“Taps” and “To the Color” at Memorial Day Ceremony at Veterans Park, Lynnwood
Posted by glennled on June 2, 2012
“Taps” by Glenn Ledbetter, VFW Post 1040 Bugler. (by Nancy MacDonald)
Clearly, someone carefully chose the rhododendron species at Veterans Park in Lynnwood where the Memorial Day ceremony was held on Monday, 28 May—the dark pink flowers were still in full bloom as two wreaths were laid in honor of those American military men and women who died during our wars.
Martin Spani, Commander of Post 1040 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), Lynnwood, emceed the ceremony which featured the Northwest Junior Pipe Band, singer Garret Lloyd King, and guest speaker, Lt. Col. Joseph S. Jimenez, U.S. Army (Ret.). The memorial wreaths were laid by Richard Larson, USN, WWII, of Lynnwood American Legion Post 37, and Art Clemente, USMC, WWII, Lynnwood VFW Post 1040. Boy Scouts of America, Lynnwood Troup 49, assisted by placing the flags in the park and distributing the programs. A crowd of almost 225 attended under an overcast sky.
Ray Colby, VFW Post 1040 Piper, plays “God Bless America.” (by Chaplain Mary Sjoberg)
The pipe band played “Green Hills,” “Battles Ore,” and “Amazing Grace.” Ray Colby, a Navy World War II veteran and the VFW Post 1040 piper, played “God Bless America.” After the rifle salute by the VFW Post 1040 Honor Guard, the post bugler (me) sounded “Taps.” Throughout the ceremony, the American flag flew at half-mast. At twelve noon, I played the bugle call, “To the Color,” as the flag was hoisted to full-mast by the post’s Color Guard.
Please click on any photo to enlarge it. Photographers’ names appear in parentheses after the captions of the respective photos. Incidentally, Chaplain Mary Sjoberg is a member of the U.S. Corps of Chaplains (USCOC)—see https://sites.google.com/site/unitedstatescorpsofchaplains/Home
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- American flag flies at half-mast during Memorial Day service in honor of America’s war dead. (by Nancy MacDonald)
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- Northwest Jr. Pipe Band. (by Nancy MacDonald)
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- “Amazing Grace,” Northwest Jr. Pipe Band. (by Chaplain Mary Sjoberg)
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- Honor Guard, VFW Post 1040, Lynnwood. (by Chaplain Mary Sjoberg)
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- Martin H. Spani, Commander, VFW Post 1040, Lynnwood. (by Nancy MacDonald)
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- Ray Colby, VFW Post 1040 Piper, plays “God Bless America.” (by Chaplain Mary Sjoberg)
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- Lt. Col. Joseph S. Jimenez, U.S. Army (Ret.). (by Chaplain Mary Sjoberg)
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- Garret Lloyd King, singer. (by Nancy MacDonald)
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- “Taps” by Glenn Ledbetter, VFW Post 1040 Bugler. (by Nancy MacDonald)
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- “Taps,” Glenn Ledbetter, VFW Post 1040 Bugler. (by Janelle Squires)
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- One of many monuments in Veterans Park, Lynnwood. (by Chaplain Mary Sjoberg)
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- Currently, there are 805 inscribed memorial bricks in Veterans Park. (by Janelle Squires)
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- Inscribed memorial bricks may be purchased for $30 each by a veteran or veteran’s family to honor a veteran, living or deceased. (by Nancy MacDonald)
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- Four Boy Scouts from Troop 49, Lynnwood. (by Nancy MacDonald)
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- “To the Color” by Glenn Ledbetter, VFW Post 1040 Bugler, as the American flag is hoisted to full-mast. (by Chaplain Mary Sjoberg)
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- Honor Guard, VFW Post 1040, Lynnwood, renders salute as American flag is hoisted to full-mast and “To the Color” is sounded by the post bugler at noon. (by Chaplain Mary Sjoberg)
Glenn's Trumpet Notes 
Space Highway said
Thank you for sharing this
glennled said
You’re very welcome! Were you there? Are you a Vet? This ceremony was in 2012. If you’re interested in similar events on other Memorial Days, simply search for “Memorial” or “Memorial Day” in the search box in the upper right corner of the page.
This year, I’m sounding “Taps” at three different venues on 27 May. First, I play “Echo Taps” with a Lynnwood High School trumpeter at the ceremony at 11 a.m. at Veterans Park in Lynnwood, hosted by VFW Post 1040. Then at 12:45 p.m., I sound “Taps” at MorningStar Senior Living at Silver Lake in Everett. Finally, at 6:25 p.m., I’ll sound “Taps” before the Mariners’ baseball game at T-Mobile Park in Seattle.
I’ll be 84 in June, and I love doing this!