VFW helps honor deceased veterans

Garland Enberg, of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post No. 51 in north Spokane, led a team of fellow VFW members on a mission Tuesday. He and the others dressed in their VFW jackets and military-style caps and volunteered their time for flag ceremonies at three memorial services for deceased veterans in Spokane. They brought their own indoor flags on poles for the event. One of the services was a memorial at the state-run Spokane Veterans Home, 222 E. Fifth Ave., at which a dozen veterans and the wives of two veterans were honored for their contributions to freedom. The memorial was attended by family members and staff of the long-term care facility. Chaplain Richard Kelley said the veterans “put their lives on the line for you and me.” Robert Hall remembered his Army veteran father, Don Hall, as someone who “lived his life to the fullest” and complimented the nursing home staff for its “exceptional” care. Hall died June 16. VFW members performed a prescribed ritual. One-by-one, they offered a sprig of evergreen, a white flower and a laurel leaf to signify love, purity and honor of service. They then handed tri-folded American flags to several family members who attended. Enberg said he wants all Spokane veterans and their families to know that the service is available to them to pay patriotic respects to their own veteran loved ones when they die. He said he fears that too many deceased veterans do not receive the recognition that is due to them, and the VFW has taken on the role of making sure that military honors go to all veterans. Members are available for the flag service at funerals or memorial services. When a veteran dies, he said, a color guard would be available on short notice. “We’ve set them up on a half-day’s notice,” he said. Enberg said he served in the Navy from 1942 to 1945 and is a past commander of the VFW John R. Monaghan Post No. 51 at 300 W. Mission. Kathy Magonigle, administrator of the Spokane Veterans Home, said veterans groups such as the VFW have been a big help at the nursing facility. They put on special events for holidays and parties and offer donations to the home. She said Enberg organized a library for residents out of donated materials. It is on the second floor of the facility, which opened in 2001. Earlier this year, the veterans home held its first memorial service for its deceased residents. Magonigle said the Veterans Home plans to hold the service every three months to honor those who die during that time, and plant a memorial rose bush in the garden outdoors for each honored group. “It means a lot to all of us,” Magonigle said of the VFW flag service. Veterans and spouses who were remembered during Tuesday’s service at the home were Alice “Sue” Aamodt, Myrna Biegert, Betty Bounds, Roy “Mickey” Brown, Gilbert Burns, Bill Denison, Virgil Garrett, Thomas “Frank” Goodson, Hall, Mae “Ann” O’Rourke, Pete Troncale, Don Welling, Luke Williams and Paul Winkleman.