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Steamboat Springs — At 7 p.m. Saturday, many Routt County war veterans will don military uniforms from their service in World War II, Korea, Vietnam or Desert Storm and dance to the music that provided a background for those times.

Steamboat posts of the VFW and American Legion are hosting an old-fashioned USO dance to celebrate Veterans Day this year. The dance is from 7 to 11 p.m. Saturday at the Steamboat Springs Community Center. Tickets are $20 for individuals and $35 for couples, with a $5 discount for any veteran or service person wearing a uniform.

The USO Ball is for all veterans, their families, and families with members who are serving or have served in the military.

Disc jockey Kenny Knapp will play big-band hits from the 1940s for the dance’s first hour and will fill the next three hours with classic rock ’n’ roll and country music from the 1950s, ’60s, ’70s and ’80s.

Event organizers decided they wanted to have a dance and then started talking about the time local veterans spent at United Service Organizations shows and functions, said Valerie Tuthill, president of the Ladies Auxiliary for the Steamboat Veterans of Foreign Wars post.

“At one time or another with all our veterans, the USO has touched their lives in one way or another. So they just decided it would be a great opportunity to give back to the USO,” Tuthill said.

Proceeds from the dance will go to Colorado branches of the USO, a private, nonprofit organization that has offered services such as family support, community centers and celebrity entertainment tours to the U.S. military since before World War II, according to the USO Web site.

Lewis Kemry, a World War II veteran and the Steamboat American Legion Post’s oldest continuous member, said he plans to attend Saturday’s celebration. Kemry remembers occasional USO functions during his service in Europe for the Second World War, which included about a year of occupational service in Austria after fighting ended.

“It was something to look forward to, if it was going to be a group from home,” Kemry said. “One time we had a contingent of WACs (members of the Women’s Army Corps) come through, and, well, they just went out of the way to socialize with us guys, and we had to appreciate things like that because we didn’t get much of it.”

Saturday’s dance replaces the VFW’s catered Veterans Day dinner. The VFW post and Ladies Auxiliary members will host their usual Veterans Day breakfast at the VFW on Wednesday morning before heading up to the Doak Walker Care Center to honor the holiday with residents there.

Space for the dance is limited, and an RSVP is recommended by 5 p.m. today for anyone who wants to attend. Tickets are available from Tuthill or Jim Stanko, at the VFW or at the event.