S moke S ignals
JUNE 1, 2018
11
‘We must honor our fallen heroes’
MEMORIAL DAY
continued from front page
Army veteran, attended and spoke
briefly.
“This is truly a time of remem-
brance,” Kennedy said. “The Tribe
has had many different men and
women who have entered the armed
forces, some did not come back
home. … The main thing is that we
know the courage these young men
and women had. … When we look
at our veterans, they don’t always
talk about what happened; many of
their scars are internal.”
Tuomi said she was grateful for
the opportunity to honor those who
made the ultimate sacrifice for
their country and noted that more
than 600,000 soldiers had given
their lives in various conflicts since
World War I.
Mercier said he always feels hon-
ored and inadequate when asked to
speak at the Memorial Day event.
“I did not serve, but serving on
Tribal Council has given me insight
on veterans and for the younger
generation, talk to veterans when
you think life is tough because you
could be in a rice paddy in Vietnam
seeing (awful) things,” Mercier
said.
He mentioned past and current
Tribal Council members in atten-
dance who had served in the mil-
itary, including Bobb, Reyn Leno,
Tuomi and Navy veteran Wink
Soderberg.
“I would urge people to get to
know their veterans,” he said. “I
thank all of you for making this
enormous sacrifice. We can never
repay this debt, but this is an op-
portunity to say thanks.”
Also in attendance were Tribal
Elder and past Tribal Council
Chairwoman Kathryn Harrison
and Yamhill County Commissioner
Stan Primozich.
The Grand Ronde Honor Guard
posted the colors and speakers
included Mitch Sparks, acting di-
rector of the Oregon Department
of Veterans’ Affairs, and Wayne
Crowder of Polk County Battle
Buddies, a group that meets to help
counsel veterans.
Photos by Michelle Alaimo
Wayne Crowder of Polk County Battle Buddies speaks during the 16th annual
Memorial Day observance held at the West Valley Veterans Memorial on the
Tribal campus on Monday, May 28.
Sparks is a Navy veteran and
served 26 years.
“It’s an honor to be here among
veterans and families on the 150th
anniversary of the first Memorial
Day,” he said. “Many of you are
here to remember an individual
who impacted your life. … We must
honor our fallen heroes. Their mem-
ory inspires us to be better.”
Crowder talked about his father,
who served in World War II and
Tribal Council Chairwoman Cheryle A. Kennedy speaks during the 16th
annual Memorial Day observance held at the West Valley Veterans Memorial.
Grand Ronde Honor Guard member, Army veteran and Tribal Elder
Raymond Petite posts the Grand Ronde Tribal flag at the beginning of the
16th annual Memorial Day Observance held at the West Valley Veterans
Memorial on the Tribal campus on Monday, May 28.
returned with lifelong internal
trauma. Crowder joined the Army
at age 18 in 1968 and served in
Vietnam. Father and son never
discussed their service. After years
of struggling, Crowder formed Polk
County Battle Buddies as a way to
give young veterans returning from
war an opportunity to connect.
“We can honor our fallen by how
we treat our living,” he said.
Names added to the West Valley
Veterans Memorial this year are
Navy veteran and Tribal member
Dana D. Stephens; Air Force vet-
erans Maurice C. Yoder, Alton B.
Weiss, Gary Holman and William
L. McMahon; Army veterans Roy H.
Tucker, Raymond H. Tucker, John-
ny Morales, William F. Barrett and
Dustin L. Conde; and Marine Corps
veterans and Tribal member James
E. Turner, Daniel W. Helfrich and
Troy J. Harris.
Turner said it was an honor to
have his name added to the Marine
Corps pillar.
“And I love coming to this event
every year,” he said. “It is very
much appreciated.”
Leno, a Vietnam War-era Marine
Corps veteran and former Tribal
Council chairman, read the names.
The addition of 13 names brings
the number of veterans honored on
the pillars to 2,348.
The ceremony closed with Bud
Abbott reciting the poems “Remem-
ber Me, America” and “Freedom is
Not Free,” and Robert Thornburg
performing taps on the trumpet.
The West Valley Veterans Memo-
rial, which was dedicated in 2003,
was designed by Bobb and features
a man and a woman dressed in tra-
ditional Native clothing standing
side by side reaching to the sky.
Surrounding them are four black
granite pillars, which feature the
names of Tribal and community
veterans from Grand Ronde, Wil-
lamina and Sheridan.