‘For us they fell’
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 year, 3 months AGO
American Legion Sergeant at Arms David Jordan salutes the wreath at the base of the flagpole at Quincy Cemetery Monday. The event was one of many solemnities in honor of Memorial Day around the Basin.
JOEL MARTIN/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
Veteran Wendy Plemmons lays a wreath at a veteran’s grave as Art Semro American Legion Post President Sunshine Pray and Master of Ceremonies Mike Montaney look on at Monday’s Memorial Day ceremony in Ephrata.
American Legion Honor Guard members fire the traditional 21-gun salute at the Memorial Day ceremony Monday in Ephrata.
Bugler Greg Wright plays taps at the Memorial Day ceremony in Quincy Monday.
Seven-year-old Micae Wood brings a rose to lay down at the Forgotten Heroes Memorial Monday morning in Moses Lake. Micae was there with her mom, grandmother and great-grandparents to honor the 87 servicemen who died in a plane crash at Larson Air Force base in 1952.
Crosses and flags mark the graves of veterans at Valley View Cemetery in Soap Lake 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 26, 2025 5:02 PM
MOSES LAKE — Communities across the Basin bowed their heads, removed their hats and paid tribute Monday to those who gave their lives in service to their country.
“When peril threatened and their country called, they left their paths of peace to spring to arms to make their bodies a barricade against the nation's foes,” Ken Slininger, an Air Force veteran and American Legion member, read at the Memorial Day ceremony in Quincy. “The sorrow for the loved ones left behind could not dim the purpose in their souls. No horror of the field, sea or air could beat their courage down. They fought for us; for us they fell.”
Memorial Day dates to the years just after the Civil War, according to an email from Jane Montaney, a past president of the American Legion Auxiliary in Ephrata. Originally, the date was May 30 every year, but in 1968, the Uniform Monday Holiday Act moved the observance to the last Monday in May so it could be part of a three-day weekend, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs’ National Cemetery Association.
The American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars and other veterans organizations held ceremonies Monday in Moses Lake, Quincy, Ephrata, Soap Lake, Ritzville and Othello. Many included a color guard, a 21-gun salute and a bugler playing taps.
The Soap Lake ceremony attracted 30-50 people, Montaney said, and the one at Ephrata a few more. The memorial at Quincy drew a crowd of about 200 people, and included songs by the Veterans Operation Creation Choir.
At the Grant County International Airport, another ceremony honored a specific set of fallen: the 87 servicemen who died in a plane crash Dec. 20, 1952, at what was then Larson Air Force Base. The men, who had been serving in the Korean War, had won a lottery giving them a chance to go home for Christmas on a flight dubbed Operation Sleigh Ride. The crash was the deadliest air disaster in history up to that time.
The deceased of Operation Sleigh Ride, 82 passengers and five crew members, are commemorated at the Fallen Heroes Memorial at Grant County International Airport. About 30 people gathered at the memorial.
Million Air General Manager Mark Bonaudi read the names of the deceased one at a time as attendees came forward and deposited a rose at the memorial for each one.
“Having made it out of the Korean Theater of Operations, out of combat, out of harm's way, these lives were tragically taken,” Bonaudi said.
The president’s annual Memorial Day proclamation calls upon the people of the United States to pray for peace according to their individual faith, according to the National Cemetery Service.
“In memory of those we honor today, may we pledge our own service and devotion,” prayed Chaplain Ken Holloway at the Quincy memorial. “And dear Lord, please lead us this day to the day where the guns no longer fire, granting us the peace for which so many others have died.”
Veteran Wendy Plemmons lays a wreath at a veteran’s grave as Art Semro American Legion Post President Sunshine Pray and Master of Ceremonies Mike Montaney look on at Monday’s Memorial Day ceremony in Ephrata.
American Legion Honor Guard members fire the traditional 21-gun salute at the Memorial Day ceremony Monday in Ephrata.
Bugler Greg Wright plays taps at the Memorial Day ceremony in Quincy Monday.
Seven-year-old Micae Wood brings a rose to lay down at the Forgotten Heroes Memorial Monday morning in Moses Lake. Micae was there with her mom, grandmother and great-grandparents to honor the 87 servicemen who died in a plane crash at Larson Air Force base in 1952.
Crosses and flags mark the graves of veterans at Valley View Cemetery in Soap Lake Monday.ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN
Quincy National Night Out scales down
QUINCY — Quincy’s National Night Out was more compact this year, which worked out well, said QPD Sgt. Joe Westby, who’s in charge of event planning for the Quincy Police Department. “National Night Out is a big event, and the fact that we’re able to shrink it up is like a breath of fresh air,” Westby said. “If you're always doing the same thing, it's kind of nice to switch things up and see how it works.” National Night Out took place Thursday on the block of C Street next to the police station, a shift from previous years when it was held at Lauzier Park. The smaller space meant fewer emergency vehicles for children to explore, but it also meant less walking for attendees. Grant County Fire District 5 brought a fire truck, and the Grant County Sheriff’s Office had a patrol boat. Renew, the Grant County behavioral health agency, had a booth and so did Quincy Partnership for Youth. Veterans Operation Creation sang the national anthem, and the Quincy Animal Shelter brought kittens that piled over each other making friends with passersby. As before, the QPD served grilled hot dogs.
Quincy Police retirements leave big shoes to fill
QUINCY — There are some big shoes to fill at the Quincy Police Department. “We’re losing 48 years of experience between them,” Quincy Police Chief Ryan Green said at the retirement party for Capt. Jorge Trujillo and Det. Damon Powell Thursday. Trujillo, who grew up in Sunnyside, has been with QPD for 19 years, he said, coming on as a patrol officer fresh out of the military. From there he served as a field training officer, a detective and finally captain. “I consider him my left-hand man,” Green said. “He runs the operations side of the house … He knows the agency very well, and he knows the community.” Trujillo has some projects around the house to tackle now that he’s retired, he said.
Big fun on a small scale
Wheat Land Communities’ Fair opens Thursday
RITZVILLE — The Wheat Land Communities’ Fair isn’t as big or as flashy as some of the county fairs around central Washington, but the folks who keep it going like it just the way it is. “It’s somewhere you can go and get an old-time traditional feeling, and you’re comfortable letting your kids roam the grounds and experience all that it has to offer,” said Board Member Lori Williams. “It’s more of a feeling than (one) specific thing,” The fair starts Thursday in Ritzville and runs through Sunday. Starting Friday, the 56th Ritzville Rodeo will take place alongside the fair at the rodeo grounds. This year the entertainment budget was expanded, Williams said, to be able to offer more fun that’s covered by the cost of admission. For the kids, there’s face painting, balloon art, Lego crafts, races, contests and games. Children can also ride on a little train towed around the fairgrounds behind a tractor.