COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL • JUNE 6, 2018
6A
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PHOTOS BY CINDY WEELDREYER/FOR THE COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL
The Veterans Park Ceremony concluded with Dale Cuyler playing Taps before the Veterans Memorial Rock.
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By Cindy Weeldreyer
CG
For The Sentinel
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I
t was a rare sun-kissed
morning for a Monday in
late May within Western
Oregon as approximately 175
residents came together May 28
for Cottage Grove’s Memorial
Day Services.
The event was planned by
members of American Legion
Post 32, and the Veterans of
Foreign Wars Post 3473.
Lieutenant Eric Haan, a
United States Navy Reservist
and former Commander of the
local American Legion Post,
welcomed the crowd gathered
in the historic Armory for the
11 a.m. ceremony. He also ac-
knowledged the symbolic re-
membrance table set in front of
the stage to honor those indi-
viduals still listed as a prisoner
of war or missing in action.
After local bagpiper Tom
McVey and members of the Boy
Scouts Troop 140 presented the
colors, Haan led the Pledge of
Allegiance. Student Jennifer
Simons sang the National An-
them and Trinity Lutheran Pas-
tor Jim Markus offered a prayer.
Mayor Jeff Gowing, a mem-
ber of the American Legion
Post who served in the Army
from 1982-88 on bases in Wash-
ington, Hawaii and Texas, gave
a meaningful message.
He said as a young boy he
attended the local Memori-
al Day ceremonies. When he
heard the list of names read of
veterans who died in the pre-
vious year, they were familiar
names of friends of his parents
and grandparents and of people
known in the community.
Among the names read this
year was a co-worker and anoth-
er was a good friend he made in
2009 on the annual motorcycle
ride to Washington, D.C., who
died just three days before this
year’s ride.
“The older I get these names
become much more personal
to me,” he said. “These names
are more than a name. They
are someone’s spouse, parent,
grandparent, child, aunt, uncle,
cousin, co-worker or friend.”
At the end of his message,
Gowing introduced Lil Thomp-
son, a gold star sister.
Her brother Sgt. William
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Stubbs was just 20 years old
when he went missing on Oct.
20, 1969. He is still listed as one
of the Vietnam War’s MIAs. She
said their father was a career
military officer who served 22
years in the Army and moved
the family often with new duty
assignments.
“We were very close friends
because we traveled a lot as an
Army family,” she said. “When
Bill reached military draft age
he chose to enlist as a Green Be-
ret. It was many years before his
mission was declassified and we
were told he was in Laos when
he went missing.”
The Army’s Green Berets are
a special operations force tasked
with five primary missions:
un-conventional warfare, for-
eign internal defense, special re-
connaissance, direct action and
coun-ter-terrorism.
“I will always miss my broth-
er. This October it will be 49
years since he’s been gone,”
Thomp-son said. “Every day I
fly the POW/MIA flag because
I respect and honor him for do-
ing what was right, especially
at that time in our history. I’m
really sad he never got to meet
my family.”
Thompson said the most dif-
ficult part for an MIA family is
having no place to put flowers
to honor the memory of their
loved one. With family in Ore-
gon and Washington, before her
father died in 1995, he request-
ed to be buried in the National
Cemetery in Portland, with a
marker for his MIA son placed
next to his.
“It was a tumultuous time in
America from 1969 to 1973,
Thompson told the crowd. “Be-
cause returning war veterans
were not treated well, I always
take every opportunity to thank
them.” She added, “The family
I grew up in is now all gone, so
remembering them on Memori-
al Day is very important to me.”
Following her remarks, Lt.
Haan announced the names of
the Vietnam-era veterans in-
ducted this year on the Wall of
Honor inside the American Le-
gion Hall.
They are: Gary Ladd, Hu-
bert VanPoll, Milo Stratton and
Lawrence Heckman. Jennifer
Simons again took the stage to
sing America the Beautiful.
VFW Commander Dennis
Twite read the names of those
veterans who died since last
year’s Memorial Day. Celia
Gowing, a member of the Wom-
en’s Auxiliary, transferred a red
rose from one vase to another as
Mike Flint solemnly rang a bell.
After Lt. Haan read the Get-
tysburg Address and Pastor
Markus gave a closing prayer,
the colors were retired by the
Boy Scouts with Tom McVey
playing the Ballad of the Green
Berets.
The crowd spilled out of the
Armory to participate in a re-
membrance procession under a
bright blue, cloudless sky. It was
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Members of the American Legion Riders and the Oregon Veterans Motorcycle Association
participate in the procession from the Armory down Main Street to Veterans Park.
฀
led by members of the Ameri-
can Legion Riders and Oregon
Veterans Motorcycle Associa-
tion to the Veterans Memorial
Park on Main Street next to the
Centennial Covered Bridge.
After a 21-gun salute, Leon-
ard Waitman, now a frail World
War II Veteran, and Korean War
Veteran Mel Gowing had the
honor of dropping the remem-
brance wreath off the bridge
into the river. The ceremony
ended with Dale Cuyler playing
Taps on his trumpet.
Participants were then invited
to the nearby American Legion
Hall for refreshments and to
ob-serve Gowing place the four
memorial plaques on the Wall
of Honor.
Mayor Gowing said he was
pleased with the large turnout,
particularly after his initial con-
cern when the ceremony was
incorrectly reported as happen-
ing on Saturday.
“For too many, Memorial Day
has lost its solemn significance
and has become the official
kick-off of summer with camp-
ing and BBQs,” Gowing said.
“I’m glad so many people came
to re-member those who gave
up their tomorrows so we could
have our todays.”
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