Thousands expected at Petaluma Veterans Day parade

The state's largest Veterans Day parade north of San Francisco will roll through Petaluma today. Organizers said it will be bigger and better than ever.

Eighty-six entries include three marching bands, a contingent of military Jeeps and veterans from World War II through the current conflict in Iraq.

The 1 p.m. event on Petaluma Boulevard in the historic downtown will be capped off by a fly-over by as many as five vintage warplanes, said organizer Steve Kemmerle.

"It should be good as long as the weather holds," said Kimmerle, who has been organizing the parade for four years. "We should have lots of fun."

The parade is in its 19th year. Last year, more than 5,000 people attended, Kimmerle said.

It will begin on Fourth Street and move north on Kentucky Street to Washington Street, where it will go east to Petaluma Boulevard and then south to Walnut Park, Kimmerle said.

A speech from the grand marshal, retired Army Major Gen. Mike Myatt, who led forces into Kuwait in the first Gulf War, will follow at Walnut Park. Marching bands from Casa Grande High, Petaluma High and Petaluma Junior High will perform.

The fly-over is expected between 1:15 and 2 p.m., Kimmerle said.

Local veterans, including retired Army Spec. Alden Dolcini, who recently returned from Baghdad, may also speak. Dolcini will ride in a vintage Jeep along with veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Kimmerle said. The parade includes Pearl Harbor survivors and women veterans of World War II.

You can reach Staff Writer Paul Payne at 762-7297 or paul.payne@pressdemocrat.com.