Memorial Day Draws 200

WAITSBURG - Nearly 200 people showed up under clear and breezy skies to mark Memorial Day at the Waitsburg cemetery Monday.

Young and old from near and far gathered around the Memorial Wall to remember local fallen heroes, send off high schoolers enlisting in the service and add new names to the monument that stands as a testament to the courage and sacrifices of those who served.

Saddles & Spurs 4H members Tristan and Devin Newman, and Joe and Scott Leamy were on hand to raise the flag, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance and the Star Spangled Banner sung by Waitsburg High School Chorus members.

Be for e the keynot e speaker, Commander Stefan Xaudaro (U.S. Navy), began his address, Mayor Walt Gobel and other local speakers reminded the audience that Americans enjoy the freedoms guaranteed in the Constitution because of the servicemen and women who swore to defend them.

Drawing from the size of the gathered, Xaudaro noted that observance of Memorial Day may be in decline in some communities elsewhere in the country but not in Waitsburg.

He recalled how the Memorial Day tradition began in 1868, following the Civil War, and how the habit of wearing and handing out poppies (carried on Monday by local American Legion Auxiliary President B.A. Keve) began as a fundraiser for servicemen, orphaned children and widows in needs.

With wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Memorial Day takes on a deeper meaning and it's worth remembering that the flag of a nation is held together by the strongest threads, he said.

Xaudaro, who hails from Kennewick, serves as the Chief of Staff/Military Operation Office for Naval Test Wing Pacific in Ventura County, Calif. He attended the ceremony last year when the name of his father was added to the Wall.

The winners of this year's Americanism Essay Contest of the Washington State American Legion Auxiliary were announced after Xaudaro's speech.

Last year's Pioneer of the Year Bill Zuger read the essay written by his grandson, sixth grader Jacob Dunn, who answered the question "How Can I Encourage My Friends To Show In Being An American."

" When I am with my friends, I talk positive about the military and how they fight for our freedom," Dunn wrote in his piece. "When I am with my friends and we see a soldier I go up to them and say thank you, hopefully setting a good example for my friends."

The other winner from Waitsburg this year is Troy Anderson, an eighth grader.

Moving up in age, MC Jack Roberts and presenter Rose Engelbrite, introduced Justin Armstrong and Trevor Van Drew, two seniors from Waitsburg High who plan to enlist after their graduation this month.

Emma Philbrook and Meara Baker, the most recent winners of the regional Americanism essay contests, placed a Memorial Wreath by the Wall and lit the Eternal Flame before the crowd fell silent on the reading of new names added to the list of local heroes who passed away: Carl Henze, Burdette Huwe, Joseph Hussey, Fred Little and Eugene Mohney who served during World War II; Richard Chissus who served in Korea; and Raymond Leroue and Joel Smith who served in Vietnam.

The Dayton American Legion Post #42 fired the gun salute and the Waitsburg High School Trio Brass Players played Taps amid the head stones on the quiet cemetery grounds.