Local events honor those who have died for freedom

By Stover E Harger III

The Times, May 21, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009

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A number of local Memorial Day events to honor America’s war veterans who died in the pursuit of freedom are scheduled this weekend.

Two ceremonies – one in Tigard and one in Tualatin – will be held Monday, May 25, at local cemeteries, where flags will be placed on the graves of war veterans. The ceremonies will be held at Crescent Grove Cemetery in Tigard, 9925 S.W. Greenburg Road, and at the Winona Cemetery in Tualatin, at the intersection of Tualatin Road and 100th Court. Both services begin at 11 a.m.

The services are for members of the military who have sacrificed their lives for the country as well police and fire personnel. It is a special day for family and friends of these people, said Dale Potts of Tualatin’s Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 3452. The Memorial Day tradition dates back more than 150 years.

The day is important because the impact of war veterans is so far reaching, Potts said.

“Most everybody has a family member who has died in a war,” he said.

Potts, a Navy veteran who served in the Vietnam-era, feels a particular connection to Memorial Day. He has many close friends who died in the Vietnam War, and this day gives him a chance to remember and honor them.

Both services are scheduled to feature flyovers by the Oregon Air National Guard and speeches – given by Potts in Tualatin and National Vice Commander Harley Ray in Tigard. Following the Tigard ceremony, the Tigard American Legion Post No. 158 will hold a potluck at 8635 S.W. Scoffins St.

Also this weekend, members of the VFW will be handing out Buddy Poppies – small lapel pins that reference the famous war poem “In Flanders Fields,” which begins: “In Flanders Fields the poppies blow; Between the crosses row on row….”

The poppy pins will be distributed from Friday to Sunday at the Tualatin Fred Meyer (19200 S.W. Martinazzi Ave.), the King City Safeway (15570 S.W. Pacific Highway), the Tigard Lowe’s (12615 S.W. 72nd Ave.) and the Wilsonville Lamb’s Thriftway (8255 S.W. Wilsonville Road.)

Donations gathered from the poppy pin distribution will go directly to veterans’ relief.

“This is a way to honor them,” Potts said. “And you can also show the younger children history and patriotism through this.”