Navy MoH, 1861; awarded to Navy, Marines & Coast Guard

Of the millions of men and women who have served in the United States military, including me,

Army MoH, 1862

only3,457 have received the Medal of Honor. Six are buried at Evergreen Washelli Memorial Park on Hwy 99 in north Seattle.

These men, plus a Silver Star recipient, were honored on 16 July at a special ceremony, as reported in my blog post below (2 July). The ceremony featured the unveiling of seven large, permanent, granite markers, engraved with their individual stories of heroism. In August, these are to be placed at the respective graves, so that visitors may read them on site.

Here are some interesting facts about the Medal of Honor, extracted from the website of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society (see http://www.cmohs.org/). The first medal was awarded in 1863, during the Civil War. During that war, in which there were about 625,000 deaths, 1,522 Medals of Honor were awarded. During the Korean War, 136 medals were awarded, and 248 were presented during the Vietnam War. Others: WWI (119); WWII (466); Iraq (4); and Afghanistan (5).

At last Saturday’s event, at least two local TV stations had cameras present and carried stories on the evening news. Please watch the video

Air Force created as separate military branch, 1947; distinct design of AF MoH authorized, 1956; AF design adopted, 1965

(1:48) from KOMO-TV for the excellent report, “Heroes honored: ‘They did things I can’t even imagine doing’.” See www.komonews.com/news/local/125696063.html. The editing and presentation are outstanding. Included among the scenes is one brief clip of me playing “Taps” shortly before the Retiring of the Colors.

As the audience of about 100 family and friends, many with raincoats, hats and umbrellas on this cool morning, slowly arrived, the Washington Letter Carriers’ Band played a 30-minute opening concert. Reportedly, this band is the oldest of its kind in the state, founded in the late 19th century.

Seattle’s soft rain fell upon us in the beginning and quit about mid-way through the ceremony. As the keynote speaker, MG James M. Collins, Jr., U.S. Army (Ret.), summarized each man’s story, he asked the family and friends of each hero to stand for recognition and honor. Scott Sheehan, General Manager of Evergreen Washelli, said that as a result of this event, another person who is

Glenn (right) sounds "Echo Taps" near firing squad - Photo by Janelle Squires

buried there has been identified as a recipient of the Silver Star and will also be honored with a marker.

Then a firing squad of seven fired three volleys. At the command, “Present Arms,”  I commenced sounding “Echo Taps” while standing nearby. Roy Pollock, lead trumpeter of the WLC Band and my fellow member in the Husky Alumni Band, played the echo from near a large tree across the open field. 

Families lay flowers on markers of the seven valiant men - Photo by Evergreen Washelli

Super Olds cornet (1954) - Photo by Janelle Squires