10
JUNE 1, 2023
Smoke Signals
There are over 150,000 Native American military veterans
MEMORIAL DAY
continued on from front page
of our veterans,= she said.
Leno also asked the crowd to ob-
serve a moment of silence for late
Tribal Elder Steve Bobb Sr., long-
time event organizer and Vietnam
War-era Marine Corps veteran who
walked on in August 2022. He also
designed the memorial, which fea-
tures a man and woman dressed in
traditional Native clothing standing
side by side while reaching for the
sky.
Tribal members Anthony Quenelle
and Jordan Mercier drummed and
sang a memorial song.
Photos by Michelle Alaimo
The Grand Ronde Honor Guard
posted the colors and Tribal Council Tribal members Anthony Quenelle,
member Michael Cherry provided an left, and Jordan Mercier perform a
invocation after welcoming people to memorial song during the Tribe9s
the event.
annual Memorial Day observance
<I wanted to make sure to be here held at the West Valley Veterans
to honor all of our veterans and
Memorial on the Tribal campus on
everyone who has served,= Cherry
Monday, May 29.
said. <We know that our ancestors
are with us today. & It9s very
FOR MORE OF THIS STORY VISIT
special and I just want to say
thank you for everyone being
here today and taking the
time to be in community.=
Other Tribal Council mem-
bers in attendance were Vice Chair We stop to honor and pay respects
Chris Mercier, Denise Harvey, to those who gave their lives to the
Brenda Tuomi, Secretary Michael service of this country, in the service
Langley and Lisa Leno. Past Tribal of freedom, in the service of a more
Council chair and Marine Corps peaceful world. We remember their
veteran Reyn Leno also attended.
sacrioce, their valor and their grace.
After invocation, Tribal member For while we stand amid these beau-
JC Rogers sang the national anthem tiful granite monuments, we must
as she has for the past six events. never forget that each of the names
After she sang, Grand Ronde and forever etched represents a precious
Veterans Royalty members per- life: A son, daughter, father, mother,
formed <The Lord9s Prayer.=
spouse, brother, sister and a friend.=
The keynote speakers were Ore-
Taylor also acknowledged that
gon Department of Veterans9 Affairs Native Americans have participated
Tribal Veteran Coordinator Jon R. with distinction in the U.S. military
Taylor and Army veteran Albert for more than 200 years.
Moody.
<Currently, there are over 150,000
<I am honored to serve and advo- Native American military veterans
cate for Oregon9s Tribal members and it is well-recognized that histor-
who served this country, and re- ically, Native Americans have the
turned home to their families and highest record of service compared to
communities,= Taylor said. <On any other group,= Taylor said. <The
Memorial Day, it is a time to remem- service of these men and women has
ber those who did not return home. been exemplioed by strength, honor
Tribal Veterans Service Office
2023 Claim Appointment Schedule
Monday
Tuesday
Thursday
By scheduled
By scheduled
Walk-in claim
appointment only
appointment only
appointments
To schedule a claim appointment:
call (503) 879-1484 or email
CTGRTribalVSO@GrandRonde.Org
Tribal Elder and Marine Corps veteran Alton Butler carries in the POW/MIA
flag at the start of the Tribe9s annual Memorial Day observance held at the
West Valley Veterans Memorial on the Tribal campus on Monday, May 29.
and wisdom. These are the qualities
we honor today, but we must never
forget the true cost of war. The price
is paid with the lives of our heroes.=
Moody talked about the tradition
of military service in his family. His
father had a 32-year career in the
Army. Moody served 22 years in the
Army, but his brother never made it
home from Vietnam.
<I ended up graduating from R.A.
Long High School in Longview,
Washington, and joined the Army
at 17,= he said. <I wanted to be a
paratrooper and a medic.=
After completing his training,
Moody was shipped off to Vietnam,
where he spent six months as a com-
bat medic. Afterward, he transferred
to military assistance command,
where he worked with a medical
team doing public relations work
by providing health care for local
villagers.
Moody was about to retire when
the orst Gulf War started in Janu-
ary 1991. He continued his service,
retiring later that year.
<So, immediately after leaving
the Army, I joined Doctors Without
Borders,= he said. <I'm sure most of
you have heard of them. We traveled
all over the world providing medical
support for certain individuals and
certain countries. I went to Bosnia
two times, to Columbia for earth-
quake relief and to provide medical
care. & That was my career, but it
didn't stop there for me. I continue to
volunteer. Veterans have this great
responsibility to tell our stories, not
just to each other, but to others.=
After Moody and Taylor spoke,
Molly Leno read aloud the names
being added to the memorial. The
four pillars at the West Valley Vet-
erans Memorial feature the names
of Tribal and community members
from Grand Ronde, Willamina and
Sheridan who served in the four ma-
jor branches of the military 3 Army,
Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps.
The addition of eight names this
year increased the number of those
honored on all four pillars to 2,382.
Two additional pillars are in prog-
ress because the ones containing
names of Army and Navy veterans
are reaching capacity.
Other names added included
Grand Ronde Tribal member Jerald
W. Tyler on the Navy pillar, Allan
Halverson, Benjamin Lee Rogers
and Ronney Lee Rogers on the Army
pillar and Billy J. Rogers on the
Marine Corps pillar.
This was the 20th Memorial Day
celebration held at the West Valley
Veterans Memorial, which was
dedicated in May 2003, because the
2020 event was canceled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. þ