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JUNE 1, 2022
Smoke Signals
Photos by Timothy J. Gonzalez
Grand Ronde Honor Guard members, from left, Alton Butler, Rich VanAtta and Ramona Quenelle wait to post the colors during the
Memorial Day celebration held at the West Valley Veterans Memorial on Monday, May 30.
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Number of veterans honored on the pillars is 2,378
MEMORIAL DAY
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is past chairman of the Tribe’s Vet-
erans Special Event Board and a
Marine Corps veteran from the Viet-
nam War era, gave the invocation
and served as master of ceremonies.
Bobb introduced Tribal Council
members in attendance, which in-
cluded Tribal Council Chairwoman
Cheryle A. Kennedy, Vice Chair
Chris Mercier, Michael Cherry,
Kathleen George, Lisa Leno, De-
nise Harvey and Jack Giffen Jr.
“It’s important for me to note at
these events that I am not a veteran
and the closest I got to combat was
going to the Civil War (football)
game and dealing with Beaver
fans,” Mercier said to chuckles in
the audience.
“I met Steve 20 years ago when I
worked at Smoke Signals and then
when I was elected to Tribal Coun-
cil, I served with many veterans.
Every story is different, but I have
learned more about veterans from
Steve than probably anyone else.
He also brought up Ukraine in his
prayer. My cousin lives there and
he cannot leave. He is required to
stay and fight, and worries about
his home being bombed. Think
about that. We will never have to
worry about that because of all of
our veterans. … We’re stable. No
one would be foolish enough to in-
vade our country. Today it is about
honoring those people who made it
possible. I can never repay you.”
George said she raised her hands
to all the soldiers who had gathered
at the event.
“Today is an important day and
it’s a somber day to remember these
men and women who sacrificed
everything,” she said.
The event began at noon with a
boxed lunch served to attendees at
the Tribal Community Center by
Veterans Royalty.
The ceremony began at 1 p.m. un-
der cloudy and sometimes stormy
skies with Grand Ronde drummers
playing a memorial song led by
Tribal members Anthony Quenelle,
Nakoa Mercier and Jordan Mercier,
followed by the Grand Ronde Honor
Guard, led by Tribal Elder Alton
Butler, carrying in the colors.
Tribal member JC Rogers sang
the national anthem as she has for
the past five events. After she sang,
Veterans Royalty and Grand Ronde
Royalty members performed “The
Lord’s Prayer.”
The keynote speaker was re-
tired Marine Corps Sgt. Major
Rod Beach, who also worked for 31
years for the Oregon State Police.
“I’m very honored to speak with
you today,” he said. “It’s one of those
things that I can’t tell you how proud
I am to address fellow veterans and
our families. The biggest thing we
can do is acknowledge the sacrific-
es our veterans and their families
made. … It is also important to
acknowledge public safety people
who have died in the line of duty.”
The ceremony closed with Tribal
Elder and Air Force veteran Jerry
George reciting the poems “Remem-
ber Me, America” and “Freedom Is
Not Free.”
Names added to the West Valley
Veterans Memorial for 2022 are
Air Force veterans Henry Edwin
Sjogren and Chester Dale Bowyer,
Navy veteran William Albert Hull-
ing and Army veteran Larry Eu-
gene Darling, who is the sole Tribal
member being honored this year.
The addition of four names brings
the number of veterans honored on
the pillars to 2,378.
After the reading of names, Viet-
nam-era Navy veteran Bryan Shir-
ley performed taps on his 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.
An event has been held every
Memorial Day at the site except
for in 2020 when the burgeoning
COVID-19 pandemic forced it to be
canceled.
Marine Corps veteran Rod Beach delivers the keynote address during the
Memorial Day ceremony on Monday, May 30.