EVERETT—Approximately 100 residents—Union Carpenters of Local 425, Everett Elks Lodge 479, Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, Mayor Cassie Franklin, and local volunteers—spent Saturday morning at Evergreen Funeral Home and Cemetery placing American flags next to the headstones of fallen service members in honor of Memorial Day.
“Thank you so much for giving willingly of your Saturday morning to come out here and plant the flags on the veterans’ graves,” Mayor Franklin said to the volunteers. “It’s just a beautiful way of honoring those who served in our military.”
Earlier this year, Mayor Franklin lost her father Charles “Chuck” Sheridan Koehn who served on the USS Edson (DD946) during the Gulf of Tonkin Incident in August of 1964 that led to the Vietnam War.
“I can just speak from the heart on what it means to the families to come out here and see those flags for this weekend and their honor,” said Franklin. “We have few opportunities to honor our veterans, and this is one very special way to do it.”
Dozens of members of the Union Carpenters of Local 425 which is part of Western States Regional Council of Carpenters (WSRCC), prides itself on its providing employment and apprenticeship opportunities for veterans through its Helmets to Hard Hats and Military Veterans programs. Both programs help veterans transition into livable-wage construction industry and carpentry careers after their military service.
“We have a lot of members that want to give back to the community,” Luis Aroche told the Lynnwood Times. “They’ve [veterans] given so much of themselves to protect our rights and protect everything that we stand for.”
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, approximately 6.3% of the construction workforce are veterans.
Aroche, who is an Army veteran himself, has been working in the construction industry for over two decades and currently serves as the Vice President of United Brotherhood of Carpenters for Local 425.
David Zulinke and his son Alex lined cemetery driveways with hundreds of flags.
“Just volunteering for the community for people who have done [a lot] for our country,” David shared with the Lynnwood Times when asked why he and his son are placing flags for fallen veterans. “Think about that, you know. Give thanks for what they’ve done and what we have.”
David, a mortgage broker and 28-year resident of Everett, is a member of Everett Elks Lodge 479. He loves the city for its good schools, welcoming people, location, and beauty.
General Manager of Evergreen Funeral Home and Cemetery, Pete Cameron, shared that over 60,000 people are at final rest on the 110-arce property of which several hundred served in the United States armed forces—the U.S. Civil War, World War I, World War II, Vietnam, and later wars. The cemetery was established in 1898 and is considered the “Silent City” that enshrines the remains of the Everett’s founders and pioneers, along with Washington state governors.
The public is invited to attend a Memorial Day Ceremony to honor the brave men and women who died in war that will be held 11 a.m., Monday, May 26, Pacific Rim Plaza at the Port of Everett, located at 1028 13th Street (Pacific Rim Plaza is located on the south side of Hotel Indigo).
The ceremony will include the singing of the National Anthem, a reading of a Memorial Day Proclamation by Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin, remarks by Port of Everett Commissioner Glen Bachman, keynote speaker Captain Stacy Wuthier of Naval Station Everett, presentation of colors, taps, the playing of Amazing Grace on bag pipes, and an invocation and benediction by Chaplin Matheny.
Memorial Day, originally known as Decoration Day, has its origins a few years after the end of the Civil War. The holiday originally only honored those who served in the Civil War, but that changed during World War I when the focus shifted to all military service members that lost their lives in any war.
Memorial Day was first observed on May 30, and congress passed a law recognizing it as a federal holiday to be observed on the last Monday in May. This law went into effect, and Memorial Day has been a federal holiday since 1971.
This will be the second time the ceremony will be held at Pacific Rim Plaza within the Port of Everett. Naval Station Everett, homeport to hundreds of sailors and civilians, is located just a third of a mile from Pacific Rim Plaza.
This year’s Memorial Day Ceremony was made possible by a collaboration between the Port of Everett, the City of Everett, Everett July Fourth Foundation members Restaurateur Kerri Lonergan-Dreke and Everett Councilman Scott Bader, Businessowner Linda Smith, Lt. Colonel Dan Mathews, retired Air Force, Brett Lane owner of Vinyl Lab NW, and the Lynnwood Times.
Sponsors for the event include Port of Everett, City of Everrett, Everett July Fourth Foundation, Hook & Cleaver Mukilteo, Audio Engineers Northwest, BT Development, Electroimpact, and the Lynnwood Times.
Author: Mario Lotmore
