2016 Sonoma Valley Joint Memorial Day Observance

The Sonoma Valley Joint Memorial Day Observance will take place this year on Monday, May 30th at 11:00 A.M. This year marks the 58th time this very special annual hometown event has taken place. The location will once again be the Sonoma Veterans Memorial Park located north of the plaza and adjacent to the Sonoma Veterans Memorial Hall building. This year will also be the eleven-year anniversary of the unveiling of the Star of Honor fountain, which is now the centerpiece for the Sonoma Veterans Memorial Park.

Attracting an audience of more than 1,000 people annually, the Sonoma Valley Joint Memorial Day Observance has become the preeminent event of the year for local veterans, their families and friends. Seating is limited and the weather is normally hot and sunny this time of year. Although pop-up tent canopies will provide shade for many in the audience, not every chair will be under these canopies. Therefore it is highly recommended to arrive early and wear a hat or sun visor.

In keeping with a popular tradition that began only eleven years ago during the unveiling of the Star of Honor fountain, all veterans are invited to wear their best military uniforms (or appropriate attire) and participate in the Grand March at the opening of the Ceremony. Veterans who want to participate in this Grand March are requested to muster at 10:30 A.M. sharp beneath the flag of their particular branch of the armed forces in the parking lot.

The Guest of Honor and keynote speaker will be the author and journalist Jonna Doolittle Hoppes. Her first book, Calculated Risk: The Extraordinary Life of Jimmy Doolittle, is a memoir of her famous grandfather Jimmy Doolittle, the legendary aviation pioneer and 4-Star General of the US Air Force who was awarded the Medal of Honor within the Pacific theater during the Second World War for his valor and leadership as commander of the heroic Doolittle Raid over Tokyo on Saturday, April 18, 1942. A bold and daring mission that demonstrated that Japan itself was vulnerable to American air attack; served as retaliation for the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Sunday, December 7, 1941, and provided an important boost to American morale. He later commanded the famed Eighth Air Force within the European theatre, which brought the war to Hitler’s doorstep, decimated the Luftwaffe and helped bring Nazi Germany to its knees.

Of local interest, immediately following the war and throughout the late 1940s, Jimmy Doolittle was a frequent guest at “El Rancho Feliz”, the historic Sonoma Valley Ranch of his former boss and good friend Henry “Hap” Arnold, the retired 5-Star General of the US Army and US Air Force.

Jonna Doolittle Hoppes will be the very first female Guest of Honor and keynote speaker in the 58-year history of the Sonoma Valley Joint Memorial Day Observance. She is an enthusiastic speaker and represents the Doolittle family at events throughout the world. Her articles have appeared in Smithsonian's Air and Space magazine, as well as many other prestigious publications. Her works celebrate the veterans and civilians who defended their country and document their stories that would otherwise be lost. She lives in Pebble Beach California.

The Master of Ceremonies will be retired Marine Corps Reserve Colonel William E. Peacock. A Vietnam War veteran, Colonel Peacock also served in a civilian capacity as the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs. A frequent visitor to the Sonoma Valley, Colonel Peacock is the Chairman Emeritus of the Wine Country Marines, a local patriotic nonprofit organization which proudly sponsors the Wine Country Marine Corps Birthday Ball each November in Sonoma.

To honor of the memory of General Jimmy Doolittle and General Hap Arnold and as a tribute to the heroic sacrifices made by all military aviators during our countries wars and conflicts, the ceremony will begin and conclude with Aerial Fly-Overs. A gigantic Boeing KC-10 Extender aircraft from the Air Mobility Command at Travis Air Force Base will dramatically fly-over at the beginning of the ceremony and various military inspired civilian aircraft flown by the Sonoma Sky Park Aviators will fly-over at the conclusion.

The Reverend Tim Arensmeier, Paster of the Sonoma Valley Community Church, will give the Invocation. The Reverend Peadar A. Dalton, President of the Sonoma Valley Ministerial Association, will give the Benediction. The members of Temple Lodge No. 14 of Free and Accepted Masons in Sonoma will be the official event ushers. The Pledge of Allegiance will be jointly lead by Hannah Maffia (Miss Sonoma County 2016), Siobhan Hauf (Sonoma County's Outstanding Teen, 2016) and boys from Hanna Boys Center. Vocal soloists Shannon Howett & Cindy Daffurn will provide patriotic music along with the Sonoma Hometown Band directed by John Patridge (with narrator Butch Engle). John Noonan & Lindsay Hall will play bagpipes. Buglers Chris Severson and Rodney Clark will play Echo Taps. The U.S. Marine Corps Santa Rosa Recruiting Station will provide the official Color Guard and the California National Guard “Honor Guard” will provide a Rifle Salute detail. The Civil Air Patrol Cadet Color Guard (Redwood Empire Composite Squadron 157) will provide the youth Color Guard. The Honorable Laurie Gallian, the Mayor of the City of Sonoma, will give a special Proclamation.

Immediately following the ceremony, the “Rotary Club of Sonoma Valley: All-American Picnic” will be served free of charge at the Veterans Building. Members of the Rotary Club will grill the hamburgers and hotdogs in honor of the memory of the late Howard (Howie) Ehret, a retired U.S. Navy Captain who was a highly energetic community leader, volunteer and Rotarian. The Rotarians will be greatly assisted by Ruth Parks Chambers (who has largely overseen this picnic for the past eleven years), the Sonoma Valley High School Alumni: Class of 1966 and the Native Daughters of the Golden West.

Although the picnic is complimentary to veterans and their families and friends, a “Star of Honor” pledge drive will take place during the picnic for donations needed to maintain and improve the Sonoma Veterans Memorial Park and assist toward the expense of applying the names of local deceased veterans to the Star of Honor.

As most local veterans are aware, the Star of Honor fountain, which was unveiled during this event eleven years ago, is now the centerpiece for the Sonoma Veterans Memorial Park. The late Sonoma artist Robert Behrens designed the fountain; the black granite walls of this fountain will eventually contain the etched names of all deceased Sonoma Valley veterans from the American Revolution to 2076. Both the Memorial Park and Fountain would not exist today without the vision, leadership and financial support of the late Second World War U.S. Navy veteran James (Jim) L. Parks and his family.

This event would not be possible without the help of many organizations, local citizens and businesses who are volunteering their time, money, goods and services. A planning committee has also been meeting for months behind the scenes to ensure that this event will be a success in 2016. The members of this group are local residents who represent every major veteran organization located within the Sonoma Valley. They are: Bob Leonard (Chairman), Gary Magnani (Vice Chairman), Dr. Timothy Norman (Marshal of Ceremonial Protocol), Robert Arnold, Bryan Aubin, Ruth Parks Chambers, Terry Leen, Leighton Parks, Bob Piazza, Susan Scarbrough, Bob Smith, LtCol. Don Stevens, USAF (Ret.), Fred Unsworth and Stephanie Wadell.