Memorial Day tribute thanks veterans

SANDPOINT — For the first time in years, it rained.

But that didn’t stop more than 100 people, Huddled under umbrellas and sheltered under trees, as they paid their respects Monday not only to veterans but to their families during Memorial Day ceremonies at Pinecrest and Lakeview cemeteries.

Ceremonies also were held in Hope and Clark Fork.

When he saw Memorial Day reports honoring America’s fallen heroes, retired Army Col. Larry Tassie worried he had the wrong approach. But, after thinking about it, he realized there were four groups who should be honored.

The first are the veterans, Tassie said.

“I think we do have to recognize our veterans, those who have passed on,” he added. “We say they sacrificed their lives; no, they lost their lives. They gave ’em away; no, they lost their lives in combat. They did it four our country, they did it for us and they did it for the cause.”

Some veterans fell in combat; others returned home and had a long, rich life as a civilian. Many of those who returned home pay tribute to their comrades and are seen “with flags and flags at the ceremonies,” he said.

Then there are the families, those whose sons and daughters died in combat.

“We need to remember the mothers who lost their sons or the little mother who lost her husband and she’s home with a baby, or home waiting, and he’ll never return,” Tassie said. “Sometimes we forget about them.”

It also is important to pay respects to soldiers serving today. Weighed down by heavy packs, fighting in the desert against an aggressive enemy, it isn’t uncommon for today’s soldier to serve two or three tours in Afghanistan or Iraq.

These men and women need to know they have our support, Tassie said.

The next group which must be honored are those young men and women who want to serve in the military. Often, apprehensive parents discourage them, worried about what might happen.

“I put 36 years in and I wouldn’t trade it for anything,” Tassie said. “I think it’s a great career and I’d do it again if they’d let me and I think that youngster ought to have a chance to do that, too, if they wish.”

Tassie encouraged those present to remember those in the armed forces, whether on active duty or retired, whether they served or whether they fell in the line of duty.

It is because of them, he added, that America is where it is today and because of them that its people enjoys the freedoms they do,

Those sentiments were echoed by Mike Trenholm, who spoke for the Marine Corps League.

Trenholm said the country owes its gratitude to those who served in the military, those who put the ships or the guns together so the soldiers could fight; and the parents who sent them off to war.

“I would say over the last 40 years or more, I have mourned the people I know who died in my war, but today I’m going to celebrate Memorial Day,” he added. “I feel much better about Memorial Day because of them. Because of them, we have freedom not the politicians.”