EVERETT—The seat of county government, the Snohomish County Council, formally recognized Memorial Day by presenting both a council resolution and an executive proclamation for the first time to Command Master Chief Jeffrey Fleming on behalf of Naval Station Everett on May 20. The proclamation urges residents to observe a national moment of remembrance at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day, May 25, by pausing for one minute “to honor all who died in military service.”
The Snohomish County Council adopted Resolution 26-026 during a morning ceremony in its chambers, honoring the nearly 1.2 million U.S. service members who have died in the nation’s wars since the Revolutionary War. The resolution traces the origins of Memorial Day to May 1, 1865, when freed Black Americans held one of the earliest ceremonies in Charleston, S.C., less than a month after the Civil War ended.
The first community observance of Memorial Day was in Waterloo, N.Y., on May 5, 1866, and the first national Memorial Day event took place at Arlington National Cemetery on May 30, 1868, called Decoration Day. Observed for more than a century on May 30, the holiday shifted in 1971 to the last Monday in May and expanded during World War I to commemorate all who died in American conflicts.
Deputy County Executive Kent Patton read Executive Somers’ proclamation, which echoed the resolution’s history and praised the county’s roughly 45,000 military veterans and the strategic role of Naval Station Everett to protecting the Western Front. Naval Station Everett is a key West Coast port and has supported and contributed to Snohomish County’s culture, character and economy for more than 30 years. It also provides thousands of funeral honors annually—a story that will be in the Lynnwood Times’ Memorial Day feature to be published on Monday.
Naval Station Everett is home to seven Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers — the USS Kidd, Gridley, Sampson, John Paul Jones, John S. McCain, Barry and Benfold — plus a Coast Guard buoy tender and about 6,000 sailors and civilians, the station is slated to become the future homeport for the first 12 Constellation-class frigates.
Command Master Chief Fleming, representing Capt. Stacy M. Wuthier and the sailors of Naval Station Everett, accepted both the County resolution and an executive proclamation. He acknowledged veterans, service members, military families, Gold Star families and surviving loved ones in the room. Receiving the documents in the council chambers felt especially meaningful, Flemming said, because the room represents the daily practice of democracy for which service members defend.
“Memorial Day is not merely a date on a calendar, nor is it simply the beginning of summer,” Fleming told the council. “It is a solemn day. It is a day set aside to confront the true staggering cost of the freedoms we so often take for granted.”
He spoke of the stories behind each name on memorials and each folded flag, the empty seats at dinner tables for Gold Star families, and the shipmates who lost friends.
“Beyond every name etched in cold marble and beyond every thoughtfully folded flag is a story of immense courage and a future that was cut short,” Fleming said.
Fleming shared that sailors at Naval Station Everett perform military funeral honors across the region with approximately 500 military funeral honors in the month of June alone. Each time, sailors in dress uniform fold the flag, present it to a grieving family and render a final salute as “Taps” plays.
“They do it because they’re serving as a bridge across generations,” he said.
Fleming told the council that Naval Station Everett is often called the “Sailor’s Choice” with many who serve there choosing to retire in Snohomish County. Fleming himself arrived in 2021 aboard the USS Sampson for his first tour as command master chief.
“My family and I instantly fell in love with Everett and the surrounding communities,” he said. “We have decided to retire here, and we are fiercely proud to call this community our home.”
Everett Mayor Franklin, last year, lost her father Charles “Chuck” Sheridan Koehn who served as a radarman aboard the USS Maddox during the Gulf of Tonkin Incident in August of 1964 that led to the Vietnam War. She thanked Naval Station Everett and the council, and called Memorial Day a time “to pause, reflect, and remember the brave men and women who gave their lives protecting the freedoms we enjoy.”
Franklin read the names of 13 U.S. service members who died during Operation Epic Fury this year prior to a moment of silence in the chamber:
- Maj. John A. Klinner, 33, U.S. Air Force – Auburn, Alabama
- Maj. Jeffrey R. O’Brien, 45, U.S. Army Reserve – Indianola, Iowa
- Capt. Ariana G. Savino, 31, U.S. Air Force – Covington, Washington
- Capt. Seth R. Koval, 38, U.S. Air Force – Mooresville, Indiana
- Capt. Curtis J. Angst, 30, U.S. Air Force – Wilmington, Ohio
- Capt. Cody A. Khork, 35, U.S. Army Reserve – Winter Haven, Florida
- Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert M. Marzan, 54, U.S. Army Reserve – Sacramento, California
- Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, U.S. Army Reserve – Bellevue, Nebraska
- Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, U.S. Army Reserve – White Bear Lake, Minnesota
- Sgt. Declan J. Coady, 20, U.S. Army Reserve – West Des Moines, Iowa
- Sgt. Benjamin N. Pennington, 26, U.S. Army – Glendale, Kentucky
- Tech. Sgt. Ashley B. Pruitt, 34, U.S. Air Force – Bardstown, Kentucky
- Tech. Sgt. Tyler H. Simmons, 28, U.S. Air Force – Columbus, Ohio
Air Force veteran Wally Webster II, who served as a medic in Tachikawa, Japan, during the Vietnam era, spoke of the personal toll of conflict he lives with every day. Growing up in South Alabama, he viewed the military as a path to opportunity. Yet the memories of young soldiers taking their final breaths still weigh on him.
“Please tell my mother I love her. Please tell my fiancé that I love her,” they would say, Webster II shared, promising each time, knowing he was unable to deliver their messages.
“I feel that I lied to them, told them an untruth,” said Webster II adding that Memorial Day is not only to honor the fallen but those who also carry the invisible wounds of war.
May also marks Gold Star Families Awareness Month, a time set aside to remember those who lost loved ones in military service.
Command Master Chief Fleming closed by urging Snohomish County residents to honor the fallen not only with words but by living lives worthy of their sacrifice.
“When you gather with your families and enjoy the peace and prosperity of this beautiful county, take a quiet moment to speak their names in your heart,” Fleming said.
Residents can observe Memorial Day on Monday, May 25, at community ceremonies across Snohomish County—list of events here. City and County offices will be closed.
- Memorial Day events include the Avenue of Flags at Arlington Cemetery
- An 11 a.m. program at Edmonds Memorial Cemetery
- A full-day celebration with music and activities at Evergreen Cemetery in Everett
- A 10 a.m. ceremony at Lake Stevens War Veterans Memorial
- An 11 a.m. observance at Lynnwood Veterans Park
- A remembrance at Marysville Cemetery with flags displayed May 22-25
- A 9 a.m. event at Mill Creek’s Veterans Monument
- A 10:30 a.m. ceremony at Mukilteo’s Historic Pioneer Cemetery
Other elected officials in attendance at Wednesday’s recognition were Snohomish County Council Chair Megan Dunn, Snohomish County Council Vice Chair Sam Low, Snohomish County Councilmen Jared Mead, Nate Nehring, and Strom Peterson, Snohomish County Prosecutor Jason Cummings, Lake Stevens City Councilwoman Sabina Araya, and Marysville City Councilman Peter Condyles. Non-elected officials in attendance were Snohomish County Executive Chief of Staff Julie Moore, and Josh Dugan and Tom Teigan of the Executive’s Office.
Author: Mario Lotmore
