Decorated Navy SEAL To Speak On Memorial Day

MARIN COUNTY, CA – A decorated U.S. Navy SEAL from the Vietnam War era, John Gulick, of Greenbrae,will be the featured speaker at the County of Marin’s Memorial Day ceremony May 27 at the Marin Veterans Memorial Auditorium in San Rafael, according to county officials.

Gulick received a Bronze Star (with combat V) and a Purple Heart for his contributions during 1963-67, was assigned to an underwater demolition team with U.S.S. Fletcher and later served 18 months with SEAL Team One, including six months in combat, event organizers said.

Since 1970, Gulick has been a lawyer – “its own unique version of combat,” he said – and has lived in Marin since 1985.

The Memorial Day event honors all fallen American servicemen and servicewomen in the line of duty with a special emphasis on Marin’s own heroes. A ceremony inside the Veterans Memorial Auditorium starting at 10 a.m. is followed by an outdoor ceremony in front of the military monuments on Avenue of the Flags, outside the auditorium.

The Civic Center ceremony will feature patriotic songs played by the Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District Non-Marching Band, Susan Zelinsky and her vocal students, plus Melissa Stephens and her son Garrett Aubert. Cadets from U.S. Air Force Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps based at Novato High School will participate as a color guard, drill team and flag raisers, and elected officials and representatives from local veterans groups will be recognized.

The program then moves outdoors to the memorials on the Avenue of the Flags. After wreaths are laid at the foot of statues, “Taps” is played to conclude the ceremony.

Doughnuts and coffee will be served in the Redwood Room of Marin Center after the outdoor ceremony.

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