Honoring veterans: Veterans Day event planned and a look at the holiday’s history

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — On Monday, Americans will have the opportunity to honor those who have served in the Armed Forces during our nation’s history.

The Lake County United Veterans Council invites the community to a Veterans Day celebration in the Konocti Vista Casino Banquet Hall on Monday.

Doors open at 10 a.m., with the ceremony beginning at 11 a.m. There will be speakers, a performance by the Clear Lake High School jazz band and a three-volley gun salute.

Veterans Day has its roots in World War I’s Armistice Day. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs said that in November 1919, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed Nov. 11 of that year as the first commemoration of Armistice Day.

In May of 1938, Congress made Nov. 11 a legal holiday. It was then known as “Armistice Day,” and its focus was World War I veterans.

It was just three and a half years later that the United States entered World War II, which the VA said “required the greatest mobilization of soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen in the Nation’s history.”

In 1954, in response to requests from veterans organizations, Congress amended the act that had created Armistice Day to change Nov. 11 to Veterans Day, in order to honor veterans of all wars.

On Oct. 8, 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower — one of the great heroes of World War II — issued the first Veterans Day Proclamation.

In it, he said this: “On that day, let us solemnly remember the sacrifices of all those who fought so valiantly, on the seas, in the air, and on foreign shores, to preserve our heritage of freedom, and let us reconsecrate ourselves to the task of promoting an enduring peace so that their efforts shall not have been in vain.”

In 1968, there was legislation to move several holidays, including Veterans Day, to specific Mondays. Veterans Day was intended to be moved from Nov. 11 to the fourth Monday in October.

It didn’t work, and in 1975, President Gerald Ford signed another bill that returned the annual observance of Veterans Day to Nov. 11, beginning in 1978. It has remained on that date to this day.

There have been many more wars since the effort began to establish a dedicated Veterans Day. Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf Wars and the war in Afghanistan have left their mark on people and lives.

Veterans make up a significant group in Lake County.

The latest U.S. Census Bureau data shows that they make up nearly 8% of Lake County’s population, and that’s reported to be one of the highest per-capita veteran population rates in California.

That was a reason that helped get a VA Clinic in Clearlake in 2010, thanks to the efforts of many people, among them, Congressman Mike Thompson, himself a Vietnam veteran.

In Lake County, the veterans population includes 12.5% who are women. More than half are 65 and older.

Thirty-seven percent of them have a disability and 16% of them are in poverty, the Census Bureau reported.

The following are additional statistics about veterans provided by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Did You Know?

15.8 million
The number of military veterans in the United States in 2023, representing 6.1% of the total civilian population age 18 and over.

1.7 million
The number of female veterans in the United States in 2023, representing 10.9% of the total veteran population.

0.6%
The share of veterans in 2023 who served during World War II. Additionally, 3.5% of veterans served during the Korean War; 33.0% during the Vietnam War; 24.8% during the Persian Gulf War; and 28.0% during the Post-9/11 period (September 2001 to present).

8.6%
The percentage of veterans in 2023 who were Hispanic or Latino (of any race). Additionally, 72.2% of veterans were White alone (not Hispanic or Latino); 12.6% Black or African American alone; 2.0% Asian American alone; 0.8% American Indian or Alaska Native alone; 0.2% Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander alone; and 2.8% Some Other Race alone. The percentages include only those who reported a single race.

27.9%
The share of veterans 75 and older in 2023. At the other end of the age spectrum, 8.3% of veterans were younger than age 35.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

Wreaths Across America commemoration planned for Dec. 14; fundraising for annual effort underway

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Each year, millions of Americans come together to remember the fallen, honor those who serve and their families, and teach others about the true value of freedom as part of National Wreaths Across America Day.

This gathering of volunteers and patriots takes place in local, state and national cemeteries in all 50 states – including Hartley Cemetery, Kelseyville Cemetery, Upper Lake Cemetery, Lower Lake Cemetery, Middletown and St. Mary’s Lakeport cemeteries in Lake County.

Each year, a new theme is chosen to help volunteers and supporters focus their messaging and outreach in their own communities.

The theme for this year is “Life With Purpose.”

The choice of this theme is inspired by the stories of volunteers who have made a difference in their communities and is meant to encourage people to make every day count and live with purpose.

This year, National Wreaths Across America Day is Saturday, Dec. 14.

The event is free and open to the public. The observance will begin at 9 a.m. in all the participating cemeteries in Lake County.

In 2023, there were over three million veteran’s wreaths placed in total across the country at 4,224 locations around the country in honor of the service and sacrifices made for our freedoms, with each name said out loud.

“Wreaths Across America volunteers work year-round to ensure military laid to rest are remembered, their families and living veterans are honored, and the next generation is taught about the value of freedom,” said Toni Funderburg, site coordinator for Hartley Cemetery.

Wreaths Across America is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded to continue and expand the annual wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery begun by Maine businessman Morrill Worcester in 1992.

The organization’s mission — Remember, Honor, Teach — is carried out in part each year by coordinating wreath-laying ceremonies in December at Arlington, as well as at thousands of veterans’ cemeteries and other locations in all 50 states and beyond.

Delta Iota Tau, Girl Scouts in Kelseyville, Lake County 4-H Group in Lower Lake and FFA in Upper Lake and Middletown will be accepting donations for wreaths until Nov. 29.

It is the goal of each sponsoring group to place a remembrance wreath on each veteran gravesite at the participating cemeteries.

To do this, organizers need your help.

An Individual sponsorship cost $17 for one wreath and the family option costs $68 for four wreaths. Small businesses can fund 10 wreaths for $170 or any amount can be sponsored for $17 per wreath.

People can register to volunteer or sponsor a wreath at Hartley Cemetery by visiting https://wreathsacrossamerica.org/CA0751P, or choose another cemetery or sponsor group in Lake County by copying and pasting https://wreathsacrossamerica.org in your search bar and in the middle of the page you can click cemetery and sponsoring group.

There is no better time to express appreciation for our veterans than during the hustle and bustle of the holiday season.

Everyone knows or has known a veteran. Organizers are on a mission to remember, honor and teach.

Join the effort by sponsoring wreaths to be placed in honor of a veteran this December. This act will ensure that their sacrifice is remembered yet again and passed on to a new generation of Americans.

Rain, frost, cooler weather in this week’s forecast

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The forecast is calling for colder temperatures and rain this week.

The National Weather Service is predicting a rainy morning on Veterans Day, with up to half an inch of rain possible.

Veterans Day also is expected to have gusty winds, continuing into the nighttime hours.

Conditions are forecast to clear on Tuesday, before rain returns to the forecast from Wednesday through Sunday.

In addition to rain, forecasters anticipate patchy frost on Monday night and early Tuesday morning.

Temperatures this week are expected to be cooler. Daytime highs will be in the low to mid 50s throughout much of the week, dropping into the high 40s on Friday.

Nighttime conditions will hover in the 40s, dropping into the 30s at the end of the week.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.