Veterans, families gather to pay tribute to fallen soldiers
Carli Robinson, wife, biological mother of three and adoptive mother of seven, is instilling tradition in her family.
Every Memorial Day, while the boating and barbecuing public are doing just that, Robinson rustles up some of her kids and takes them to Fairmount Memorial Park where they place flowers on the unvisited graves of military veterans.
“I want my children to know the heritage of Memorial Day,” Robinson said as four of her children were finishing up their project Monday.
Robinson and children Morgan, 18, Jesse, 14, Kendra and Tyler, both 12, began their holiday by attending the cemetery’s Memorial Day service. Ronald O. Garnes, retired first sergeant of the Marine Corps, led about 125 people who gathered for the annual memoriam at the Garden of Valor.
Many who gave part of their holiday to travel to the West Wellesley Avenue cemetery were distinguished War II veterans. Ray Daves, president of the Lilac City Pearl Harbor Survivors Association who served in the Navy from 1939-1945, and Joseph Wagner, also a Pearl Harbor survivor who served in the Air Force from 1940-1945, were acknowledged for their heroic efforts on Dec. 7, 1941. The veterans, proudly dressed in military garb, carried a wreath to guest speaker Capt. Michael Ward during the ceremony.
“I don’t think of myself as great. I was called on and that was what I was supposed to do at Pearl Harbor,” said Daves, who will celebrate his 85th birthday in healthy fashion on Wednesday.
There also were a handful of Desert Storm-era youth, such as the Robinson kids, spread out on the veterans lawn area during the service.
“It really is a heartfelt thing when you honor all the people who died,” said Morgan Robinson, who’s been placing flowers on graves since she was old enough to walk. “Even in death, you can honor them.”
Ian Lansberry, a 5th Battalion, 14th Marines combat medic, participated in the ceremony as his wife, Lisha Lansberry, and their five children looked on and listened. Ward, commanding officer of Naval Reserve Volunteer Training Unit 2209G in Spokane, talked of the history of Memorial Day, or “Declaration Day.” Although stories vary, it is said to date back to the Civil War when Southern women decorated the veterans’ graves with flowers. When the state of New York made it a holiday on May 30, 1868, it stayed that way for 103 years until the National Holiday Act of 1971 was passed and the day was moved to the last Monday in May.
Since then, Ward said, it has become a three-day weekend, which has diminished its significance, particularly to the youth.
“I’ve been to a lot of these,” said 14-year-old Hope Lansberry, who has lived in Washington, Maine, Oklahoma and Georgia. “People have died for our country and we shouldn’t let go of that.”
Carli Robinson, who is raising her large family in Medical Lake, voiced the same sentiment. A daughter of a Marine who grew up outside Chicago, Robinson said she remembers marching in parades on Memorial Day. While parades are becoming passe, Robinson showed there still are ways to remember those in the service while enjoying the three-day weekend.
“People jump in the cars and forget about the holiday, and that’s fine to have a vacation,” she said. “But it’s nice to take a couple hours out of your life honoring people.”