Veterans Day events will feature distinguished veterans who moved into civic leadership

Veterans serve our nation, then come home.

And that’s where many of them continue to serve as community contributors, which can range from civic leadership to roles on the national stage.

Examples will be highlighted at several local observances over the next week or so. It starts Saturday, Nov. 5, with the Veterans Parade at Fort Vancouver. The annual event takes place in a site that has a 160-year tradition of that transition.

The route for Saturday’s 11 a.m. event — known officially as the Veterans Parade at Fort Vancouver presented by the Lough Legacy — features references to prominent soldiers who found more than one way to serve.

The Marshall House was the residence of Gen. George Marshall, who went on to win the Nobel Peace Prize for rebuilding our former World War II enemies.

The Grant House salutes a former Army officer based at Fort Vancouver who went on to become President Ulysses S. Grant.

The O.O. Howard House, where the route heads south through the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, is named for another Union officer; Howard headed the Freedmen’s Bureau after the Civil War, assisting 4 million former slaves.

The parade’s grand marshal, retired Navy Rear Adm. Mark Feichtinger, is another example of multilevel service. During his 35-year Navy career, Feichtinger commanded or directed eight military organizations with as many as 3,000 personnel, and served extensively with the U.S. Submarine Force and joint military commands.

In the community, Feichtinger has served for 30 years with Clark County organizations. They include the Columbia River Economic Development Council, the Community Foundation for Southwest Washington, United Way of the Columbia Willamette, Identity Clark County and the Fort Vancouver National Trust.

As an attorney, Feichtinger even contributed to a new downtown landmark that a lot of people will see Saturday. A retired partner at Stoel Rives, he represented the Fort Vancouver Regional Library District in the development and completion of its flagship library, just west of the parade route.

Prior to the parade, a 10 a.m. ceremony on the Marshall House lawn will feature keynote speaker Greg Wooldridge, retired U.S. Navy captain. His 27 years of service includes three assignments as flight leader and commanding officer of the Blue Angels flight demonstration squadron.

Now active in community activities, Wooldridge has served on the boards of the Oregon International Air Show, the Dorchester Conference, USS Ranger (CV-61) Foundation and the Blue Angels Foundation. He also shares his command experiences through seminars on teamwork and leadership.

The parade, organized by the Fort Vancouver National Trust, begins at the east end of Officers Row at East Reserve Street. It ends near Pearson Air Museum. It attracts more than 120 entries with about 2,500 individuals marching or riding in the parade. It is one of the biggest parades on the West Coast sanctioned by the Department of Veteran Affairs.

The parade also will give the community a look at a replica of a Civil War cannon that has been in the shop for repairs. For his Eagle Scout project, John Keller is restoring one of the cannons that have marked the west entrance to Vancouver’s Officers Row since 1991. They were built by students at Mountain View High School. If things go according to plan, the restored cannon will be transported along the parade route on a trailer.

Local Nov. 11 events

Other Army retirees who now are civic leaders will headline two local Veterans Days observance on Friday, Nov. 11.

Clark County Manager Mark McCauley, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel, will be keynote speaker at the event presented by the Community Military Appreciation Committee.

During McCauley’s 20 years in the Army, he held command and director positions in personnel, human resource, finance and recruiting operations.

The observance will be at 11 a.m. at the Armed Forces Reserve Center, 15005 N.E. 65th St., near Fourth Plain Boulevard and Ward Road. Representatives of agencies and community groups that work with veterans will staff information booths. There also will be a 9:45 a.m. reception.

In Battle Ground, the 11 a.m. ceremony will be led by Mayor Philip Johnson, who was in the Army for 25 years. The ceremony will be at the Battle Ground Veterans War Memorial in Kiwanis Park, 422 S.W. Second Ave. There will be a reading of the names of 31 servicemen on the memorial wall.

Other commemorations around Clark County are scheduled on or around the Veterans Day holiday.