LONG BEACH — The annual Loyalty Days Parade will move through downtown Long Beach on Sunday.
The main highway, Pacific Avenue, will be closed to though traffic for most of the day. The route is from Tenth Street North to Sid Snyder Drive. Closures and detours will include some streets north and south of those points.
The theme of this year’s 75th annual event is honoring service women.
Ahead of the event, locals have been celebrating the lives of women with local connections who served in uniform, including Chief Master Sgt. (Ret.) Terry Bryan of Ocean Park who served 29 years in the U.S. Air Force, another Air Force veteran Nora (Peters) Monroe, and Rebecca (Peters) Hinckley, who served in the U.S. Army. The sisters all graduated from Ilwaco High School.
Bryan will be grand marshal for the parade, which starts at 1 p.m.
She was born in Puyallup to Tom and Joy Peters and later moved to Long Beach. After graduation from IHS in 1976, she joined the US Air Force. She retired in 2005 as Chief Master Sergeant (CMSgt).
She served in military personnel, assisting all ranks in their careers with promotions and assignments, and was stationed in Spokane, Sembach Air Base and Ramstein Air Base in Germany, at Wichita Falls, Texas, Tacoma, Merced, Calif., Dayton, Ohio, and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.
After retirement, she returned to Long Beach with her husband Richard, who is also retired from the Air Force, and daughter Susan. She joined the American Legion Don R. Grable Post 48 in Ilwaco. She has served as Post Adjutant and Service Officer, from 2018 to present, as Post Commander, 2012-2013, and 2017-2018, 10th District Commander, 2014-2017 and Department of Washington Vice Commander Area II, 2017-2018, and 2019-2020.
“It is quite an honor to represent our servicewomen on the Long Beach Peninsula,” Bryan said. “Many do not realize the number of servicewomen that live here — there are a lot. And they are contributing women to our fantastic community. If you happen to meet one, please tell them, ‘Thank-you for your service to our country and community.’”
The U.S. Coast Guard plans a flyover at 1 p.m. to mark the start of the parade, which may last a full hour or more, based on the number of entries. Trophies will be presented at 3:30 p.m. at Veterans Field, 111 Third St. S.E. in downtown Long Beach.