replica includes tiny tiles that were painted by a collision repair student and match those at the 9/11 Memorial in Evergreen Park.

There’s even a flag and a plaque attached to it, and the circles around the base match the flight routes that

are on the original memorial. And don’t miss the white dots around it which denote the spotlights at the original memorial.

“The students have really been excited about working on this project,” Bringham said. “Every bolt that is in the original has been fabricated to scale and is on the replica.”

The replica memorial will be carried on a flatbed truck and will travel the route of the Armed Forces Day Parade on May 21. Bringham will organize students and VFW members to stand on a specific block along the route. They plan to hand out flyers that tell about the memorial they created and the original one.

Shani Watkins, director at West Sound Tech, said the project is one that she supported from the very begin-ning.

“I strongly believe that the students here need to give back to the commu-nity,” she said. “Through this project they are, and they are learning to work with other departments which is just what they’ll have to do in the real world, once they are employed.”

She said the project has taught them responsibility, leadership and how to collaborate with others.

Conner Ellis, 19, a student in the collision repair program at West Sound Tech, said working on the 9/11

Memorial replica was very meaningful to him.

“I was only 4 years old when 9-11 happened,” he said. “My babysitter

watched it and was crying. I didn’t understand.

“But as I grew up, I came to see how tragic that one day was. Helping to cre-ate this replica is a way to remember what happened on that day. And it’s an experience that I won’t forget.”

Students at West Sound Technical Skills Center place one of the beams on the replica of the 9-11 Memorial that stands in Evergreen Park in Bremerton. Leslie Kelly photo

A student in collision repair painted miniature tiles that match those at the original memo-rial, which were made by local elementary students. Leslie Kelly photo

ArmedForces

2016 Festival Guideis published by Sound Publishing.

For information about upcoming special publications, call 360-779-4464

Regional Publisher: Terry WardSpecial Publications Editor: Leslie KellyWriter: Leslie KellyRegional Advertising Director: Donna EtcheySales Representatives: Sharon Allen, Jessica Martindale, Marleen Martinez, Bill McDonald, Mary Mollahan, Ariel NaumannCreative Services Manager: Bryon KempfMarketing Artists: Mark Gillespie, Kelsey Thomas, John Rodriguez, Vanessa Calverley, Johanna Buxton

Copyright 2016 Sound Publishing

The 9/11 Memorial in Evergreen Park in Bremerton. File photo

MAY 20, 2016 ARMED FORCES 2016 FESTIVAL GUIDE PAGE 11

Parade route is the same as last year’s event

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WE SUPPORT AND SALUTE OUR U.S. ARMED FORCES FOR THEIR SERVICE

The 2016 Armed Forces Day Parade will follow the same route as it did last year, but the staging areas are in a new location. Best view-ing route is along Sixth Street, Park Avenue, Fourth Street, and Pacific Avenue where the parade ends at just beyond Eighth Street. Come early to get the best seats. Many people begin lining up at 7 a.m. Remember, there’s no vehicle traf-fic along the parade route beginning late Friday evening. 23270 NE State Route 3, Belfair, WA 98528

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2016 Armed Forces Festival Ambassadors selected May 11

By LESLIE KELLYlkelly@soundpublishing.com

The Bremerton Central Lions selected the 2016 Armed Forces Ambassadors May 11 at an event that included contestants giving presentations before a panel of judges.

Every year, local students compete to earn the titles and college scholarships. The Ambassadors also assist with community events throughout their year.

Those selected are:Kendelyn Bone, of Port Orchard, is a student at

South Kitsap High School and Olympic College. She is active in the national Honor Society, DECA and plays volleyball. She volunteers at the YMCA and Community Family and Services, and has tutored a foster child.

She is the daughter of Mathew and Amy Bone.Alissa Capuano, Poulsbo, attends Olympic

High School and is the ASB vice president. She is an honor roll student and volunteers at the Kitsap County Humane Society and Silver Ridge Elementary school.

She is the daughter of Mike and Kathy Capuano.Grace deMeurisse is a Poulsbo resident and

attends Noth Kitsap High School. She is involved with the Rotary Interact Club, the speech and debate team and varsity gymnasticis.

During high school, she has participated in Rotary’s youth exchange program and served on the interview board for the North Kitsap Rotary foreign exchange selection committee. She enjoys photogra-phy and volunteers for many community events and projects.

She is the daughter of Paul and Karen deMeurisse.

Andrea Hjorten lives in Bremerton and attends Bremerton High School. She is the varsity volley-ball captain, Link Crew co-president and National Honors Society treasurer.

While in high school, she has also participated in ASL Club, photo media club, orchestra and the BKFJ Youth Group.

She is the daughter of John and Erica Hjorten.Katie Racca is a Bremerton resident and attends

Bremerton High School. She is ABS Student Coucil chair, a Link Crew member, and manager for the track and field team. She has been involved in Interact Club and as wrestling team manager.

She is the daughter of John and Paige Roe.Sponsors of the ambassadors are AMI

International, United Moving and Storage, Kitsap Bank, Port Madison Enterprises, and the Rotary Club of East Bremerton.

The 2016 Ambassadors will ride in the Armed Forces Day Parade.

For more information about the Bremerton Central Lions Ambassadors program, go to www.bremertoncentralwa.lionwap.org/ or check out the Bremerton Central Lions Club’s Facebook page.

Grace deMeurisse Alissa Capuano Kendelyn Bone

Katie Racca

Andrea Hjorten