Across the Sacramento region, veterans, their families and friends turned out Saturday to honor servicemen and women in parades, ceremonies and gatherings big and small.

In Placerville, beneath a canopy of oaks and umbrellas, about 400 dedicated supporters attended the long-awaited dedication of the El Dorado County Veterans Monument.

Fundraising challenges and rising construction costs did not deter the vision of a memorial and monument "to honor those who have served the cause of freedom."

And in Elk Grove, gray skies and rainy weather failed to discourage spectators who lined up to view a Veterans Day parade along the community's main boulevard.

"My brother died in the Korean War," said Darlene Snow, 72, who moved to Elk Grove a year ago. "The least I can do is honor him."

Snow donned an American flag scarf on her head. Beneath a long red coat, she wore a sweater with red, blue and white knitted pictures of an eagle, neighborhood homes and schoolhouses.

The sweater, Snow said, depicts "all the things that make America great. I only wear it on Veterans Day."

Her late brother, Wayne Amelung, who enlisted in the U.S. Army at age 17, was listed as missing in action shortly after the Korean conflict broke out in 1950, Snow said. His body was found a year later.

"I loved him a lot," Snow said. "You never forget when someone dies for the country. They're always with you."

In Placerville, heavy precipitation failed to dampen the resolve and spirits of the hundreds who gathered for a long-awaited formal ceremony to dedicate the new monument.

"It's like this everyday for those of us in the Coast Guard," Peter Wolfe, the monument's architect, said of the inclement weather.

For nearly 10 years, Wolfe, a retired Coast Guard lieutenant commander, worked with Richard Buchanan, who earned the Navy Cross in the Marine Corps in Vietnam, to raise money and support for the Friends of the Veterans Monument organization.

The group built the monument at the El Dorado County Government Center, on a site where on a clear day, sweeping views of the Sierra can be seen.

The centerpiece of the ceremony was the raising of flags representing various branches of the armed services. The Sacramento Fire Department Pipe and Drum Corps played an anthem as each flag was raised.

A 114-foot-long monument wall serves as the base for the American flag and the backdrop for 10 poles flying the flags.

"It's fantastic," Army veteran Arnold O'Shields of Placerville said. "It's the most beautiful monument I've seen outside of Washington, D.C. To think, little Placerville has this."

The monument includes many small details that are steeped in symbolism. Buchanan noted that the landscaping includes a particular rose called the Victory rose, so named following the World War I armistice.

And there are secret touches that the visitor cannot see. The concrete of the memorial plaza, Buchanan said, includes sands from Normandy and Utah beaches on the coast of France, as well as soil from Marble Mountain, near Da Nang, Vietnam.

In theory, Buchanan said, the monument is a work in progress, designed to allow future generations to add special touches to express themselves.

Expression, and capturing memories, were the goals of California State University, Sacramento, students who were recording oral histories and memories for the Veterans History Project, launched by Congress in 2000.

Jodee Smith, 49, of Citrus Heights, accompanied her father, John Pealer, 77, to the Chateau on Capitol Avenue, a retirement facility, where the project's interviewers awaited subjects, and video cameras were set up.

Pealer was one of several war survivors willing to document his story for the project, which sends its tapes to the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., where the public can view them.

Smith said her father rarely has spoken about his service during the Korean War. But because his mortality is becoming very real to him, "he felt privileged to be able to share," she said. "He realized that if he doesn't share some of these things, they'll be lost."

John Lawrence, 88, a Chateau resident who is a World War II veteran, also showed up to tell his story, albeit somewhat reluctantly.

"It was an era that we lived through," Lawrence said matter-of-factly. "It's history now."

Lawrence was a Merchant Marine, and worked on a cruise ship that carried troops to battles. The ship was attacked once in 1943 by German fighter planes in the Mediterranean.

As a young man, Lawrence said, he was excited to see action and stood on the deck to watch the fighting.

"When you're 24 years old, you don't think about things like that," he said. "I wouldn't even get aboard a ship now."

For those wishing to attend a Veterans Day event today, there is a memorial ceremony scheduled at 12:15 p.m. on the west steps of the Capitol. Afterward, the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 500 will lead a parade starting at 1 p.m.