Pandemic scrambles plans to honor local veterans for Veterans Day

For the first time in 34 years, Officers Row near the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site won’t draw a gathering of thousands to commemorate Veterans Day.

Like so many other events in the region and across the world, The Lough Legacy Veterans Parade is canceled this year, a casualty of COVID-19. Leaders at the Historic Trust, which hosts the annual parade, made what CEO David Pearson called “a very sad and difficult decision to cancel” back in August.

“We hope to see all of you next year and celebrate bigger and better than ever,” Pearson said.

With COVID-19 cases currently spreading at an unprecedented pace — daily case totals hit a record-setting high Monday, with 166 new positive tests — a parade that historically draws around 5,000 can’t be held safely. But as with so many other activities in 2020, Veterans Day celebrations are moving online.

The Community Military Action Committee, or CMAC, put together a full documentary that will be screened on Clark/Vancouver Television at 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. Wednesday. The documentary includes interviews with around a dozen veterans from Southwest Washington.

“We wanted everything from World War II to present day, including people that were not in any conflict, because they’re still veterans,” said Jay Williams, a CMAC board member and the special projects coordinator for Veterans Day.

A committee within CMAC selected a diverse group of veterans to interview for the film, including women, racial minorities and members who served in all five branches of the military. Some are currently deployed and patched into the interview remotely — like Williams’ son, who’s a Marine fighter pilot currently serving in the Persian Gulf.

The runtime of the film is one hour and 19 minutes. Martyn Meisner, videographer and owner of Vancouver-based company MMM Productions, put it together.

Williams said that the group formally decided to pivot on its Veterans Day plans as soon as The Historic Trust announced that the annual parade would not take place. It wasn’t unexpected news. Both Memorial Day and the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks had already required some adaptation during the pandemic.

“We saw the writing on the wall, and that’s one of the reasons CMAC did videos for Memorial Day and Patriots Day,” Williams said. “Back in August, we waited for the trust to say ‘Yes,’ absolutely they’re not going to do a parade this year, so that’s when we made the final decision to go ahead and do something different. And that’s when we came up with this video.”

Although the film is one way to celebrate from quarantine, Williams said he’s hopeful that CMAC will be back with its in-person Veterans Day events next year. Following the 2019 parade, the group hosted its first-ever Veterans Day Expo at Hudson’s Bay High School. It gave local businesses, government and community organizations an opportunity to showcase their veteran employees.

“It is a shame,” Williams said. “It was a lot of fun last year. It worked out real well.”