Redwood School’s cheer squad show Del Norte’s veterans some love at Monday’s parade. | Photos by KFUG Station Manager Paul Critz
Lynn Herriott said it took 20 years for her to join a veterans organization, so she understands why some might approach a parade with mixed feelings.
Herriott, who was with the U.S. Marine Corps stationed at Camp Pendleton during the Gulf War, waited for Crescent City’s annual Veterans Day parade to start. The Gasquet American Legion 548 commander says she’s not super vocal about her service — she understands the holiday may be painful, especially for those who have seen combat — but the parade shows veterans that people care about them.
It also helps connect them with veterans organizations like the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars, Herriott told Redwood Voice Community News on Monday.
“I think maybe they don’t understand what the service organizations do, but we’re here for the veterans,” she said. “It’s good camaraderie because you’re talking to people who understand your language and understand what you’ve been through. It’s a good place to go if you’re feeling like you don’t fit in.”
Del Norte County’s annual Veterans Day Parade started with a cannon blast and a fortuitous break in the rain. Marching bands from Del Norte High School and Smith River School filled the air with brass and drumbeat. “You’re A Grand Old Flag” echoed against the walls of the Veterans Memorial Hall amid chants from the cheerleaders “we are proud of you!”
David Cooper, commander of VFW Post 1831 who served in the U.S. Marine Corps, said Del Norte County is a community that honors its veterans. Its residents are respectful, he said, and go out of their way to say thank you.
Veterans Day, and the parade, is also about camaraderie for those who have served, according to Cooper.
“You’re encouraged to wear your decorations, puff up your chest a bit and take pride in being a veteran,” he said.
Richard Evanow didn’t need to puff his chest up to show his pride in being a veteran. When Redwood Voice Community News asked him about his hat, the Addie Meedom resident chuckled before replying that he kept the engines running on a submarine for nine years.
“We sure went underneath the water,” Evanow said, adding that he visited England and France during his time with the U.S. Submarine Service. “We went all over the place.”
Initially, Evanow didn’t know what a submarine was. When a recruiter from the U.S. Navy visited Crescent City from Eureka, Evanow said he filed his papers and, after Boot Camp, found himself on a train that deposited him in New London, Connecticut.
After nine years, Evanow said he learned a lot about living with others.
“I thought it might be interesting and it was interesting,” he said.
Herriott’s adjutant in the Gasquet American Legion, Jamie Brassard said both she and her husband served during the Vietnam War. Brassard, who served in the Marine Corps, was one of the first female MPs to serve before she moved on to handling supply and logistics for the Marines.
Brassard, who was with her husband James, a U.S. Navy veteran, said she’s been in the American Legion for 38 years and, like her commander, hopes to reach younger veterans.
“We just go out and we talk to people,” she said. “We can try to help them see a doctor at the VA. We help them file the paperwork that they need for getting help from the government.”
Both Brassard and Herriott said it’s often difficult for younger veterans to reach out and ask for help.
“They’ve been in a society where they don’t [ask for help],” Herriott said. “So it’s difficult to get away from that and say, ‘I need help’ and go out and ask for it.”
The Gasquet American Legion currently has 94 members from both California and Oregon, Brassard said. Though she says that’s small as Legion posts go, Brassard said the Gasquet organization operates two food pantries and hosts activities for local families. Halloween’s trunk-or-treat was a hit, she said, and each kid in Gasquet will get a gift from Santa this Christmas.
Though some veterans may be reluctant to reach out, Brassard urged them to make that connection.
“We have local events for them if they want to just come in and check out what the Legion is about,” she said.
Tom Sanders, a Vietnam veteran, sat alongside his fellow veterans on the VFW’s float just before the cannon blast got the show on the road. Sanders echoed Cooper’s statement about being proud to have served. The parade reinforces that, he says, and for younger generations shows their community supports them.
For more information about the Gasquet American Legion, call (707) 457-9520.For more information about VFW Post 1831, call (707) 465-4212 and email johnmcelroyvfwpost1381@yahoo.com.
