CLEARLAKE — Lake County has a lot of veterans. With almost 6,000 living in the county as of 2016 according to U.S. Census data, about 1 percent of Lake County’s entire population has served in the military. That’s roughly three times as many per capita as Los Angeles County, which is home to the largest overall number of veterans in California.
At a flag lowering ceremony in Clearlake on Tuesday morning, Marine Corps vet and Burns Valley Elementary teacher Ed Fuchs talked about what he had planned for his speech at the event. As students from the school were prevented from coming to the ceremony due to smoke from the Camp Fire raging in Butte County, Fuchs had forgone dressing in his old Marines uniform. But on Veterans day he had put on the uniform to see if it still fit.
“I pulled out my old boots that I haven’t worn in 20 years,” Fuchs said. Lacing them up “brought back memories of when I would wear that uniform day in and day out.” His military days far behind him, Fuchs’ nostalgia only grew stronger.
Many veterans were in attendance Tuesday, including Bob Perez, who led the folding ceremony along with help from his fellow members of the Lake County Military Funeral Honors Team.
A dozen members of the Park Study Club of Lake County showed up with a banner announcing their organization, which has donated the oversized American flag to the City of Clearlake for decades.
