Community honors soldiers' sacrifice

SANDPOINT — One generation.

That is all it would take for freedoms hard-won and hard-fought to disappear unless we work to protect and preserve them.

Those who do so, those who put themselves in harm’s way to defend our freedoms and rights deserve our thanks and our gratitude, said Bill Stevens, master of ceremonies for Monday’s Memorial Day tribute at Pinecrest Cemetery.

The annual service is a chance for residents to pay tribute and to honor those who served their country, whether it was at home or abroad, or during war or at peace time, said Stevens.

That gratitude and appreciation means a great deal to the county’s veterans, he said.

“This is a day to remember our veterans and their families and the sacrifices they have made and are still making today,” Stevens said.

In a survey of how people planned to spend Memorial Day, attending a memorial service such as the one held at Pinecrest or Lakeview cemeteries only garnered about 13 percent of the vote, said Carolyn Whaley, a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Wild Horse Chapter in Sandpoint.

The largest percentage planned to spend the day at a barbecue.

It is sad, she said, that so many have forgotten what Memorial Day is all about.

Roughly 100 attended the morning  service at Pinecrest Cemetery and about 30 attended the afternoon tribute at Lakeview Cemetery.

It is important to remember why the day was created, said Idaho state Sen. Joyce Broadsword.

“It is our duty to remind our children and our grandchildren that they owe everything to those we’re memorializing today,” she said. “Freedom isn’t free. It is hard fought and hard won.”

Memorial Day has its origins in the aftermath of the Civil War when residents in Waterloo, N.Y., in 1866 paid tribute to those who died in the war. Speaking at that first ceremony, according to Wikipedia, was Gen. John A. Logan, who issued a proclamation as commander in chief of veterans’ organization, the Grand Army of the Republic, declaring May 30 as Decoration Day.

The observance was expanded after World War I to include American casualties of any war or military action and also honor those who fought, according to the Web site.

Memorial Day was first used in 1882, but did not become common until after World War II. It was declared the official name of the observance in 1967 and the date of the official observance was changed to the last Monday in May in 1971.

Anne Haynes, who attended her first Memorial Day event, said she attended the Lakeview service to pay tribute to area veterans.

“I think this year just realizing that veterans need to be recognized — especially the old guard from the world wars,” she said. “We need to remember their contributions.”

Among those attending the Pinecrest service was Camille Santarpio and her sons, Lakota and Jadon. Santarpio, whose brother James Papp served in Iraq, said it was important to attend the ceremony to  honor those who served in the military.

After placing flowers on her mother’s grave, Grace Meyer, who visited the cemetery with her father, Jeff Meyer, saved three roses to place on the graves of her “great-great-grandpas.”

“It makes me feel happy to remember everyone,” Grace Meyer said. “They feel closer to me.”

Mangus Newman, 90, attended the afternoon service with his daughter, Kathryn Rose of Sagle.

“I can’t explain it,” the World War II veteran said. “It’s so wonderful”

The day, however, always brings back a lot of memories.

“I lost of lot of good friends in the war.”