General Joseph P. Hoar to speak at Sonoma Valley Joint Memorial Day Observance

The Sonoma Valley Joint Memorial Day Observance will take place this year on Monday, May 26th at 11:00 A.M. This year marks the 56th 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. 
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. Therefore it is highly recommended to arrive early and wear a hat or sun visor. 
In keeping with a popular tradition that began only ten years ago, 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 General Joseph P. Hoar, USMC (Ret). General Hoar retired from the U.S. Marine Corps after 37 years of service. During his last three years of active service, he was the Commander in Chief, U.S. Central Command—the unified command that has the planning and operational responsibilities for 19 countries of the Middle East, South Asia, and the Horn of Africa. 
Operational highlights of his tenure include enforcing the naval embargo in the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, enforcing the no-fly zone in the south of Iraq, the humanitarian and peacekeeping operations in Kenya and Somalia, support for operations in Rwanda, and the evacuation of U.S. civilians from Yemen during the 1994 civil war. General Hoar was the Deputy for Operations for the Marine Crops during the Gulf War, and, before that, he was General Norman Schwartzkopf’s Chief of Staff at Central Command.
Since retiring, General Hoar has formed a consulting firm that is engaged in business development in the Middle East and Africa. He is a member of the Board of Directors of several non-profit organizations.
General Hoar earned his undergraduate degree in psychology from Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts. He has a masters degree from George Washington University and is a graduate of the Marine Corps Command and Staff College and the National War College. He and his wife Charlie (a licensed clinical psychologist) reside in Southern California. 
The Master of Ceremonies will be retired Marine Corps Reserve Colonel William E. Peacock. A Vietnam 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 of the Board for the Wine Country Marines, a local patriotic nonprofit organization which proudly sponsors the Wine Country Marine Corps Birthday Ball each November in Sonoma.
The Chaplain this year will be the Reverend Peadar A. Dalton, who will give the Invocation and 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 boys from Hanna Boys Center. Sonoma City Council Member Laurie Gallian together with her son Marine Reserve Lance Corporal Shane Dalton will present a special rendition of our military’s “Code of Conduct” and our country’s “Code of Support.” Patriotic music will be provided by the Sonoma Hometown Band directed by John Patridge (with narrator Butch Engle), soloists Skylaer Palacios (Miss Sonoma County 2014), Shannon Howett & Cindy Daffurn. Jim McElroy, John Noonan & Sara Parker will play bagpipes. 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. Two Special Proclamations will be given. James S. Beatty, the President of the Sons of the American Revolution Redwood Empire Chapter, will give the first proclamation. The Honorable Tom Rouse, the Mayor of the City of Sonoma, will give the second proclamation. The ceremony will conclude with an Aerial Fly-Over by the Sonoma Sky Park Aviators honoring the sacrifices made by all military aviators, especially the late 5-Star General Henry H. (Hap) Arnold), the “father of the U.S. Air Force” who lived in the Sonoma Valley following the end of the Second World War.
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 ten 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 ten 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 the many local citizens, organizations 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 2014. 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), Bryan Aubin, Ruth (Parks) Chambers, Terry Leen, Dan Parker, Leighton Parks, Susan Scarbrough, LtCol. Don Stevens, USAF (Ret.), Fred Unsworth and Stephanie Wadell.