VETERANS DAY FLAG DISPLAY: The Mount Vernon Lions Club will present a display of U.S. flags to honor all past and present military personnel today, Nov. 11, at Lions Park, 501 Freeway Drive, Mount Vernon. 360-424-1888.

VETERANS EAT FREE: Applebee’s restaurants across the country are offering veterans and active duty military personnel a free meal today, Nov. 11, at their neighborhood Applebee’s location. The offer is open to all U.S. veterans and active duty personnel with proof of current or former military service, that can be a U.S. Uniform Services ID card, U.S. Uniform Services Retired ID card, current leave and earnings statement, veterans organization card, photograph in uniform or wearing uniform, DD214, citation or commendation.
Burlington: 188 Cascade Mall Drive, 360-757-1414.
Oak Harbor: 31810 Highway 20, 360-679-6100.
Bellingham: 1069 E. Sunset Drive, 360-671-6000.

VETERANS DAY PROGRAM: Buck Compton, author of “Call of Duty,” will share the story of his life before, during and after the “Band of Brothers,” at 2 p.m. today, Nov. 11, at Creekside Retirement Community, 400 Gilkey Road, Burlington. Free. 360-755-5550.

VETERANS DAY DINNER: 5 to 6:30 p.m. today, Nov. 11, at Mount Vernon Elks Lodge 1604, 2120 Market St., Mount Vernon. The menu will include S.O.S., green beans, mashed baby red potatoes, gravy, biscuits and dessert. $6, $5 veterans. Proceeds will go to the Elks National Foundation for veterans’ programs. 360-848-8882.

SPAGHETTI DINNER FOR VETS: American Legion Post 92 will serve a free spaghetti dinner to veterans and their families starting at 3:30 p.m. today, Nov. 11, at 26921 88th Ave. NW, Stanwood.

RECREATION FEES WAIVED: In honor of U.S. veterans, members of the U.S. armed forces and their families, recreation fees will be waived today, Nov. 11, at public recreation lands managed by the U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management and Bureau of Reclamation.
The fee waiver applies to day-use fees for visitors to Forest Service recreation sites across Oregon and Washington, including many picnic areas, boat launches, trailheads and visitor centers. Concession operations will continue to charge fees unless the permit holder wishes to participate.
Fees for camping, cabin rentals, heritage expeditions or other permits will not be waived.

VETERANS RECOGNITION CEREMONY: 10 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 13, at Hillcrest Park Lodge, Mount Vernon. Following a complimentary breakfast for veterans and their families at 9 a.m., the ceremony will include a performance by the Mount Vernon High School Band under the direction of Jacob Scherr, color guard from Sedro-Woolley American Legion Post 43, and a military flyover at 11 a.m. Tim Lovitt, an Iraq and Afghanistan veteran, and Bridget Cantrell, Ph.D., from the Hearts Toward Home International, will be the guest speakers. Barbecue lunch will be available following the ceremony with donations benefiting the Disabled Veterans Fund. For information: 360-420-4046 or 360-424-1154.

“THE WAY WE GET BY”: To celebrate Veteran’s Day, the Skagit Elder Alliance and Skagit Disabled American Veterans present a film screening at 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 13, at the Lincoln Theatre, 712 S. First St., Mount Vernon.
Beginning as a story about troop greeters — a group of senior citizens who gather daily at a small airport to thank American soldiers departing and returning from Iraq — the film turns into a moving, unsettling and compassionate story about aging, loneliness, war and mortality, as the ‘greeters’ wrestle with their own problems: failing health, depression and mounting debt. Free admission for veterans, others by donation at the door. 360-848-5365.

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