Honoring Sonoma Valley’s service members this Veterans Day

As a young sergeant in the Army in 1945, Bob Rowntree was stationed in the Philippines. He was loading up a bomb that was headed for the military stronghold of Sasebo, Japan, when the U.S. dropped the atomic bomb that ended WWII.

Rowntree, now 95, will be the featured speaker at the Sonoma Valley Veterans Day recognition on Thursday, Nov. 11, at 11 a.m. The event begins with a song by Shelia Whitney and takes place at the Veterans Memorial Building, 126 First St. W.

When Rowntree joined the military in 1944, he hoped for an medical assignment, but only engineering was available. After transferring to active duty in the Army, he trained at Camp Blanding in Florida before attending parachute demolition training in Fort Benning, Georgia. He was assigned to the 511 Parachute Infantry Regiment when the war ended. After that, he was promoted to staff sergeant and supply NCO before he left active service in 1946.

Following Rowntree’s talk, refreshments will be served.

Parks honor vets

In honor of Veterans Day, military members, veterans and their families can receive free parking at all Sonoma County Regional Parks and Jack London State Historic Park on the holiday and weekend.

Active duty military, veterans and their families can visit the county-managed regional parks and trails with a special pass that waives the $7 day-use parking fee from Thursday, Nov. 11, through Sunday, Nov. 14.

Visitors must obtain the parking pass in advance at one of the following locations by showing a valid military identification card, a Veterans Affairs card, a veteran’s identification card or an honorable discharge record. (Sonoma County residency is not required.)

∎ County of Sonoma's Veterans Services Office, 3725 Westwind Blvd., Suite 100, in Santa Rosa, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday (closed Nov. 11).

∎ Santa Rosa VA Clinic, 3841 Brickway Blvd., in Santa Rosa, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday (closed Nov. 11).

∎ Sonoma County Regional Parks’ office, 2300 County Center Drive, Suite 120A, in Santa Rosa, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday (closed Nov. 11).

In addition to the Veterans Day pass, Regional Parks offers a year-round Distinguished Veterans Day-Use Pass, which provides free parking to disabled war veterans, former prisoners of war and Congressional Medal of Honor recipients. For more information, visit parks.sonomacounty.ca.gov/become-a-member.

For more information about the veterans passes, contact the regional parks office at 565-2041 or parks@sonoma-county.org.

Jack London State Historic Park will also provide free admission to all active-duty military and veterans on Veterans Day and through the following weekend, Nov. 11 to 14.

An active duty or retired military identification or form DD214 can be presented at the entry kiosk to receive the free admission. Admission, regularly priced at $10, covers one vehicle of guests (up to nine people) for the day. The park hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily