Memorials to honor the fallen Monday in the Basin
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 year, 4 months AGO
Jeanie Radder, past American Legion Auxiliary Fourth District chaplain, delivers the opening prayer at a previous Memorial Day ceremony at Pioneer Memorial Gardens. This year’s ceremony will be at 11 a.m. Monday.
FILE PHOTO
Pastor and retired Army chaplain Mike Swartz and his wife Lesa prepare to lay roses at a previous memorial for 87 U.S. service members who died when their transport aircraft crashed at Larson Air Force Base on Dec. 20, 1952. Swartz will deliver the invocation and benediction at this year’s memorial Monday at 11 a.m.
Flags and crosses line the base of a fallen veterans memorial in Soap Lake. There will be a Memorial Day ceremony at the Soap Lake cemetery at 10 a.m. Monday.
Joel Martin has been with the Columbia Basin Herald for more than 25 years in a variety of roles and is the most-tenured employee in the building. Martin is a married father of eight and enjoys spending time with his children and his wife, Christina. He is passionate about the paper’s mission of informing the people of the Columbia Basin because he knows it is important to record the history of the communities the publication serves. | May 23, 2025 2:50 AM
COLUMBIA BASIN — Among the barbecues, festivities and relaxation of the three-day weekend, many Basin communities will take a solemn moment to recognize the reason for Memorial Day weekend.
The Moses Lake Spring Fest, a tradition for more than 40 years, is adding a little patriotic remembrance into its Grand Parade at 8:30 p.m. Saturday, said Spring Fest Committee member Lori Valdez.
“(This year) we ordered a very, very large flag that is going to encompass the street, and we have people who have volunteered to carry the flag. It will bring a tear to your eye if you’ve had a loved one serve.”
Pioneer Gardens in Moses Lake will hold a ceremony Monday morning at 11 a.m., and American Legion Post 51 will hold one at the Ritzville Cemetery, also at 11 a.m. The Veterans of Foreign Wars will hold a ceremony at 11 a.m. as well, at Bess Hampton Cemetery in Othello.
The American Legion and other volunteers will place flags and crosses on the graves at the Ephrata cemetery Friday night, according to Legion Auxiliary spokesperson Jane Montaney. The Beezley Hills Community Flag Association will put out the Aisle of Flags at the Ephrata cemetery on Monday morning starting about 7 a.m., Montaney said.
“We have casket flags … and they have the name of the deceased on the banding of the flag,” she said. “And as we’re putting them up or taking them down, we’re looking at that name and offering up a prayer for that veteran and his or her family.”
The Legion will hold ceremonies at the cemeteries in Soap Lake, Ephrata and Quincy on Monday, with the honor guard from Art Semro Post 28 in Ephrata participating in all three. The Soap Lake ceremony will be at 10 a.m., Ephrata at 11 a.m. and Quincy at 12:30 p.m.
At 11 a.m., the Forgotten Heroes Memorial at the Grant County International Airport will commemorate the 87 servicemen who died when their transport plane crashed at what was then Larson Air Force Base in 1952. That memorial was established by Million Air owner Larry Godden, who passed away earlier this year, and Million Air General Manager Mark Bonaudi has taken it over, Bonaudi said.
Pastor Mike Swartz of Lake Valley Baptist Church, a retired army chaplain, will deliver the invocation, and Buck Naff will sing the National Anthem.
“I’ll have (Port of Moses Lake) Commissioner Darren Jackson speak briefly, and then I’ll read about the event,” Bonaudi said. “We will call off every single name of the 87 service members who lost their lives that day, and upon the name being read, a bell will ring. Then we have 100 long-stemmed roses for the people who are attending to bring up and lay against the memorial.”
The ceremony will close with taps and a benediction, also by Swartz.
“This is very important to the community,” Bonaudi said. “I want to make sure that we keep it going, that the 87 forgotten don’t get forgotten.”
Memorial Day, May 26
Moses Lake: 11 a.m. at Pioneer Memorial Gardens, 14403 Road 2 NE, Moses Lake.
Soap Lake: 10 a.m., Valley View Memorial Park, 20174 Road A NE.
Ephrata: 11 a.m., 333 E Street SW.
Othello: 11 a.m. at Bess Hampton Cemetery, 1915 E. Cemetery St.
Ritzville: 11 a.m. at Ritzville Memorial Cemetery, five miles west of Ritzville on Rosenoff Road.
Quincy: 12:30 p.m. at Quincy City Cemetery, Seventh Avenue and F Street Southwest.
Pastor and retired Army chaplain Mike Swartz and his wife Lesa prepare to lay roses at a previous memorial for 87 U.S. service members who died when their transport aircraft crashed at Larson Air Force Base on Dec. 20, 1952. Swartz will deliver the invocation and benediction at this year’s memorial Monday at 11 a.m.
Flags and crosses line the base of a fallen veterans memorial in Soap Lake. There will be a Memorial Day ceremony at the Soap Lake cemetery at 10 a.m. Monday.ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN
Endless battle
Noxious Weed Control Board works to keep invasive plants under control
MOSES LAKE — Some of the nastiest plants in Grant County were the topic of a class led by Jay Johnson, a consultant with the Grant County Noxious Weed Control Board, Tuesday. The Noxious Weed Control Board, as its name would suggest, is tasked with keeping weeds under control in Grant County. That’s not a small job; the board’s website lists 129 species of noxious weeds that are found around Grant County. A noxious weed is defined as an invasive, non-native plant that threatens agricultural crops, local ecosystems or fish and wildlife habitat, according to the Noxious Weed Control Board. Washington state law requires that these weeds be identified and their spread kept to a minimum, if not completely eradicated. “We’re one of those agencies a lot of people don’t really understand,” Johnson said. “We’re a county office and … our funding is tax-based assessment. When you get your tax bill and you look down at all the expenses that you pay for, there we are.”
BASIN EVENTS: Oct. 16-24
COLUMBIA BASIN — Whether you feel like shopping, crafting, learning or seeing a show, there’s something happening for you this week in the Basin. Oct. 16 ‘My Family (Mi Familia)’ screening Spanning three generations, “My Family (Mi Familia)” is a heartfelt drama that follows the Sánchez family as they build their lives in East Los Angeles. Through love, hardship, triumph, and sacrifice, the film explores the immigrant experience, the strength of family bonds, and the traditions that connect one generation to the next. Lowrider show and taco truck before the screening. Sponsored by Columbia Basin Allied Arts, EDUBS C/S and the Moses Lake Creative District. $12 per person. Doors open at 6 p.m., film begins at 7 p.m. at the Moses Lake Civic Center Auditorium, 401 S. Balsam St. Tickets and info: www.cba-arts.org.
Moses Lake author encourages women to look beyond church culture norms
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