Veterans Day Events Artist's rendering of the World War II Memorial proposed for the Mall. (Freidrich St. Florian) The District Vietnam Veterans Memorial: 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., readings and personal stories about the Vietnam War by civilian and military personnel except during speeches and a wreath-laying ceremony at 1 p.m. with remarks by Secretary of Veterans Affairs Togo D. West, Jr., Admiral William J. Crowe Jr. and others. Constitution Avenue and 21st Street NW. Free. For more information, call 202-393-0090. First Division Memorial: 11 a.m., wreath laying at the memorial, south of the Old Executive Office Building, E Street NW between 15th and 17th streets. Free. For more information, call 202-619-7222. Maryland Southern Maryland Events: 10 a.m., Leonardtown Veterans Day Parade at the Town Square. A ceremony will follow honoring local Purple Heart recipients. 11 a.m., La Plata ceremony at the Legion Hall memorial will honor men and women who have served in the military. Frederick: 11 a.m., rededication of Memorial Park, with the 229th Maryland Army National Guard Band and the Tree of Life Singers, a fly-over of aircraft from the 104th Tactical Fighter Squadron of the Maryland Air National Guard. Memorial Park, Second and Bentz streets in Frederick. Free. For more information, call 800-999-3613. Rockville: 11 a.m., a wreath-laying ceremony and dedication of a new veterans memorial statue with guest speakers. Veterans Park, Rockville Pike and Veirs Mill Road, Rockville; followed by a reception at the American Legion Post 86, 2013 Veirs Mill Rd. Free. For more information, call 301-309-3337. Cheltenham: 11 a.m., Rear Admiral Joan Engel will speak and the Army Band will perform, Cheltenham Veterans Cemetery. Free. For more information, call 301-372-6398. Gaithersburg: 3:15 p.m., celebration with Mayor Sidney A. Katz and city council members, a special tribute to women in the Armed Forces, a performance by Gaithersburg High School color guard and band, City Hall Concert Pavilion, 31 South Summit Ave. Gaithersburg. Free. For more information, call 301-258-6310. Virginia Arlington National Cemetery: 10:30 a.m., Secretary of Veteran Affairs Togo D. West, Jr. will host the Veterans Day Observance, that will include a musical salute by the U.S. Marine Band, followed by the presidential wreath-laying at the Tomb of the Unknowns and a memorial service at the adjacent amphitheater. Free buses will operate between the visitors center parking area and the amphitheater from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. For more information, call 202-273-5730 or 703-607-8052. Mount Vernon: 11 a.m. wreath laying and 2 p.m. ceremony honoring American veterans at George Washington's tomb. Free admission all day for men and women who served in the U.S. Armed Forces. Mount Vernon, at the southern end of the George Washington Memorial Parkway, is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission: $8 general, $7.50 seniors, $4 ages 6 to 11, free ages 5 and younger. For more information, call 703-780-2000. Loudoun County: 12:45 p.m., American Legion, Post 34, Leesburg, will host s program at Broad Run High School auditorium, 21670 Ashburn Rd., Ashburn with remarks by Loudoun County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Horne. For more information, call 703-771-6620.

By Linda Wheeler
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, November 11, 1998;
Page B1

Muriel Sue Parkhurst made a promise, and she intends to keep it.

For 24 years, the Alexandria woman has watched out for the dwindling number of Americans who fought in World War I. She has, over the years, told several dying men she would keep the organization that honors them alive as long as there is a member left.

"A promise means so much to me," she said. "I was raised your word is the most important thing you possess, and no one will trust you or respect you if you don't keep your word."

So every year, on the 11th day of the 11th month, Parkhurst is at the 3 p.m. ceremony at Gen. John "Black Jack" Pershing's grave in Arlington National Cemetery, looking after her men. She makes sure the Veterans of World War I are bundled against the cold and takes pictures of them for the newsletter.

There are 3,000 veterans of World War I left. Their organization, which Parkhurst once worked for, ran out of money five years ago, and she asked the Military Order of World Wars to take over the ceremony. She is now the sole volunteer for the group.

Each year, she worries that the 100 seats will not be filled. The average age of the members is 99.

On Veterans Day, there are the big ceremonies – at Arlington National Cemetery and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. And then there are the small ones.

Like Parkhurst, Charles R. Thomas has kept a small ceremony alive for 24 years. He has scheduled the chaplain and the speaker. He has ordered the wreath and the color guard. And he has worried about filling the seats – only 50 in his case – at the First Division Memorial near the White House.

Thomas, the president of the D.C. Chapter of the First Division Society and a retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army, continues to make arrangements because there doesn't seem to be anyone else to do it.

"It's really an emotional feeling of patriotism," said the 62-year-old Thomas, "of being loyal to my country."

The First Division participated in World Wars I and II, Vietnam and Desert Storm, and the society has a potential membership of many thousands. But, Thomas said, "it is a small, hard core of people who will come."

Thomas, who lives in Burke, has problems putting together a program and said he has to make numerous calls each year to find a speaker for his event. Everyone would like to do it, but no one wants to commit, he said. So he goes through the list of several hundred retired First Division officials until someone agrees.

"Some will tear your heart out, and others don't make any sense," he said. "We applaud anyway."

Thomas said that when he was growing up in rural Kansas during World War II, children at his two-room schoolhouse said the Pledge of Allegiance every morning and sang military songs.

"It was kind of patriotism run amok," he said.

When the soldiers came home, including five of his uncles, the whole community turned out, and they "were received as winners. They had stopped the aggression, and there were lots of good feelings."

However, with the next two wars in Korea and Vietnam, there was little to celebrate, he said. "There was a great feeling of disillusionment, " said Thomas, who fought in both conflicts.

But Thomas said he still feels very patriotic and wants to make sure the First Division is remembered each year.

"It doesn't bother me very much that we get a small crowd," he said. "It gives me a great sense of satisfaction ... to do what I feel is my responsibility. As the Bible says, 'When two or more are gathered together ... '‚"

Then he recited the First Division motto, his voice getting husky. "No mission too difficult, no sacrifice too great, duty first. I really believe that."

In contrast, Parkhurst stumbled into a job that claimed her devotion. She took a secretarial job with the veterans organization in 1974, when her husband left her with a small child. She was sure that he would return and that the job would be short term, she said.

"I just needed a job for a couple of weeks until my husband realized he couldn't live without me," she said. "Well, I guess he could." She now runs the organization from her home.

Parkhurst said the national commander, one of the veterans, always speaks at the ceremony. But Joseph Schwartz of Arizona, who assumed the commander's post in September at the annual convention, died last week. So Parkhurst spent the last few days scrambling to find a substitute speaker from among the 300 or so members who live in the area.

And come 3 o'clock today, she will be there with her men.