Remember the fallen

Busy lives paused Monday as local residents took time to reflect on the past during annual Memorial Day services at two area cemeteries.

Somber holiday programs drew large turnouts to the Pleasant Ridge and Swinomish Indian Tribal Community cemeteries despite cloudy and chilly conditions.

Rev. Don Robinson and Anne Basye keynoted the one-hour gathering at Pleasant Ridge, site of the oldest cemetery in Skagit County and where the accomplishments and sacrifices of veterans, pioneers and Native Americans were recognized.

Tribal Senator Brian Porter served as master of ceremonies at the multi-denominational Swinomish service, which paid tribute to the community's living and deceased veterans.

Robinson, who is filling a vacancy on the Pleasant Ridge Cemetery District Board of Commissioners, spoke of "stones of remembrance and living stones." He did so while also focusing on Abraham Lincoln's famed appeal to "the better angels of our nature" as the nation in early 1861 faced a pending civil war.

"Military personnel are often called to be peacemakers," said Robinson. "Each one of us bears responsibility to be a peacemaker – to respond to division and conflict with civility, compassion and care in the spirit of 'angels of a better nature.'"

Robinson noted how gravestones serve as memorial markers, each having a story to tell.

"When I look to the north," said Robinson, who stood facing the audience with the cemetery at his back, "I see stones of remembrance marking the lives of those persons no longer with us. We have stones to help us remember."

Robinson expressed gratitude for the contributions of fallen veterans, deceased pioneers and the area's native peoples, whom, he reminded the gathering, gave up often at great cost room for immigrants to settle here.

Robinson likened his audience to living stones able to convert Lincoln's plea to positive action.

"Today," Robinson said, "we look to those who have gone before us as stones of remembrance. We remember their sacrifice and service. We also look to ourselves as living stones who, in Lincoln's words, strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up wounds, to care to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations."

In addition to stones of remembrance, Robinson said Pleasant Ridge Cemetery on Monday bore flags marking the known graves of military veterans from the Spanish-American War, World Wars I and II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Basye shared with the Pleasant Ridge assembly a Decoration Day essay written by her then-teenaged grandfather, and a Remembrance Day poem penned by late centenarian Joyce Johnson, who died in February.

The composition by Basye's grandfather offered a critique of early Decoration Day (the original name for Memorial Day) speakers at Pleasant Ridge. He expressed a preference for keynoters who used the active and concise style embraced by Lincoln as opposed to the florid language and wordy approach of the future president's frequent 1850s debate opponent, Stephen Douglas.

At Swinomish, former tribal chair Brian Cladoosby referred to the high percentage of Native Americans who have enlisted across generations for military service.

"Our men and women," he said, "have always stepped forward."

Cladoosby recalled how as a youth he witnessed the importance placed upon Memorial Day by that era's Swinomish leadership.

"Memorial Day," he said, "has always been a day for coming together as one, as a family."

Cladoosby said it was a personal honor to have been asked to read aloud the names of deceased Swinomish veterans, a list that includes John K. Bob, who was killed in action during World War II and for whom the tribal ballpark is named and Cary Bobb, Sr., featured speaker at the tribe's 1984 Memorial Day service.

"This," Porter added, "is a day of grief but also a day of celebration. It's a very emotional day for all of us. It's a day of reflection."

Like Robinson, Porter cited the bravery of military veterans who had "looked death in the face." He said he had heard first-hand accounts of such service from family elders who saw action in World War II and Korea.

"They remembered their brothers who didn't come home," Porter said. "We've held onto these memories. We remember what they did for us."

Former Swinomish Senator Kevin Paul sang "Soldier Boy" and the Swinomish Canoe Family performed an honor song before the tribe's living veterans were invited forward to accept handshakes and well-wishes.

During the prayer segment of the tribal service an emotional message was delivered by Doug York, who referenced the trauma experienced by surviving combat veterans.

"I'm always mindful of those who gave their lives," York said, "including those who died in slow motion."

Remembering the past with reverence while seeking to forge a brighter future were themes common to both Memorial Day programs.

"Behind me are the stones of remembrance," said Robins on. "In front of me are the living stones. When I look into your faces, I see living stones. I see people who have both a story to tell and a legacy to leave."