NOVEMBER 9, 2011
Honoring our Veterans on Nov. 11
Cave Creek American Legion Post 34 Veterans Day Dinner
Prime Rib Dinner will be served 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 12
6272 E. Cave Creek Road, Cave Creek. Seating is limited. Reservations are recommended.
Call 480-488-2669 for information and reservations.
Carefree’s annual “Salute our Veterans”
Free. 4 – 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 11.
Carefree Amphitheater, 101 Easy Street, Carefree
Event includes Honor Guard from Luke Air Force Base, Swing Band Performance, Vocalist April Miller. Light refreshments will be served. Veteran’s Heritage Project will be attending and Packages from Home will collect items to send to troops: www.packagesfromhome.org
For more information, please contact the Town of Carefree at 480-488-3686.
Scottsdale’s VFW Post 3513 Veterans Day event
Friday, Nov. 11, 11 a.m.
The program is free and open to the public.
Scottsdale City Hall, Chaplain Statue
3939 N. Drinkwater Blvd., Scottsdale
Scottsdale’s annual Veterans Day Commemoration
3 p.m. Friday, Nov. 11. Free and open to the public.
The 108th Army National Guard Band kicks off the program at 3 p.m. with patriotic music. The formal program begins at 3:30 p.m. at the McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park, Scottsdale and Indian Bend roads.
Anthem Veterans Memorial Opening Ceremony and Dedication
Friday, Nov. 11, 2011 at 10 a.m. Anthem Community Park. East side of Gavilan Peak Parkway, approximately one-eighth mile south of Anthem Way.
At exactly 11:11 a.m., the sun’s rays will pass through the ellipses of five columns and illuminate a mosaic medallion of The Great Seal of the United States. The five marble-faced columns are dedicated to each of the five branches of the Armed Serves and range in height from six feet to seventeen feet. The columns are surrounded by commemorative veteran pavers.
Planes of the 308th Fighter Squadron, Luke Air Force Base, will pass over the Memorial to mark the 11:11 moment.
Distinguished keynote speakers will be featured.
Navajo Code Talkers to attend 7th Annual Daisy Mountain Veterans Parade
ANTHEM – Six members of the Navajo Code Talkers who served with the U.S. Marines in the Pacific during World War II have agreed to participate in the 7th Annual Daisy Mountain Veterans Parade in Anthem on November 12. George Willie Sr., Peter MacDonald, Samuel Tsosie Sr., Alfred Peaches, Sidney Bedoni and Arthur Hubbard (age 100!) will serve as honorary Grand Marshals.
Following a strategic landing by a Blackhawk helicopter, the Daisy Mountain Veterans Parade will step off promptly from King Drive and Gavilan Peak Parkway. Almost 100 units and more than 2000 marchers will participate. The theme this year is “Arizona History” in recognition of our state’s 100th anniversary. The parade has, in fact, been named an Official Arizona Centennial Event, one of a very select group of functions to earn that designation.
The Navajo Code Talkers were used as radiomen communicating in their native language to confuse the Japanese. The belief that the enemy wouldn’t be able to decipher their messages proved justified, since the Japanese later admitted that the Navajo language was the only code used by our troops that they could never break. The Code Talkers took part in every major battle of the Pacific, including Iwo Jima, Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Saipan, Guam, Okinawa and Peleliu. After the war, Major Howard Connor, 5th Marine Division signal officer, declared, “Were it not for the Navajos, the Marines would never have taken Iwo Jima.” Today, fewer than 50 of the 400 Code Talkers who served during World War II survive.
The experiences of George Willie Sr., 88, of Leupp, Arizona, may have been typical of the above group. Mr. Willie was inducted into the Marines in December of 1943. He completed his Code Talker training during September, 1944, and was deployed to the Pacific. Willie participated in the invasions of Saipan and Okinawa, later occupying the Japanese city of Nagasaki with the Marines after an atomic bomb was dropped there in August, 1945. He remained in Nagasaki until July of 1946, when he was honorably discharged.
The Code Talkers will be available following the parade to meet the public at “Veterans Row” in the Anthem Community Park. They have agreed to autograph the book, “Warriors, Navajo Code Talkers”, for those interested.
Arizona Veteran Hall of Famer headlines Veterans Day Commemoration
More Scottsdale city-sponsored events announced
SCOTTSDALE – Retired Lt. Col. Carol Jeannine Dahl, a 2010 Arizona Veteran Hall of Fame recipient and Scottsdale resident, will be the keynote speaker at the city’s annual Veterans Day Commemoration. The event begins at 3 p.m. Friday, Nov. 11, at McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park, southeast corner of Scottsdale and Indian Bend roads. It is free and open to the public.
The Veterans Hall of Fame is considered one of the greatest distinctions awarded by the Governor of Arizona to honorably discharged military veterans for accomplishments performed outside of their military service that provide inspiration to other veterans.
Among the 20 inductees of the class of 2010, Dahl is the only veteran who worked as a nurse and nurse educator. She served in the U.S. Army Reserves for 20 years, including Operation Desert Storm. After retirement, Dahl volunteered with the American Red Cross, working in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and Hurricane Katrina.
Dahl, a faculty emeritus of the ASU College of Nursing & Health Innovation, served on the faculty from 1977-1981 and 1989-1995. She retired in 1995 as an associate professor and associate dean for community resources and extended education.
The 108th Army National Guard Band kicks off the program at 3 p.m. with patriotic music. The formal program begins at 3:30 p.m.
Other scheduled speakers include Vice Mayor Linda Milhaven, Arizona Army National Guard Lt. Col. John Burk, Congressman David Schweikert and Scottsdale Unified School District Service Learning student Sofi Collis, a senior at Saguaro High School. Other participants include the Police and Fire department Honor Guards, Police Explorers and Bugler Gil Gifford.
More city-sponsored events:
Thursday, Nov. 10, 10:30 a.m.: Local historian and author Joan Fudala will present “A Salute to Scottsdale’s Veterans and Scottsdale’s Role as a Homefront during Wartime.” The free program will be at the Granite Reef Senior Center, 1700 N. Granite Reef Road. Those wanting to stay for lunch must register by calling (480) 312-1724.
Friday, Nov. 11, 11 a.m.: Scottsdale’s VFW Post 3513 will host a Veterans Day event at Scottsdale City Hall, Chaplain Statue, 3939 N. Drinkwater Blvd. The program is free and open to the public. For details, contact Terry Dalton, VFW Post 3513 at (480) 947-0553.
