The 40th anniversary of the Avenue of the Flags Memorial Day ceremony was marked by a record turnout Monday in Santa Rosa.
"This is the most fantastic crowd we've ever had," said Navy veteran and master of ceremonies Jack Pressey.
The audience at Santa Rosa Memorial Park easily exceeded 500 people.
Monday's keynote speaker was William Grafe, an Army veteran who helped start the Avenue of the Flags in 1972, a few years after he returned from Vietnam.
"We never, ever thought we'd be here for 40 years when we started," said Grafe, the former owner of Eggen & Lance Mortuary. At age 70, he still works part time for Daniels Chapel of the Roses.
Monday's ceremony was among the Memorial Day events taking place in a dozen North Coast communities.
Santa Rosa's annual gathering began four decades ago with 100 U.S. flags. On Monday, it featured nearly 1,000 flags flying on poles around the cemetery. Each one previously had draped the coffin of a local military veteran, and each was tagged and recorded. Volunteers used maps to help families and friends locate their loved ones' flags.
During his speech, Grafe told the audience that in 1967 he helped open a military mortuary in the city of Da Nang. It was a section of Vietnam where "the Marines were getting hit pretty bad."
During the Tet offensive of 1968, the mortuary in one month prepared for transport the bodies of 1,500 services members, most of them from the U.S. For that brief period, Grafe said, it was "the largest mortuary in the world," handling the remains of virtually all Americans killed in action throughout Vietnam.
Monday's ceremony focused on honoring those who died in military service to their country, including merchant mariners. But audience members said the event also provided a chance to remember those now fighting in the war zones of Iraq and Afghanistan.
And it gave the crowd the chance to applaud the assembled veterans, who served in World War II, Korea, Vietnam and other actions.
Among those present Monday were three vets who served at Pearl Harbor when it came under attack on Dec. 7, 1941, drawing the U.S. into World War II.
Louis "Pete" Peterka, a veteran of World War II, Korea and Vietnam, said Americans today seem more willing to show their appreciation to veterans.
"I'm always amazed at the young people who say, 'Thank you for your service,' " Peterka said.
Gary Schmidt of Santa Rosa attended the ceremony and stayed afterward for lunch with his 3-year-old granddaughter, Peyton Raymond.
"We're just here to support our heroes," Schmidt said as Peyton waited to get her face painted. "It shouldn't happen just one day a year."
The ceremony included a rifle salute, a bugler playing "Taps" and a flyover by a U.S. Coast Guard rescue helicopter.
Music was performed by the Copeland Creek Brass Quintet and the Redwood Chordsmen. The latter sang their traditional medley of songs from each branch of the military.
Dozens of gray-headed veterans stood and saluted at the singing of their song.
You can reach Staff Writer Robert Digitale at 521-5285 or robert.digitale@pressdemocrat.com
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