Military Profiles & Photos A tribute to veterans brought to you by the Siuslaw News
Veterans Day Honor Cruise to feature two grand marshals T he Florence Veterans Day Parade Committee has decided to hold a Veterans Honor Cruise in lieu of the traditional parade on Nov. 11, 2021. This cruise will be similar to the one held in 2020 during the pandemic. Staging will begin at 11 a.m. at the Florence Christian Church parking lot located at Second and Ivy streets in Florence. The Cruise starts at 1 p.m. and will follow a route down through Historic Old Town Florence, back up Kingwood Street to Rhody Drive, down Ninth to Spruce Street and end at the Grocery Outlet parking lot on 21st Street, after driving past three retirement communities. In addition, two local veterans will share the Grand Marshal status at the 2021 Veterans Honor Cruise. Both veterans are retired from distinguished careers in the military and active in Florence area
2021 will feature a Veterans Honor Cruise throughout Florence on Veterans Day, Thursday, Nov. 11, beginning at 1 p.m.
veterans’ efforts. Tony Cavarno served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1951 to 1970, retiring as a first sergeant. During his years in the Corps, he served in Combat Engineers in Korea in 1951 and 1952, and then in an Infantry Company in Vietnam in 1967 and 1968.
Paul Gargis served in the U.S. Army from 1957 to
1978, retiring as a Command Sergeant Major. During his
years in the Army, he served two tours in Vietnam, ’68-69 and ’71-72. In an effort to comply with both the state and local COVID-19 concerns, the committee will observe the following protocols for the Veterans Honor Cruise: 1) COVID protocol signs will be posted in the staging area; 2) “Observe appropriate COVID protocol during staging” will be included in instructions & map distributed at staging; 3) A sanitation station will be provided at staging which will include masks and hand sanitizer. This will be a vehicle cruise only, with no floats or walking entries. Vehicles are encouraged to be decorated with American flags, branch service flags and patriotic bunting. For more information, contact Veterans Day Parade Committee Co-Chairs Jim Swant at 541-968-9512 and Bob Brown at 541-997-3320.