Memorial Day parade and ceremony did not disappoint
Lone veteran walking after the Memorial Day ceremony 2021 (Photo by Rose Shababy)
Memorial Day started with beautiful sunny skies as downtown Bonners Ferry slowly filled with people. A loudspeaker in Georgia Mae Plaza played instrumental music, pieces designed to pay honor to the day and fallen soldiers, from “America the Beautiful” to the “Star Spangled Banner.”
Soon, the sidewalks were filled, hundreds crowding in for the upcoming festivities, everyone talking as they waited for the parade to begin, something they had all missed in 2020. One attendee was overheard saying to another, “Isn’t it crazy to think how last year none of this happened?”
The parade opened with the fire department honor guard, heads high as they marched in unison, holding their flags and gleaming axes straight and high, followed by local Boy Scouts and the Bonners Ferry High School band. Members of the local VFW Post 3622 trailed behind, waving and smiling at the crowds from the back of a large flatbed trailer.
Many more fire trucks, law enforcement and first responders, cars and trucks followed. Four of the Distinguished Young Women participants, including winner Cali Iacolucci, waved from the back of a convertible. Most participants threw candy, much to the delight of the children in attendance, and even a few of the adults.
The parade lasted about an hour before the emcee, Boundary County Deputy Dave Schuman, announced that everyone was invited to the Memorial Day ceremony at Grandview Cemetery starting around noon.
Grandview Cemetery sparkled under the shining sun, its pristine lawns and walkways decorated with American flags as well as wreaths and flowers gracing numerous headstones, all lending a distinguished feel to the day. There were fewer people in attendance than at the parade and the mood was much more subdued.
The ceremony opened with a prayer from Schuman, where he reminded listeners to “not be so consumed with the celebratory aspects of this day that we forget to be grateful, forget to consider the cost of these freedoms, the cost of these celebrations.”
His prayer was followed by a reading of “In Flanders Field” by VFW member Mike Spurgeon before the honor guard presented the colors, their stark movements and faces driving home the gravitas of the day.
Iacolucci stepped up to the podium next, expressing her gratitude at being asked to speak. She opened with bible verse John 15:13, “greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” She went on to say that “Decoration Day was a day for family and friends of fallen soldiers to come together and decorate the graves of brave men with flowers and wreaths,” and delved further into the history of the day.
Schuman, the main speaker of the day, expressed concern about following Spurgeon and Iacolucci, although it seemed an unnecessary concern.
“Remember,” he said, emotion clear in his expression and tone. “This is a day we pay homage to all those who didn’t come home. This is not Veterans Day. It’s not a celebration, it’s a day of solemn contemplation over the cost of freedom [...] Without memorial, there’s no culture, without memory, there would be no civilization, no society, no future [...] may we never forget our fallen comrades. Freedom is not free.”
Cassandra Phillips, member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, followed Shuman and placed a wreath on the symbolic memorial before a moment of silence.
A 21-gun salute followed the moment of silence. Attendees watched the honor guard, composed of seven men, as they fired the traditional volley of three shots high into the air. The familiar, haunting tones of “Taps” were played by a lone bugler standing off in the distance.
The ceremony ended with another prayer and the fire department color guard retired the colors, a solemn and fitting end to the service.
In Flanders Field
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.