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Veterans Day Celebration marks anniversary of three military services

The Gig Harbor Veterans Day Celebration turned into something of an anniversary party.

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The 2025 edition, held Nov. 11 at the Gig Harbor Vintage Aero Museum, fell during 250th anniversary celebrations of three U.S. military branches. The Army was founded on June 14, 1775 and the Navy on Oct. 13, 1775.

The U.S. Marine Corps came into being on Nov. 10, 1775, meaning Tuesday’s celebration was one day after its sesquicentennial.

Representatives of all three services spoke Tuesday at the event billed as the largest indoor Veterans Day celebration in Washington state.

Veterans, families and others eat before the program begins at the 2025 Gig Harbor Veterans Ceremony on Tuesday, Nov. 11. Photo by Vince Dice

Marine Corps

The Corps was born that November day in a Philadelphia establishment called Tun Tavern.

“We’re the only service founded in a bar,” retired Marine Lt. Col. James F. Beal told the more than 500 people assembled for the celebration. “That probably means a lot to why we are the way we are.”

Beal served more than 20 years in the Marines, including multiple deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq. He earned advanced degrees from the Naval Postgraduate School and the Naval War College.

His speech paid tribute to Marines who served heroically in landmark battles like Iwo Jima, Inchon Landing and Fallujah.

“To my fellow Marines, veterans and families, thank you for your service and dedication to this nation,” Beal said.

Joe Loya of the Gig Harbor Veterans Day Committee thanks a veteran on Tuesday, Nov. 11. Photo by Vince Dice

Army

Alfie Alvarado-Ramos, a retired command sergeant major, represented the Army. She served 22 years, including at Madigan Army Medical Center near Tacoma, followed by 10 years leading the Washington state Department of Veterans Affairs.

She made note during her speech of female pioneers in the military, of which she is one. Things have changed in the Army since she joined.

When she was a young soldier, Alvarado-Ramos said, a drill sergeant told her that “if the Army wanted you to have a husband, it would have issued you one.”

Alfie Alvarado-Ramos, a retired U.S. Army command sergeant major and former director of the Washington state Department of Veterans Affairs, speaks during the Gig Harbor Veterans Day Celebration on Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. Photo by Vince Dice

Like others who spoke at Tuesday’s ceremony, Alvarado-Ramos encouraged young people to consider military service. It comes with many benefits, she said, including a sense of serving a cause bigger than yourself, education and training, and lifelong friends.

“These are gifts,” Alvarado-Ramos said. “These are lives enriched and communities strengthened long after taking off the uniform.”

Navy

Retired Navy Lt. Cmdr. James E. Trogden III discussed his journey from enlisted man to officer and his service as part of the Navy Nuclear Propulsion program.

Trogden said the 9/11 terror attacks took place during his first deployment aboard the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson. He was part of the Vinson’s crew when it launched the first retaliatory strikes in Afghanistan, weeks after the attacks.

The ceremony wasn’t only for two-legged veterans. Photo by Vince Dice

“I’ve never felt a better sense of pride in service to the nation than I did during that time,” Trogden said.

Trogden’s children were in the audience for the celebration. He said he hopes their generation continues the tradition of military service. In the Trogden family’s case, that tradition includes his grandfather, father, uncles and cousins.

At an event honoring multiple military branches, Trogden paid tribute to (or perhaps needled?) members of a rival service.

“As officer of the deck, there’s nobody I’d rather put ashore than a U.S. frickin’ Marine,” Trogden said, looking at Beal in the audience. “Semper fi!”

Veterans stand to be recognized during the Gig Harbor Veterans Day Ceremony on Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. Photo by Vince Dice