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Health & Fitness

Emmy-Winner to Speak at Veterans Day Event

San Rafael, CA – Mill Valley resident Thomas Bird, an award-winning documentary producer and a Vietnam War combat veteran, will serve a keynote speaker for Marin County’s annual Veterans Day ceremony on Nov. 11 at the Marin Veterans Memorial Auditorium in San Rafael.

Bird, a decorated soldier in the U.S. Army in 1965-66, was co-producer of the HBO documentary “Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam,” for which he also won Ace and Peabody awards. He founded the New York City-based nonprofit Vietnam Veterans Ensemble Theatre Company and the nonprofit Walking Point Foundation to help veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts immerse themselves in the arts.

The annual Veterans Day event, presented by the Marin County United Veterans Council and sponsored by the County of Marin, honors all Americans who served in in the line of duty with our military forces, with a special emphasis on Marin’s own heroes. Event officials are actively seeking veterans from recent overseas conflicts in the Middle East to take part in the ceremony and become active in veterans affairs in Marin.

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The ceremony will feature the voice of Marin native Susan Zelinsky, a singer-songwriter and stage performer, and patriotic marches played by the Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District Non-Marching Band. Cadets from the House of Steel gym in San Rafael, led by Lt. Gregory Allen (USMC, Ret.), will participate as a color guard and drill team. After the indoor ceremony, wreaths will be laid at the foot of memorial statues on Avenue of the Flags to honor fallen comrades. Doughnuts and coffee provided by Elks Lodge 1108 in San Rafael will be served after the outdoor events.

The free event begins with music at 9:30 a.m., and the ceremony begins at 10. For more information, contact Sean Stephens at 415-473-6193.

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In addition to the Nov. 11 event, the 5th annual Veterans Day Service will be held at the Olema Cemetery at 9 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 9. U.S. Coast Guard personnel from the communications station at Point Reyes will preside over the service along with its Honor Guard unit under the direction of Cmdr. Derby Flory. Flags will be placed on veterans’ graves starting at 8 a.m., and the presentation of colors will start the ceremony at 9 a.m. Refreshments will be served in the Frietas Center at Sacred Heart Church in Olema immediately following the event. For more information, call Robyn Torres at 415-663-9320.


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