PORT ANGELES — Hundreds of motorcyclists will arrive in Clallam County on Wednesday to honor, respect and remember U.S. veterans to launch the five-day Peninsula Patriot Days.
The American Veterans Traveling Tribute will feature an 80-percent scale version of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall of Washington, D.C., and other memorials at Olympic Cellars Winery, 255410 U.S. Highway 101, between Port Angeles and Sequim.
The exhibits will be on public display from Thursday at 1 p.m. through Sunday.
“It’s quite a layout,” said Ed Bedford, a local organizer and friend of the late Steve Doty, a founder of the American Veterans Traveling Tribute.
Doty, a Port Angeles native and Vietnam War veteran, led the effort to bring the traveling tribute to 7 Cedars Casino in Blyn in 2006. He was working on bringing it back to the North Olympic Peninsula when he died of cancer in July.
An estimated 150 to 300 motorcycles, police cars, fire trucks and other vehicles will assemble at 7 Cedars Casino on Wednesday at noon.
They will leave at 1 p.m. with a State Patrol and Clallam County Sheriff’s Office escort.
Chief Criminal Deputy Ron Cameron said deputies will use special devices to trip traffic lights for the motorcycles as they make their way into Port Angeles.
City police will meet the procession at DelGuzzi Drive at the eastern city limit and lead the procession downtown. The motorcycles will roll down Front Street, turn back onto First Street on the west edge of downtown and head to the winery.
Port Angeles Police Downtown Resource Officer John Nutter has coordinated an effort to get the caravan in and out of town without tying up traffic.
“We’ll trip lights to the extent that we can,” said Port Angeles Deputy Police Chief Brian Smith.
Additional city units will staff key intersections to ensure that an estimated quarter-mile-long procession flows smoothly, Smith said.
“Based on what we know, this thing will be weather dependant as far as the [number of] bikes,” Smith said.
The National Weather Service calls for mostly sunny skies in Port Angeles and Sequim on Wednesday.
The line of motorcycles will arrive at Olympic Cellars Winery at about 2 p.m.
The 370-foot-long Vietnam wall and other traveling exhibits will be raised Thursday morning.
Elaine Grinnell of the Jamestown S’Klallam tribe will perform a tribal blessing at 1 p.m. Thursday. A Native American Veterans of Foreign Wars rifle squad will perform a 21-gun
salute to kick off the public exhibit.
Clallam County Commissioner Mike Doherty will speak Thursday at 5:30 p.m.
Also speaking Thursday is Betsy Reed Schultz of Port Angeles, whose son, Army Capt. Joseph W. Schultz, died May 29 in Afghanistan after his Humvee was hit by an improvised explosive device.
Joseph Schultz, 36, was a Green Beret who was awarded the Purple Heart, the Meritorious Service Medal and the Bronze Star posthumously.
In addition to the replica of the Vietnam wall, which will have 58,253 names of those killed in the Vietnam War, the American Veterans Traveling Tribute will include the following exhibits:
■ A Gold Dog Tag display dedicated to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the Global War on Terror.
■ A 9/11 tribute with 2,984 names of those killed in the 2001 terrorist attacks.
■ A-frames with information about every war or conflict in which the U.S. has been involved.
■ Panels depicting photos and information about World War I, World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam War, and a display of the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.
■ Displays honoring law enforcement officers and firefighters.
■ Other displays honoring those who died in hostile action between the end of the Vietnam War and the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Port Angeles Mayor Dan Di Guilio and Coast Guard Capt. Tony Hahn, commanding officer of Air Station/Sector Field Office Port Angeles, are scheduled to speak at the memorial Friday at 6 p.m.
Sequim Mayor Ken Hayes will speak on Saturday at 6 p.m., and Terry Peterson will deliver a tribute to Doty.
Sequim Pastor Jonathan Simonson will perform an all-denomination church service on Sunday at 11 a.m.
Port Angeles Police Chief Terry Gallagher will keynote the 5 p.m. program on Sunday, which will include a 21-gun salute and the playing of “Amazing Grace” and taps on bagpipes.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
