Raindrops ran down DeWayne Nelson’s cap and soaked his graying hair. He held a U.S. flag at his side in the pouring rain, behind the covered tents at Vancouver’s annual Memorial Day Observance. The weather doesn’t bother him, he said, as the wet flag slapped against his leather jacket.
Nelson, a Vietnam veteran and Patriot Guard rider, was one of many who endured the elements Monday morning at the Vancouver Barracks to honor the fallen. Among them were a 90-year-old Buffalo solider re-enactor and an 8-year-old Young Marine.
When it was wet or dry, below freezing or blistering hot, troops have given their all for America.
Too few carve a couple of hours out of their day to remember and reflect on those who died in the line of duty, said keynote speaker U.S. Army Major General Jeffrey Buchanan. Many Americans seek the comfort of the mall or some big-box store on Memorial Day, looking to score some deals.
“It’s just another opportunity for self-indulgence,” Buchanan said. The general, who served four tours in Iraq, talked to the full crowd about what the 590 names etched into the Clark County War Memorial mean for Americans nationwide. It’s not just a bunch of names.
“Each represents a man or woman with their own story, their own goals, fears and triumphs,” he said. “Let us never forget the freedoms they won for us.”
We’re lucky we’ve never been occupied or had to fight a war on our own soil, he said.
Many soldiers from earlier wars are unable to tell their stories and give their physical support at Memorial Day ceremonies. Joseph Bailey, 91, a veteran of the Korean War and WWII, was one of a few attending the observance who survived the attack on Pearl Harbor. He served from 1941 to 1952 and has four brothers who served and survived.
“This is not free, living in the United States,” he said. “There always has to be people who keep the country safe. “
Those people may not get recognized or honored for what they do. Bailey’s son was a helicopter pilot in Vietnam — a war he didn’t talk about when he returned.
Vietnam vet DeWayne Nelson remembers being spit upon at the airport during the 1970s while he was in uniform.
The importance of Memorial Day was felt by members of later generations who participated in the day’s events.
Boy Scout Patrick Keller wanted to help out the people who deserve the highest respect yet ask for none. During the observance, he helped dedicate a new flagpole that flies the U.S. colors. Keller raised $5,000 as part of his Eagle Scout project to have the 30-foot pole complement the two existing flagpoles. The site was originally designed to have three flagpoles, but due to budget constraints only raised two.
“Private” Tanya Hayes, 8, wore camouflage that overwhelmed her small frame. She said Memorial Day is about “serving the people who died while serving the country.”
At the end of March, Tanya graduated from the Lewis & Clark Young Marines, a program that teaches youth leadership and discipline. Without people like her dad, who served in the Air Force, and her grandfather, who served in the Army, we wouldn’t be free, she said.
