Veterans Appreciation Day in Yreka on May 16th, Memorial Service on 24th

Huey helicopter on display in Yreka The traditional event to honor veterans in Siskiyou County is the Memorial Day service at the Hot LZ Wall at the Living Memorial Sculpture Gardens, outside of Weed. But this year a new event, the Siskiyou County Veterans Appreciation Day, held on Armed Forces Day (May 16th), will be held to help living veterans to understand their benefits and available services. The event will also include a bit of show: the American Legion Post #260 of Etna will do colors, and the Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors will be at the opening ceremony. The Young Marines of Northern Calif. and Southern Oregon will do the Pledge of Allegiance and a drill team presentation, to be followed by a seven-man rifle volley and the echo playing of Taps. There may even be a fly-over as Taps is playing. Barbara Ward, Deputy Director of the Women’s Veteran’s Affairs of California, will be the keynote speaker and Marge Wheeler of Mount Shasta, a Vietnam veteran and nurse, will provide musical entertainment along with the local band Rockit, who will also be performing at lunch and to end the day’s events.
The City of Yreka, Human Services, UC Davis, VA Northern California Health Care, Siskiyou Ministerial Association, Siskiyou VFW Posts and Madrone Hospice are participating in the event, and there will be informational booths from various veteran and service organizations that offer things like healthcare options and help with heating costs. One booth, called Horses for Heroes, offering horse therapy for vets, will include someone in the booth to explain their program. The Redding Outpatient Clinic/VA Clinic of Northern California will have a doctor on hand to talk to vets about a new clinic that will be opening in Yreka in the near future, and the VA in White City, Ore., will also have a booth to answer eligibility and other questions for local vets.
The Armed Forces Day event will be held at the Siskiyou Golden Fairgrounds in Yreka. A breakfast, free to vets and $3 otherwise, is from 8-10am. The music and resource fair is from 9am to noon with the appreciation ceremony at noon. Lunch is from 1-2pm with the closing at 2pm.

The Memorial Day service at the Hot LZ Wall at the Living Memorial Sculpture Garden is set for 2pm on May 24th and will include the reading of names of new veterans to be added to the Wall, a color guard, Taps and a gun salatue (bring a chair if you need to be seated). The Hot LZ Wall is part of the sculpture garden, which features poingnant sculptures created by a Vietnam vet, and can be toured on foot or by car (don’t miss this!). The Living Memorial Sculpture Garden is located just off Highway 97 13 miles north of Weed.