MEMORIAL DAY: La Verne Honors Fallen Brothers and Sisters

Memorial Day celebrants showed their true colors.

At Veterans’ Hall on Monday in La Verne, the men and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice in defending our nation and its democratic ideals were honored and remembered in a moving Memorial Day service.

“It’s a tough thing when you see all these Memorial Day sales and Memorial Day picnics, and there’s no reference to what Memorial Day is about,” said VFW Pos12034 Commander Rosendo Reyes. “It’s to memorialize our fallen soldiers, our family members, our brothers and sisters who without notice went on, with total dedication and commitment to the country, to face the enemy.”

Under beautiful windswept skies, the color guard proceeded to post the colors and Pastor Lincoln Dial asked members of the audience to bow their heads in opening prayer. After explanation of what each fold in the U.S. flag represented, members of the La Verne Lutheran Naval Jr. R.O.T.C. raised the flag, then lowered it to half staff. The VFW Post Honor Guard performed a rifle volley and a single bugler played the 24 haunting notes of TAPS.

Members of the La Verne Lutheran Naval Jr. R.O.T.C. raised the flag.

After Rita Austin performed the “National Anthem,” she was followed to the podium by Norma Torres, a Blue Star mom and assemblywoman from the 61st California district. “Today is a sacred day for our nation,” said Torres whose son is Airman Christopher Torres. “We are here today because we believe their sacrifice and commitment should never be forgotten.”

Torres stated that there were 6,014 “sons and daughters who have made the ultimate sacrifice” in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, including 35 from the Inland Empire.

La Verne Mayor Don Kendrick helped clear the confusion that some people have in distinguishing the difference between Veterans Day and Memorial Day. “It’s a whole lot easier to talk at Veterans’ Day than it is Memorial Day,” Kendrick said, “because Veterans’ Day is those who got to come back, Memorial Day is a celebration of those that didn’t.”

It was bright day for everyone who came out to pay their respects on Memorial Day.

Medallions were presented to Oliver Carter, a World War II veteran, and also to Lois Davis, whose father was a World War II veteran. Commander Karl Kurtz also explained the symbolism of a spare table in front of the entrance to the Hall, paying tribute to the nation’s Missing in Action and Prisoners of War (MIA-POW). Among the items on the table set for one were a white table cloth (purity), a single rose (keeping faith of the long awaited return), a slice of lemon (bitter fate), a pinch of salt (the family’s tears), an inverted glass (an empty toast) and an empty chair (the absent soldier).

Former councilman Dan Harden emceed the ceremonies, which ended with a prayer from Pastor Roy Halberg of the Grace Fellow ship Church in Alta Loma. “Almighty God, eternal father, all the privileges that we enjoy, all the freedoms we enjoy, we so easily take for granted,” Halberg said. “So I’m grateful for the privilege of a service such as this. We say ‘thank you.’”

The flag was in evidence everywhere in La Verne on Memorial Day.