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The Santa Rosa Press Democrat - Veterans Day Parade draws crowd to Petaluma

November 12, 2014
News Articles

By Lori A. Carter

As the camouflaged military vehicle drove slowly by in the Petaluma Veterans Day parade Tuesday, Meggie Haley ran out to hand deliver a very special message to a veteran on board:

"Thank you very much for making me and everybody else safer," her handmade note read.

Eleven-year-old Meggie and her 9-year-old brother, Drew, said they just felt like they wanted to do something special to thank servicemen and women on their special day.

Drew hand-colored a bright sign saying, "Thanks for surving," and an American flag, which he held up when floats passed by marking World War II, Korea, Vietnam and conflicts in the Middle East.

Meggie, for the second year, prepared a handful of brightly colored 3-by-5 cards with special thank-you messages.

The Petaluma elementary school students were among several thousand residents who lined the streets of downtown Petaluma for the city's annual Veterans Day parade, billed as the largest such celebration north of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Air Force veteran Thomas Burford was delighted with his special note from Meggie. He attended the parade with a framed photo of two friends of his killed in action in the Middle East: Nick Olson and Charles Caputo.

"That's so neat," he said of the note. "I've already got a spot picked out for it."

A female veteran who Meggie handed a note to last year remembered her and told her she still has the note card.

"It's important to write things down," said their mom, Kristin Haley, an Army medic more than 20 years ago in Desert Storm. "It's important to tell people exactly what you feel."

More than 120 parade entrants included two riderless horses, a mounted "missing man formation" to honor Ernie Lichau, who died in August at age 89, and Herb Louden, who died at his Petaluma home just hours before the parade began. Louden, who turned 97 on Friday, was set to ride in the parade as a Pearl Harbor survivor.

Beverly Brotman and her friends, Rose Marie Hecker and Julie Hamilton, set up their chairs near the beginning of the parade route so they could watch Brotman's husband, Bill, come by in a convertible.

Bill Brotman, 90, served in the Navy from 1942 to '46 as a pharmacist's mate on a ship.

"I enjoy the whole thing. I know so many of them," Beverly Brotman said as cars drove by with local dignitaries and veterans in them.

"Thank you for your service," yelled Hamilton as uniformed servicemen marched by.

Grand marshals of this year's parade were WWII vets Clint Grove, Charles Matteri, Louis Raffi and Emil Zanoni.

Other special entrants included a set of Clydesdales pulling Gold Star families, people whose family members have been killed in wars.

A Huey helicopter roared overhead several times as the parade snaked through downtown, and a pair of F-18 fighter jets whizzed past as the procession reached its end at Walnut Park, wowing crowds.

Sonoma County Supervisor David Rabbitt, in remarks at the park's gazebo after the parade, said he is often proud of his hometown for the way it honors its veterans. He may also have been proud of the Marin County Sheriff's Office Mounted Search and Rescue team, whose support person jumped out of his truck to scoop up a pile of freshly deposited road apples just minutes into the procession.

While much of the day was light-hearted and patriotic, there were moments of seriousness, like when Rep. Mike Thompson spoke of the need for better health care for veterans, particularly for those who come home with brain injuries or post-traumatic stress difficulties.

A small contingent of marchers tried to raise awareness for the need for housing for veterans.

Holding a sign reading "Rent to a vet: 569-2390," Navy veteran Jamie Fox marched with a group of other workers from the Veterans Administration clinic in Santa Rosa in support of the HUD/VASH housing program.

The program provides housing assistance through a voucher program that allows homeless veterans to rent privately owned housing.

"There's just not enough housing for veterans," said social worker Kim Valadez. "We help veterans find housing."

Issues:Veterans