Bugles were blown, guns were fired and wreaths laid on Wednesday.
A Veterans Day memorial ceremony that highlighted Vancouver’s strong, historic military legacy paid tribute to American soldiers past and present.
But the tribute was not the focus of Olympia residents Carolyn and Ruth Lehman, who quietly walked the rows of ivory-hued gravestones while dignitaries spoke before an appreciative crowd in a corner of the Vancouver Barracks Post Cemetery.
Widow and daughter made their annual trek to visit the grave of U.S. Army Lt. Col. Robert H. Lehman, stationed at the Barracks hospital here during World War II. Carolyn, an Army lieutenant, worked alongside him in the medical corps.
Robert died on Nov. 13, 2005, and so Veterans Day makes a logical marker for their trip, the two said. They hadn’t counted on the ceremony, but it only underscored warm memories of Vancouver, where Carolyn and Robert had lived another 20 years after the war.
“We feel like this is quite like home,” Carolyn said, smiling.
She and Robert had discussed internment at Portland’s vast Willamette National Cemetery, she said. That’s until they “rediscovered” Vancouver’s own hallowed ground, she said — resting place of some 1,400 veterans dating back to the 19th century.
“It’s just a marvelous connection to our family, and his service,” Ruth said.
That link was a recurring theme of Wednesday’s event.
Outgoing Vancouver Mayor Royce Pollard, who ended a lengthy Army career as lieutenant colonel in command of the Barracks, recalled the modest origins both of the city’s Veterans Day parade and the cemetery remembrance.
That first year, the memorial featured only a few thin rows of chairs, Pollard as lone speaker and a tape-recorded national anthem, he said.
“And look what we’ve grown to,” Pollard said, surveying a crowd of at least 300 veterans, families, children and other onlookers and participants.
The latter included the Fort Vancouver High School band and Vancouver School of Arts and Academics soloists who performed “The Star-Spangled Banner” and “God Bless America.”
“We have to make sure people never forget to take care of our veterans, the rest of our lives,” Pollard said.
Emotional times
Emotions ran a bit higher Wednesday, given the mass shooting at Texas’ Fort Hood Army base and the Afghanistan bomb deaths of seven Fort Lewis soldiers, including Pfc. Christopher Ian Walz of Vancouver.
“Yesterday was not a good day for us,” Larry Smith, Vancouver city council member and retired Army colonel and Vietnam vet, told the assembly, acknowledging sober memorials on Tuesday for the recent victims.
Pollard revealed a recent talk with a contemporary, Ray Hickey, successful former Columbia River barge operator and notable Clark County philanthropist. Pollard said he worries the U.S. is “drifting” and wondered aloud who could replace the so-called “Greatest Generation” of World War II and Korean War vets.
Hickey reassured him, Pollard said: “The next ‘Greatest Generation’ of America is serving us right now, all over the world.”
More than 2 million armed forces members are stationed in the Middle East, in Asia and in hot spots such as Kosovo, noted keynote speaker retired Major Gen. Leslie Burger, now living in Hazel Dell.
And their service has been exemplary, Burger said. Today’s troops are sharper, better skilled and trained than any before them, he said.
He also praised Vietnam and Cold War-era veterans for taking the torch from a fast-dwindling population of elders, to ensure that volunteer service and life sacrifices are not overlooked.
“It is clear that this next generation of veterans has stepped up to the plate,” Burger said.
Howard Buck: 360-735-4515 or howard.buck@columbian.com.
