Marine Mike Myatt’s rescue mission keeps Fleet Week afloat

In 2009, the Fleet Week tradition on San Francisco Bay was about to die from disinterest. The Parade of Ships had shrunk to a Parade of Ship, and the U.S. Navy, which sends the Blue Angels, was feeling that maybe it wasn’t worth all the expense and effort.

So Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Chief of Protocol Charlotte Shultz turned to the one person who could save the Columbus Day weekend attraction: retired Marine Maj. Gen. Mike Myatt.

Myatt, who at the time was president and CEO of the Marines’ Memorial Association and co-chairman of the committee to get a World War II monument built outside the Veterans Building, was not looking for more projects.