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JUNE 1, 2019
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‘Today we honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice’
MEMORIAL DAY
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The event began at noon with
a meal of turkey gravy, potatoes,
green beans, rolls, salad, cake
and cupcakes served by Veterans
Royalty, Grand Ronde Royalty
and their parents to approximately
100 attendees in the nearby Tribal
Community Center.
The outdoors ceremony began
at 1 p.m. under a cloudy, breezy
sky with Grand Ronde drummers
playing a memorial song led by
Tribal member Brian Krehbiel and
Cultural Advisor Bobby Mercier.
Tribal member JC Rogers sang
the national anthem as she did the
past three years. It was a whirlwind
weekend for the young singer, who
graduated Saturday afternoon from
Willamina High School and then
spent the weekend on a senior trip.
After she sang, Grand Ronde Royal-
ty and Veterans Royalty performed
“The Lord’s Prayer.”
Tribal Council Chairwoman
Cheryle A. Kennedy, Vice Chair
Chris Mercier and Tribal Council
members Denise Harvey, Kathleen
George, Lisa Leno and Jack Giffen
Jr. attended. This year, Tribal
Council opted for a change from
previous Memorial Day ceremonies
and chose not to deliver speeches,
instead wanting the focus to be on
those who were being honored for
making the ultimate sacrifice.
Also in attendance was Tribal
Elder and past Tribal Council
Chairwoman Kathryn Harrison,
who sat in the front row.
The Grand Ronde Honor Guard
posted the colors and speakers
included Polk County Veteran
Services Officer Eric Enderle and
Director of Statewide Veterans
Services Sheronne Blasi.
Enderle, an Army veteran who
was medically retired after being
wounded during a deployment to
Iraq, talked about the history be-
hind Memorial Day.
Originally known as Decoration
Day, it began after the Civil War
and became an official federal
holiday in 1971. Many observe
the day by visiting cemeteries or
memorials.
“One of the things that has al-
Photos by Timothy J. Gonzalez
Veterans Honor Guard member and Marine Corps veteran Alton Butler
carries the eagle staff and Veterans Special Event Board Chairman Raymond
Petite carries the American flag at the start of the 17th annual Memorial Day
ceremony held at the West Valley Veterans Memorial on Monday, May 27.
Fifteen names were added to the memorial this year.
ways been interesting to me is the
complaint that people don’t under-
stand the importance of Memorial
Day,” he said. “In 1923, complaints
were made that those born after the
Civil War didn’t understand the
sacrifices veterans had made. …
Sometimes, we overthink it. Today
Tribal member JC Rogers sings the national anthem during the 17th annual
Memorial Day ceremony held at the West Valley Veterans Memorial on
Monday, May 27. Fifteen names were added to the memorial this year.
is a day to honor what veterans did
and it’s also a day to remember
those made the ultimate sacrifice,
and those who continue to battle
back home after serving our great
nation.”
Blasi, a 14-year Navy veteran,
said she is always struck by the
powerful emotions Memorial Day
invokes.
“Today we honor those who made
the ultimate sacrifice,” she said. “It is
this holiday that speaks most keenly
to our highest and best ideals.”
She also noted that as a demo-
graphic group, Native Americans
join the military in large numbers
percentage-wise.
“Historically, you have the high-
est record of serving our country,”
Blasi said. “The warrior tradition
is exemplified by honor, pride and
devotion. … Many of the names
added here today represent the loss
of a loved one. We remember and
honor their sacrifices.”
Names added to the West Valley
Veterans Memorial this year were
Air Force veterans Jeremy Fillible
and Charles Cinnamon; Army vet-
erans and Tribal members Mitchell
Spohn and David Kurns II, and
James E. Black Jr., James E. Black,
Gordon Calder Jr. and Edwin
Roten; Marine Corps veterans and
Tribal member Rodney Smith and
Mark Dolan; and Navy veterans
and Tribal member Lonnie Riddle
and Donald Marten, Ralph Fillible,
Walter Van Orden and Mark Carl.
Van Orden’s daughter, Annette
Wright and her husband, Pickett,
drove from North Carolina to wit-
ness her father’s name being added
to the list. He was a World War II
Navy veteran who served in the
South Pacific.
“Last year we were in town visit-
ing relatives and saw this memori-
al,” she said. “I called Steve Bobb
and found out my grandfather was
on the list, so we talked about what
it would take to add my dad, and
that’s why we’re here now.”
Added Pickett, “Steve was super
helpful and showed us his amazing
work.”
Former Tribal Council Chairman
Reyn Leno, a Vietnam War-era Ma-
rine Corps veteran, read the names.
The addition of 15 names brings
the number of veterans honored on
the pillars to 2,362.
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.
Annette Wright touches the pillar where her grandfather, Walter L. Van Orden,
is enshrined on the West Valley Veterans Memorial during the 17th annual
Memorial Day ceremony held on Monday, May 27. Wright, along with her
husband Pickett Wright, traveled from Edenton, N.C., to participate as her
father, Walter Van Orden, was one of 15 new names added to the memorial.