EVERETT – A homecoming celebration will be Saturday to honor thousands of sailors from the USS Abraham Lincoln and the USS Shoup.
The Everett-based aircraft carrier and destroyer returned March 4 from a five-month deployment. Both crews aided the victims of the Dec. 26 earthquake and tsunamis that struck south Asia.
Event planners hope the public will turn out to celebrate the ships’ return, as residents did in 2003 when the Lincoln returned from a 290-day deployment to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The Humanity’s Heroes event also will be a thank-you to Snohomish County residents who contributed to the tsunami relief effort, said Kate Reardon, spokeswoman for the city of Everett.
“It’s a combination of welcoming home our heroes and acknowledging people in our community,” Reardon said. “The sailors on the Shoup and Lincoln really represented the face of our community and America.”
The event will start about 10:30 a.m. Saturday with about 400 sailors and their families marching from Everett High School to the Snohomish County campus at 3000 Rockefeller Ave.
The celebration will begin about 11 a.m. when organizers hand out 5,000 red, white and blue pompoms. Entertainment, speeches and information booths on tsunami aid will be offered.
Participants are encouraged to bring cut flowers to place in a tribute garden honoring disaster victims.
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