Hallowed ground
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 4 months, 3 weeks AGO
Veterans of Foreign Wars Sgt. Robert F. Wiley Post Commander Joel Cantu places a small American flag in honor of the fallen at the VFW’s Memorial Day ceremony Monday in Othello.
JOEL MARTIN/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
Ramon Cantu raises the colors at the VFW Memorial Day ceremony in Othello Monday.
Steve Agenbroad leads the assembled in prayer at the VFW’s Memorial Day ceremony Monday in Othello.
From left: Robbie Flores, Kimmy Sanders, Joanna Miller and Steve Agenbroad sing “The Star-Spangled Banner” at Bess Hampton Memorial Gardens 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 27, 2026 3:00 AM
OTHELLO — A hushed crowd listened, men with hats off, as Veterans of Foreign Wars Sgt. Robert F. Wiley Post Commander Joel Cantu read out the solemn words of the traditional VFW Memorial Day Ritual.
“As long as two comrades survive – so long will the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States render tribute to our heroic dead,” Cantu read. “On this day forever consecrated to our heroic dead, we are assembled once again to express sincere reverence. These graves represent the resting places of many departed comrades who served in all wars. Wherever the body of a comrade lies, there the ground is hallowed.”
Cantu and other members of the VFW gathered at Bess Hampton Memorial Gardens to pay tribute to those who gave their lives for their country. Cantu’s words were followed by the national anthem, sung by the quartet of Joanna Miller, Kimmy Sanders, Steve Agenbroad and Robbie Flores. Agenbroad took the microphone to lead the assembly in a prayer.
“We thank you for this Memorial Day, because this is not just another day of vacation,” Agenbroad prayed. “It is a day of remembrance. We want to remember all those who sacrificed, who gave their lives, who shed their blood, because they were called to do so.”
One by one, post members laid objects in tribute to the honored dead on the stone that marks the veterans’ section of the cemetery: a wreath to symbolize remembrance, a white flower, a red flower and finally a flag.
“On behalf of our glorious republic for whose integrity our comrades enlisted and served, I place this emblem of the nation,” Cantu said as he laid the flag. “The flag was theirs to defend. Its glorious colors shall wave over them in death as in live, for everyone to behold.”
More songs followed: Miller sang “America the Beautiful,” and Sanders sang “Some Gave All.”
Agenbroad served as the guest speaker for the occasion. He told the story of his father, Owen Agenbroad, a U.S. Marine during World War II who served in the Battle of Iwo Jima. Steve Agenbroad was able to take his father back to Iwo Jima almost 40 years after the battle, he said. Owen Agenbroad passed away in 2016, according to his obituary.
“I didn't find out a whole lot about my (dad’s wartime service) in the 60-some years that I was with him, but he did share when we got over to Iwo Jima, and I found out more in the first two and a half hours that I was there than I had all the previous years,” Agenbroad said.
While Owen Agenbroad was on Iwo Jima in 1945, he found a straight razor that had belonged to a dead Japanese soldier, Steve Agenbroad said. He kept it for many years and eventually found someone to decipher some Japanese writing on the blade, which identified the owner. The Japanese soldier’s son was still alive, and Owen Agenbroad arranged to meet him on Iwo Jima to return the razor to him.
“He was very thankful for that, and he spoke to my dad in Japanese, and my dad spoke back to him in Japanese, and the guy started crying,” Agenbroad said. “To me, that was awesome because Japanese men don't cry in public and for him to shed a tear showed me that there is a God in heaven. I thought, ‘Dad, this is crazy. You don't even know this man, but he's more like a comrade than he ever was an enemy.’ And for that I say, thank you. I thank you for what my dad gave. I thank you for what every soldier gave.”
Ramon Cantu raises the colors at the VFW Memorial Day ceremony in Othello Monday.
Steve Agenbroad leads the assembled in prayer at the VFW’s Memorial Day ceremony Monday in Othello.
From left: Robbie Flores, Kimmy Sanders, Joanna Miller and Steve Agenbroad sing “The Star-Spangled Banner” at Bess Hampton Memorial Gardens 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
MOSES LAKE — A Moses Lake author’s book, “A Christian Woman Striving to Live Her Faith in a Man-Controlled World,” takes aim at the role to which many churches relegate the female half of their congregations. “It’s to encourage women in the faith,” Linda Curran said. “A lot of churches say, ‘Teach Sunday school, do this, do that, but don’t (evangelize.)’" In her book, Curran recounts a time when she moved to a new community and joined a church there. She was surprised to learn that, as a new female member, she had been automatically assigned church cleaning duties. When she questioned it, she wrote, she was met with condescension and her objections were brushed aside. In other churches, she said, women who were capable of teaching were relegated to “women’s ministry.”