Vietnam vets to take center stage at Manatee County Veterans Day events

MANATEE -- In what is sure to be an emotional start for Veterans Day, the name of Marine Sgt. John R. Holmes will be unveiled at Bradenton's Vietnam War Honor Roll monument at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Sgt. Holmes, a Bradenton resident who joined the Marines in 1966, was wounded in a mortar attack during the Tet Offensive in Quang Tri Province on Jan. 31, 1968. He was in a coma for 33 years before dying at Bay Pines VA Medical Center in 2001.

Earlier this year, a family friend brought Sgt. Holmes' story to the attention of Manatee County Commissioner Carol Whitmore, who relayed it to the Manatee County Veterans Council.

"John was my friend, and our families were lifelong friends. This is a pain too deep for his mother and brothers and sisters to revisit, so I am making the appeal for them," Christine Torgeson van Zandt wrote to Whitmore.

The Veterans Council agreed that it was an omission that needed to be corrected and ordered work started to engrave Sgt. Holmes' name on the monument. Thirty one Manatee County residents are listed on the monument at Veterans Park, located just north of Manatee Memorial Hospital. All lost their lives during the Vietnam War.

The focus of Veterans Day then moves to Palmetto, where the Manatee County Veterans Council and city of Palmetto are co-hosting the Veterans Day parade.

Patriotic music will be played at Sutton Park starting at 9:15 a.m. Wednesday. The parade will begin at the Manatee County Fairgrounds at 10:15 a.m. and proceed south on 11th Avenue, ending at the Sutton Park grandstand.

Among those in the parade will be Vietnam veteran Art Carver. Wish of a Lifetime in Colorado contacted Don Courtney, chairman of the Veterans Council, on behalf of Carver and asked if the council could fulfill Carver's wish to be in the Veterans Day parade.

Retired Army Col. Gil Ruderman, a Vietnam War veteran, will be the keynote speaker for the memorial service at Sutton Park after the parade. During the service, the Manatee County Veterans Council will recognize Veteran of the Year, Stuart (Stu) Taube of American Legion Post 325; Auxiliary Member of the Year, James (Jim) Brown of American Legion Kirby Stewart Post 24 Sons; and Non-Veteran or Organization of the Year, Geoff Segar of the city of Palmetto.

Also planned in observance of Veterans Day:

Braden River Middle School's 15th annual flag raising ceremony, 9:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Freedom Elementary School's Let Freedom Ring ceremony, 9 a.m. Thursday.

The Chiles Restaurant Group -- the Sandbar Restaurant in Anna Maria, the Beach House Restaurant in Bradenton Beach and Mar Vista Dockside Restaurant in North Longboat Key -- will offer lunch or dinner free of charge to active and inactive military personnel on Veteran's Day, Nov. 11, at all locations. To receive this offer, military personnel must show their military identification or DD214. A number of local businesses have special offerings for vets on Veterans Day. For a list, visit my-mcvc.org/9.html and click on great deals.

James A. Jones Jr., Herald reporter, can be contacted at 941-745-7053 or on Twitter@jajones1.

This story was originally published November 8, 2015 at 10:33 AM with the headline "Vietnam vets to take center stage at Manatee County Veterans Day events ."