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Honor our nation’s veterans this November in Santa Rosa

DUANE DEWITT

Veterans Day on Friday Nov. 11, 2022 the city of Santa Rosa hosts a 10:30 am commemoration at Santa Rosa City Hall. The city Veterans Memorial Monument site on the south side of City Hall at the flagpoles on 100 Santa Rosa Ave. and Sonoma Ave. is where the ceremony is held.

This is the 20th year the event has been hosted at City Hall with American Legion Post 21 and Vietnam Veterans Chapter 223. There is free on street parking and at the City Hall parking lot.

There are benches available to view the Flag salute ceremony, which begins promptly at 11 a.m.

Why we honor our veterans

World War I, also know as “The Great War,” officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919. However, fighting had actually stopped seven months earlier between the Allied nations and Germany when an armistice went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. For that reason, Nov. 11, 1918, is typically known as the end of “the war to end all wars.” In Nov. 1919, President Wilson proclaimed Nov. 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day with the following words: “To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations…"

The original concept for a Veterans’ Day celebration was for a day to be observed with parades and public meetings and a brief suspension of business beginning at 11 a.m.

The United States Congress officially recognized the end of World War I when it passed a concurrent resolution on June 4, 1926, with these words:

Other Sonoma County Veterans Day events

Petaluma will also hold its annual Veterans Day parade. The theme for the parade is "Korean War Veterans, You Are Not Forgotten" and begins at 1 p.m.

The Healdsburg Rotary Club will host a breakfast for local vets at the Villa Chanticleer in Healdsburg. The event is free for vets and their families and begins at 7 a.m.

Reminder: City and county offices will be closed on Friday, Nov. 11 to honor Veterans Day.

Duane Dewitt grew up in Roseland and is a tireless advocate for Roseland community. Email Duane at dewittstory@yahoo.com.

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