The colors of wind-whipped flags came to life under a brilliant blue sky as the early sun warmed the grass Monday morning. Hundreds had gathered around the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site bandstand in remembrance of the hundreds of thousands who could not be there.
“Let us always remember that Memorial Day is about coming together to pay homage to those who gave their all for the freedom of our great nation,” said Larry Smith, a retired combat veteran and co-chair of the Community Military Appreciation Committee, as he started the day’s observance at 11 a.m. “It is also a time to thank the gold-star families for their loved ones’ sacrifices and tell them we will never forget.”
The ceremony saw a mix of solemn and celebratory remarks, with speakers thanking those who gave their lives for their country and asking those in attendance to do more for those who must face the horrors of war.
“America is what it is today because of the service members whose names are on this (Clark County Veterans War Memorial), and for their willingness to serve and die for their country,” Smith said.
Life continued its busy course outside the national historic site Monday, with planes flying overhead, shoppers perusing sales and families packing up after a long weekend. But here, at a site older than Memorial Day itself, a bubble of gratitude and emotion encapsulated the field where families, supporters and soldiers past and present gathered to honor their comrades.
“What drives a man … to decide, with just a few seconds, to make the ultimate sacrifice?” said Col. John Sweeney as he recounted the last moments of Cpl. Jonathan Yale and Lance Cpl. Jordan Haerter, two Marines who stood their ground at a base in Iraq. “Six seconds — more than enough time for two brave young men to do their duty into eternity.”
About two dozen Patriot Guard Riders stood tall surrounding the hundreds seated before the bandstand, each decorated with patches, each holding an American flag as dragonflies flew sentry routes and applause rang out to recognize the service of so many.
The keynote speaker for the day’s event, Lt. Col. Brad Aiello, spared no words in describing just what that service can entail — fear, deprivation, isolation. It is these emotions, he said, that keep him from attending most Memorial Day services, though that does not stop him from honoring those who gave it all.
“These were the selfless ones,” he said.
When talking about America’s responsibility as the world’s mightiest military power, Aiello said: “The sword we wield is two-edged. If we as a nation can afford to send our men and women to war, we can afford to take care of them when they come home.”
Only one cloud passed between the sun and what organizers estimated to be 2,000 people attending Monday’s observance, and it came as Aiello recited a distressing statistic.
“It is estimated 22 veterans commit suicide every day in the U.S.,” he said. “They are dying of psychological wounds.”
Tackling the stigma surrounding veteran suicide and turning that statistic around should be a priority, Aiello stressed, and those who died after returning from war need to be remembered just as those who died overseas.
Two scheduled speakers, U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Camas, and Vancouver Mayor Tim Leavitt, did not make it to the ceremony. Herrera Beutler recently gave birth to a son; Leavitt was said to be out of town.
One speaker hoped that after hearing taps and “Amazing Grace,” after enjoying free hot dogs and conversation, after seeing the tents come down and Fort Vancouver return to normal, that the memorializing and remembering will continue beyond the symbols and the dates that define it.
“After this weekend, when all the flags come down,” Vancouver City Councilor Anne McEnerny-Ogle said, “we must ask what more we can do.”
