| Nov ’09 |
| 11 |
Veteran’s Day is this coming Wednesday, Nov. 11th, and Brown Bear Car Wash will be honoring vets and current service military (as well as spouses) with free car washes all day.
The nearest location is the one in Des Moines, located at 22706 Marine View Drive; others are in Federal Way, Kent, Auburn and Renton (see list below).
As a way of saying “thanks” to our military, Brown Bear will be offering free “Bear Essential” car washes to all current or former members of the military, including spouses.
“Our organization is proud to honor veterans and service personnel,” said Brown Bear President and founder Vic Odermat, himself a Marine Corps veteran. “While the washes are free, we know that freedom is not. This is a way for us to show our support and gives us a unique opportunity to say ‘thank you’ to people who sacrifice so incredibly for our freedom.”
Odermat said the offer will operate on an honor system and no verification or documentation is required. Drivers should identify themselves as a current or former member of the military to the wash attendant.
Odermat started Brown Bear in Seattle in 1957 with one location. They now own and operates car washes throughout the Puget Sound area and Spokane.
Here’s a list of participating locations nearby:
- 22706 Marine View Dr., Des Moines
- 34017 Hoyt Rd. SW, Federal Way
- 814 Auburn Way S, Auburn
- 1202 W Meeker St., Kent
- 800 S Grady Way, Renton
- 621 Rainier Ave. S, Renton
- 77 Rainier Ave. S, Renton
| Nov ’09 |
| 11 |
| 2:00 pm |
A special Veteran’s Day Commemoration is coming to the SeaTac Community Center on Wednesday, Nov. 11th to celebrate both the history of Des Moines Memorial Drive as well as honor women who have served their country.
Here are the details:
WHAT: Veteran’s Day Commemoration: Women in Service
WHO: Scheduled speakers include:
- Kitty Milne, Highline Historical Society
- Congressman Adam Smith, 8th District
- Peggy Caudill, Intertribal Warrior Society (former Nurse in the U.S. Army)
- Carol Reed, American Legion (former Sergeant in the U.S. Marines)
- Kit Ledbetter, City of SeaTac
WHEN: Wednesday, November 11th from 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
WHERE: SeaTac Community Center, located at 13735 24th Avenue South SeaTac, WA 98168; (206) 973-4680
INFO: The Des Moines Memorial Drive – The Living Road of Remembrance, is an eight-mile stretch of road through the cities of Des Moines, Burien, SeaTac and the Boulevard Park area of unincorporated King County. The Drive was completed in 1922 with the planting of 1,100 American elm trees, each commemorating an individual from Washington state who died in World War I. On November 11, 1963 a memorial wall commemorating the history of the Drive was dedicated at Sunnydale School in Burien.
ABOUT: The Des Moines Memorial Drive Committee, a citizen advisory committee created in 2000, developed a plan for restoring and enhancing the memorial road. The plan outlines how jurisdictions will implement enhancement efforts as part of future road improvement projects. For more information, visit www.roadofremembrance.org.
From their press release:
Community members are invited on Veterans Day, Wednesday, November 11, to celebrate a local historic road which honors the fallen soldiers of World War I. In addition to highlighting the history of Des Moines Memorial Drive, the event this year will honor women who served in the military during World War I and over the decades since that conflict. The event will be held at 2:00pm at SeaTac Community Center, located at 13735 – 24th Avenue South, in SeaTac.
Des Moines Memorial Drive is an eight-mile stretch of road which winds through the Boulevard Park area of unincorporated King County, SeaTac, Burien and Des Moines. In 1922 the project was completed with the planting of 1,100 American elm trees to line the roadway as a “living” memorial to those who lost their lives in World War I. Over time, the impacts of disease, radical pruning and utility installations have decimated most of the elms. Forty-six years ago on November 11, 1963, a memorial wall commemorating the history of the Drive was dedicated.
While held on Veterans Day, the event will also mark the day formerly known as Armistice Day, which is the anniversary of the official end of World War I (November 11, 1918). Elected officials including Congressman Adam Smith and local mayors will honor the historical nature of Des Moines Memorial Drive and the special role that women played in the country’s military history.
An Advisory Committee was created in 2000 with representation from King County, local cities, other interested public agencies, and concerned citizens to develop a coordinated vision for restoring and maintaining the living memorial. The resulting plan, which has been accepted by all the participating jurisdictions, outlines how the local cities can also incorporate similar memorial elements in their future road improvement projects along the Drive.
Des Moines Memorial Drive has national significance on several accounts:
- It is the earliest planned “living road of remembrance.”
- It is the only “living road of remembrance” that uses Elm trees.
- At 10 miles, it is the longest “living road of remembrance.
In addition to the celebratory event, interpretive displays prepared by the Highline Historical Society will be available for public viewing. Local veterans and school groups are expected to take part in the event that will also recognize the ongoing cooperative efforts of the cities and county. learn more about Des Moines Memorial Drive, visit www.roadofremembrance.org.
Today we honor America’s war dead – brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our country that we all might live free. We gratefully remember along with them those veterans who served with honor, returned home to live full lives, but now have passed on.
One who served with distinction then settled into civilian live, pursued a career with Boeing and raised a family, and later recalled his wartime experiences – and his courtship of Ethel, the English girl whom he would marry, in Pilot from the Prairie, was Burien’s and Des Moines’ Ed Allen (pictured above, at left with Writer Ralph Nichols).
Captain Edward Allen flew B-24s on bombing runs from bases in England to targets in Germany and Nazi-occupied Europe in late 1944 and early 1945. Ed died in December 2008 at the still-young age of 84.
I first met Ed in 2003 when he walked into the local weekly newspaper office, where I then worked as an editor, to promote his book. I saw him the final time at the Museum of Flight during Seafair weekend last summer when the Blue Angels were in town. He looked well and, still energetic, greeted me with a warm smile. As always, he enjoyed talking that afternoon about the days when, with so many others of the “greatest generation,” he defended our country and fought for the freedom of others.
A farm boy from Kansas who had dreamed of flying, Ed enlisted in the Army Air Corps after the United States entered World War II. As the pilot of a B-24 Liberator, he and his crew would fly – and return safely from – 30 combat missions over enemy territory, bombing factories, rail yards, oil refineries, bridges and coastal gun emplacements. The support for ground troops provided by the flight group he led earned praise from none less than Gen. George S. Patton Jr.
In a 2004 interview with me in the community weekly, Ed described flying a B-24 as “more or less like driving a farm truck.” He also recalled that the four-engine heavy bomber “could take quite a bit of punishment and still get back.” This confidence in the structural integrity of his plane and its powerful engines was significant.
“As soon as we got into enemy territory, it was not uncommon to see clouds of flak (exploding anti-aircraft shells). It was disconcerting to look ahead and see all these little puffs of flack, knowing that you had to fly through that.” Ed kept his flight group in tight formation on bombing runs, which helped keep them from being attacked by enemy fighters. “Most of the time,” he said, “they all came back.”
That summer, I had an opportunity to join Ed aboard a Collings Foundation B-24 from Tacoma Narrows Airport to Seattle’s Boeing Field. For me, it was the flight of a lifetime; for Ed, a sentimental journey. With misty eyes that betrayed bittersweet memories, he said back on the ground that except for the noise of the engines – and the absence of flak – the plane was exactly as he remembered it.
It was a privilege to share that flight with him – and my privilege and pleasure to know him. Ed Allen truly was an officer and a gentleman. R.I.P., captain, together with all your comrades in arms whose service, devotion and sacrifice for America we honor today.
| Dec ’08 |
| 8 |
| 2:00 pm |
Four veterans from Washington state will be honored with German-American Friendship Awards during the opening reception of an exhibit to honor the 60th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Monday, Dec. 8, at 2 p.m. in the London Room of the Airport Conference Center.
In cooperation with the German Embassy and the German Honorary Consul in Washington, the traveling exhibit “The Berlin Airlift – A Legacy of Friendship” commemorates the 60th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift – one of the greatest humanitarian efforts of all time. The heroic efforts of the U.S. and Allied forces saved more than two million men, women and children in Berlin during a Soviet Union blockade beginning in 1948. This achievement is even more remarkable considering only three years earlier the Allies were bombing this same city.
Four U.S. veterans from Washington state who participated in the airlift will be honored by Washington state First Gentleman Mike Gregoire, Lt. Governor Brad Owen, the German Honorary Consul of Washington and representatives from the Port of Seattle.
The traveling exhibit, composed of over 60 photo panels, is part of the “Friends Always” campaign recognizing the powerful and enduring relationship between the United States and Germany. Since World War II, more than seven million American servicemen and women have been stationed in Germany. Together with their families, they formed lasting friendships. For more information see Friends Always – Legacy of the Airlift at www.germany.info.
The display will be next to the Airport Office Building elevators on the south end of the Ticketing Level. The exhibit will be displayed at Sea-Tac Airport from December 8 – 31 before heading to the Museum of Flight.
WHAT: The reception will honor four Washington WWII veterans of the Berlin Airlift with German-American Friendship Awards. The exhibit will also be opened to the public.
WHEN: Monday, December 8 at 2pm
WHERE: Sea-Tac Airport Conference Center, London Room
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| May ’08 |
| 24 |
| 2:00 pm |
TUKWILA – This Saturday, May 24th, from 2pm to 3:30pm at the Museum of Flight, you’re invited to meet and hear stories from the famed Tuskegee Airmen.
The Tuskegee Airmen were dedicated, determined young men who enlisted to become America’s first black military airmen, at a time when there were many people who thought that black men lacked intelligence, skill, courage and patriotism.
Prior to the Tuskegee Airmen, no U.S. military pilots had been black, so you can imagine the hurtles they faced.
They came from every section of the country, with large numbers coming from New York City, Washington, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia and Detroit. Each one possessed a strong personal desire to serve the United States of America at the best of his ability.
On Saturday, you can meet four actual surviving members of the 477th Bombardment Group out of Freeman Field, Indiana, including:
- Leslie Williams
- Fitzroy Newsum
- Lt. Roger “Bill” Terry
- Robert Maxwell
This historic program is free with Museum Admission.
The Museum of Flight is located at 9404 E Marginal Way South in Tukwila; the phone number is (206) 764-5720.
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