Honoring the fallen heroes

People assembled on the flag-bedecked lawn outside the Hill County Courthouse Monday for a Memorial Day ceremony to honor the fallen military members of wars past and present.

Les Johnson, commander of American Legion Post 11, said the ceremony at the courthouse is an annual event that goes back as far as he can remember.

The ceremony began at 11 a.m. with a presentation of the colors by Boy Scout Troupes 1434 and 1438 and Cub Scout pack 1427, and Dena Rudio sang the national anthem. Terry Roemmich, chaplin for American Legion Post 11 gave the invocation.

The American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 497 and the Havre Benevolent and Protective Order of the Elks laid wreaths.

Names of 20 veterans and four auxiliary members who died in the past year were read aloud. The program ended with a three-volley salute by the Veterans Honor Guard and "Taps" was played.

Before the ceremony began Kim Cripps was weaving her way through the crowd, selling Buddy poppies, the official flower of the American Legion.

Cripps said she has been selling them for about 10 years for the American Legion Auxiliary. Proceeds from the sales go toward funding the work of the auxiliary fund to help disabled veterans. The Legion website says money raised can also be used to help with medical and financial needs of active duty military personnel and their families.

Cripps said Memorial Day is more than a day off on the last Monday in May.

"It's kind of got special meaning to me," she said.  

When Cripps was 4 years old, her father, a Korean War veteran, died of cancer. She said her husband was in the National Guard, as is her son-in-law, and one of her cousins died while serving in the Vietnam War.

Each year Bill Thackeray of Havre comes to the ceremony, he said.

"I love the setup here. It's nice," Thackeray said. "They seem to change it a little every year."

Thackeray served in the U.S. Army from 1955 to 1963. He said he had been a special forces instructor in Vietnam from 1962 to 1963, where he instructed U.S. Forces who in turn taught members of the military how to protect South Vietnamese villages from Viet Cong guerilla fighters.

Thackeray said that, for him, Memorial Day is a somber occasion. He said only one of his close friends from the Army is still alive. He said he is also is sad about how the conflict in which he served eventually turned out.

When the ceremony ended, the American Legion went to the Elks Lodge for a lunch of chili and cornbread. In the Lodge, the colors were presented, there was a POW-MIA ceremony and a letter from the American Legion was read aloud about the meaning of Memorial Day.