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Posts Tagged ‘VFW Post 1040’

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“To the Color” for Pacific Little League Day in Lynnwood

Posted by glennled on May 26, 2013

Glenn Ledbetter, VFW Post 1040 Bugler, sounds "To the Color." Photo by Carol Sheldon.

Glenn Ledbetter, VFW Post 1040 Bugler, sounds “To the Color.” Photo by Carol Sheldon.

More than 20,000 boys and girls have played baseball and softball in the Pacific Little League since it was founded 48 years ago in 1965, and for the last two, I’ve had the privilege of sounding the bugle call, “To the Color,” on the annual PLL Day–this year on 27 April at Lynndale Park in Lynnwood. More than 800 boys and girls, ages 5-18, from Lynnnwood and Edmonds now participate.

For more information about PLL and this annual event, please see www.pacificlittleleague.com and my post dated 22 May 2012, in this blog (archives, left column).

Please click on any photo englarge it. Two were taken by Carol Sheldon (as marked), and Designer Portrait Studio took all the other photos (see  www.thedesignerportraitstudio.com).

Posted in Ceremonies & Celebrations | Tagged: , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

“Taps” for Wreaths Across America Memorial Service at Evergreen-Washelli in Seattle

Posted by glennled on January 9, 2013

Courtesy of Wreaths Across America (WAA)

Courtesy of Wreaths Across America (WAA)

Last month on 15 December 2012, Wreaths Across America (WAA) sponsored and coordinated the placement of 420,000 remembrance wreaths by almost 200,000 volunteers on the headstones of our nation’s fallen military in 825 locations in America and abroad. At Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, more than 20,000 volunteers laid 110,662 wreaths. This was the 21st annual wreath-laying event.

Courtesy of WAA

Courtesy of WAA

In 1992 in Harrington, Maine, as the Christmas holiday season drew to a close, the Worcester Wreath Company found itself with a surplus of fresh, evergreen wreaths. The owner, Morrill Worcester, made arrangements to have the wreaths placed in one of Arlington cemetery’s older sections where fewer visitors were coming each year. A local trucking company transported the wreaths to Virginia, and American Legion, VFW, and other volunteers decorated each wreath with the traditional, hand-tied red bows and laid them on the headstones. There was also a special ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

VFW Post 1040 Honor Guard, WAA ceremony, Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Evergreen-Washelli, Seattle, 12-15-’12. Photo by Nathan W. Bradshaw, PA3, USCG.

VFW Post 1040 Honor Guard, WAA ceremony, Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Evergreen-Washelli, Seattle, 12-15-’12. Photo by Nathan W. Bradshaw, PA3, USCG.

That started the annual pilgrimage to and event at Arlington National Cemetery which continues today. Others across the nation wanted to participate in their own national, state, and local cemeteries, and so in 2007, WAA was created. The mission of this non-profit organization, now based in Columbia Falls, Maine, is to “Remember, Honor, Teach.”

Lt, U.S. Coast Guard. Photo by Nathan Bradshaw, PA3, USCG

In the state of Washington, 18 cemeteries are affiliated with WAA. The four largest are the Tahoma National Cemetery in Kent (23,000+ graves; 15,500 veteran graves and 13,000  veteran columbarium niches); Evergreen-Washelli-Veterans Memorial Cemetery in north Seattle (5,000+ veteran graves); Mountain View Cemetery in Walla Walla (37,000 graves; 2,500 veteran graves); and Washington State Veterans Cemetery in Medical Lake (550 veteran graves).

At Veterans Memorial Cemetery at Washelli, this was the 3rd annual wreath laying ceremony sponsored by the Navy Wives Club #277. King5-TV again covered the event in a superb report. Please see http://www.king5.com/video/yahoo-video/200-wreaths-cemetery-183725091.html. You’ll see the VFW Post 1040 Honor Guard fire three perfect rifle volleys, hear the post piper play some of “Amazing Grace,” and hear me play “Taps” in the background as the reporter tells the story. For a description of the previous year’s event, please see my post of 16 December 2011.

Please click on any photo to enlarge it. Here are links to the websites of other organizations mentioned in this post:

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Veterans Lead Independence Day Parade in Edmonds on Glorious 4th

Posted by glennled on July 4, 2012

Glenn Ledbetter, Vietnam War Vet, Edmonds Independence Day Parade, 2012. The bugle was a gift from a retired Air Force pilot who purchased it in England.

I’m sure some people in this great nation had as much fun as I did on this Independence Day 2012, but did they get to march in the parade in a small, All-American city as I did in Edmonds, Washington today? More didn’t than did. The thousands of people lining the streets stood, clapped, cheered, and waved minature American flags. My wife took this picture of the Post Bugler, VFW Post 1040, Lynnwood—me—on a perfectly gorgeous day on a glorious 4th. “God Bless America!”

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“To the Color” at Pacific Little League Opening Day in Lynnwood

Posted by glennled on May 22, 2012

Imagine–it was Pacific Little League (PLL) Day on Saturday, 28 April, at Lynndale Park near Lynndale Elementary School. There were games, a fun Parade of Players onto Harry H. Moore Field, and a ceremony. The organizers honored the nation’s military during the ceremony by inviting all military personel (active, reserve, retired and veterans) to join the players on the field to honor and thank them for their service. “We want our players to understand how important these men and women are to us,” it said on the PLL website (see www.pacificlittleleague.com).

Seventeen military personel came onto the field and stood along the 3rd base line. The color guard of VFW Post 1040 of Lynnwood hoisted the American flag on the center field pole, as the post bugler (me) sounded the bugle call, “To the Color.” Jaymie Studioso then sang the “Star Spangled Banner,” and Captain Barry Crane, USN, gave the opening prayer. Capt. Crane is Deputy Region Chaplain for Navy Region Northwest and North Sound Church lead Pastor. The color guard of three veterans then joined their 17 comrades on the field.

Next, Capt. Crane assisted seven little league ball players in reading a tribute to military men and women written by Mike Schindler (see photos to left and below).  Spider Avdeyev read, “Only one percent of Americans answers the call to serve our country [in the military].” Nick Avdeyev read that the U.S. military is comprised of paid volunteers. Presley Denkinger read a tribute to the Army, our oldest military branch, responsible for land-based military operations since 1775. Gabe Avdeyev read about the Navy, the battle fleet tonnage of which is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. A statement about the Marine Corps, a Navy component which has served in every American armed conflict, was read by Jordan Sims. Then Baylor Denkinger read about the Air Force, the most recent military branch and the most technologically advanced air force in the world. Finally, Madi Sheldon read the tribute to the Coast Guard, our oldest continuous seagoing service, responsible for enforcing U.S. law in 3.4 million square miles of ocean.

Founded in 1965, the Pacific Little League now involves more than 800 boys and girls between 5-18 years old playing baseball and softball. In the past 48 years, this volunteer-based organization has provided services to over 20,000 boys and girls in the greater Edmonds/Lynnwood area, impacting an estimated 10,000 families. The Echelbarger Fieldhouse was built in 2000 with more than $300,000 in donated funds. Lights were added to Fields 1 and 2 in 2001, and to Field 3 in 2005. Ventilation, gas grills and ovens were added to the fieldhouse kitchen in 2005. The Pacific Little League paid for all facilities by “Capital Improvement Fundraising.” No taxpayer dollars were used. See www.pacificlittleleague.com for more information on the teams, divisions, tournaments, and game schedules.

Photos are courtesy of the Pacific Little League. Please click on any photo to enlarge it.

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“Taps” for King County Veterans Who Were Buried Without Military Funeral Honors

Posted by glennled on January 5, 2012

WAARNG Honor Guard reads the deceased veterans' names

Who’s ever heard of the VMT Program? Very few. There’s been almost no news coverage. Yet, as Post Bugler for VFW Post 1040 in Lynnwood, I have played “Taps” three times in the past three weeks for almost 600 veterans who recently died in King County, Washington—twice at ceremonies at Veterans Memorial Cemetery at Evergreen Washelli and once at Acacia Memorial Park in north Seattle. And that’s going to continue. What’s this all about?

All veterans are eligible for military funeral honors, but most survivors do not request them. Before 2010 in Washington state, when the moment for honors had passed, that was that. But now, tribute is later paid to them in absentia by the the Washington Army National Guard (WAARNG) through its Veterans Memorial Tribute Program (VMTP). Now, none are forgotten.

"Ready" to fire three volleys, VFW Post 1040 Firing Squad

The Honor Guard Program of the Army National Guard in Washington and 7 other states is headed by William A. (Bill) Graham, Jr., Regional Director and State Coordinator, located in Camp Murray near Ft. Lewis. When a person dies in Washington, he says, the funeral director typically submits a death worksheet to the Department of Health, Center for Health Statistics. On the worksheet, Question #12 asks whether the deceased was a veteran. Quarterly, the state forwards a list of all such veterans to the WAARNG which then checks this list against a national database of all veterans who already have been accorded military honors. It turns out that about 65% of eligible veterans do not receive military funeral honors. The VMTP remedies this.

Presenting the flag

WAARNG is the first in the nation to institute this tribute program. When VMTP first started in 2010, the state sent them data for 2008, 2009, and 2010 (to date). The 2008 and 2009 batches contained about 14,000 names each!

Mr. Graham says the goal is to furnish an Honor Guard for these mass committal services in all 39 counties of the state. The Honor Guard renders military funeral honors en masse for each new set of deceased veterans. Most are concentrated in King County. For a KREM-TV report on a memorial service held last October in Medical Lake in Spokane County, see http://www.krem.com/news/local/Tribute-program-honors-veterans-gaining-local-support-132498463.html.

With gratitude, respect and honor, the final salute

At a typically brief tribute ceremony, the names of the deceased vets are read aloud, a bell is rung, a prayer is offered, a poem is read, and the nation’s deep gratitude is expressed. In north King County, this is done twice a month by WAARNG’s Bellingham unit which usually reads about 200 new names each time—at Evergreen Washelli on the first Tuesday and at Acacia on the third Tuesday of each month. VFW Post 1040 furnishes the firing squad and the bugler—me, playing my Super Olds cornet, serial number 133097 with my Bach 8C mouthpiece. Similar honors are rendered monthly in south King County. Mr. Graham says that in less populous counties, the tribute ceremony would be rendered less frequently, depending upon the need. The public is welcome to attend.

Photos by Richard Larson at Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Evergreen Washelli; click on any photo to enlarge it.

 

 

WE REMEMBER THEM [excerpt]

At the rising of the sun and at its going down

We remember them…

As long as we live, they too will live;

for they are now a part of us

as we remember them.

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“Taps” at Rainy Veterans Day Ceremony at Lynnwood Veterans Park

Posted by glennled on November 19, 2011

NW Junior Pipe Band (center) plays as firing squad awaits (right)

For one second on this special Veterans Day, the time was exactly 11:11:11 on 11-11-’11. A few minutes later, I sounded “Taps” for all our veterans, including me (Navy, Vietnam). Prior to the ceremony, Martin Spani, Commander of VFW Post 1040 of Lynnwood, had stationed me where the silver sculpture stands on a knoll in the Veterans Park in downtown, just south of the library. “After the NW Junior Pipe Band plays ‘Amazing Grace,'” he said, “the firing squad will fire three volleys. When they come to Present Arms, you play ‘Taps.'” And that’s just how it happened, probably very similar to many thousand other ceremonies this day across America, except for our pouring-down rain.

Out of curiosity, I looked for the plaque that would tell me about the stainless steel sculpture where I stood to sound “Taps”—it’s untitled (1979) by Bruce West.

Steven A. Rintanaki, Cpl, USMC, of Lynnwood, died Al Anbar Province, Iraq, 9/16/2004 - Portrait by Michael G. Reagan

The guest speaker was Michael G. Reagan, Edmonds artist, who spoke about his foundation’s Fallen Heroes Project. “Our mission,” he says, “is to honor the American Fallen Heroes for their ultimate sacrifice during the war against terrorism. The foundation will provide the resources to produce and distribute to each family a hand-drawn portrait of their Fallen Hero, created by artist Michael G. Reagan, free of charge. Each portrait is intended to show our Love and Respect for these Heroes and their families.” See http://www.fallenheroesproject.org/.

Commander, VFW Post 1040

If you donate $30 to VFW Post 1040, you can have a 7″ x 9″ inscribed memorial brick installed in Veterans Memorial Park in downtown Lynnwood in honor of a veteran, living or deceased. Currently, 805 such bricks line the pathways and plantings in the park. See http://www.vfwpost1040.org/index.php.

Click on any image to enlarge it.

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