Celebrate Memorial Day Near Novato For America’s 250th

NOVATO, CA — A Marin County native who spent two decades in the U.S. Army, including combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan and ceremonial duty at Arlington National Cemetery, will return to Marin County this Memorial Day as the keynote speaker at the county's annual remembrance ceremony.

Master Sgt. John Meholick will address the crowd at the Marin County United Veterans Council's Memorial Day ceremony on Monday, May 25, inside Exhibit Hall at the Marin County Fairgrounds in San Rafael. Doors open at 9 a.m., with the program beginning at 9:30 a.m.

The ceremony will open with 30 minutes of patriotic music from the Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District Non-Marching Band — widely known in Marin as the Sewer Band — followed by performances from the Marin Golden Gate Barbershop Chorus, a presentation of colors, a bagpiper, a chaplain's invocation and benediction, wreath placements, and recognition of local elected officials and veterans group representatives. Complimentary coffee and doughnuts will be served afterward, along with an outdoor display of vintage military vehicles from the Garbarino family collection.

Meholick grew up in San Anselmo, attending Wade Thomas Elementary, White Hill Middle School, and what was then known as Sir Francis Drake High School. He said he was inspired to enlist after watching the HBO miniseries "Band of Brothers" and began his military career in February 2006 at Fort Benning, Georgia. Over the next two decades, he served in infantry, cavalry, ceremonial, and institutional training roles, held Pentagon and Department of Defense joint agency assignments, and was stationed at bases in South Korea, Germany, and across the United States.

He currently serves as Senior Enlisted Leader for the Europe-Mediterranean Directorate at the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, supporting recovery and investigation operations across Western Europe. Meholick is in his final year of active duty and plans to retire in December after 21 years of service, returning to the Bay Area with his family.

The event's master of ceremonies is Sean Stephens, president of the Marin County United Veterans Council and director of the Marin County Veterans Services Office, which connects veterans and their families with mental health services, medical care, tuition assistance, pensions, and other benefits.

Marin County has lost hundreds of service members in conflicts around the world. Their names are etched into statues along the Avenue of the Flags at the Marin Civic Center complex.