Tributes honor service, sacrifice of U.S. military men and women

Memorial Day ceremonies conducted Monday at cemeteries in Ephrata, Quincy, and Soap Lake paid heartfelt tribute to U.S. military personnel who have died in service to the nation.

Since the American Revolution, more than 1.1 million military men and women have been killed defending the United States in wars and combat actions, most recently against Iran in the Middle East, said Mike Montaney, a member of American Legion Post 28 who presided over the ceremony in Ephrata.

“They each have stories to tell,” Montaney told the gathering. “The crosses at Normandy. The graves at Arlington. The markers at Punchbowl. Fallen heroes who rest in places unknown.”

“The heroes we honor today are not exclusive to any gender, race, or religion,” Montaney continued. “They come from all economic classes and backgrounds. They are a diverse group wedded to the belief that America is a nation worth dying for.”

“They are men and women of honor,” he said. “We must not forget them.”

At Valley View Memorial Cemetery in Soap Lake, speaker Galen Golay told the assembled crowd that “something special happens when we gather collectively … It’s part of our shared humanity to honor their lives.”

He referred to two songs, “Old Hippie” by the Bellamy Brothers and “More Than A Name On A Wall” by the Statler Brothers, which speak poignantly to the effects of war both on the survivors and the families who lose loved ones.

Golay encouraged everyone to “take the time to reflect, to pray, to remember … those who paid the ultimate price.”

Special wreaths were placed at the cemeteries as “tokens of remembrance.” Members of the Ephrata-based Legion post, along with American Legion Auxiliary Unit 28 and Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Quincy, helped organize the Memorial Day ceremonies in the three communities.

The first national observance of what would become Memorial Day occurred on May 30, 1868, when Commander-in-Chief John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic, a fraternal organization of veterans, issued a proclamation known as Decoration Day in remembrance of Union soldiers killed in the American Civil War.

The observance continued to evolve among states over time and eventually became a federal holiday. In 1968, Congress changed the date to the last Monday in May, and in 1971 standardized its name as Memorial Day.