Orange County Supervisor Pat Bates paid tribute at Memorial Day ceremonies in Laguna Beach to America’s war dead and to the ideals for which they fought.
Bates was the keynote speaker at the annual ceremony, held Monday at Monument Point in Heisler Park and organized by Laguna’s American Legion Post 222 and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5868.
“We are joining millions across the nation today, honoring the men and women who proudly wore the uniform of the United States,” Bates said.
The last Monday in May has been set aside since 1868 to remember and to honor those who died in American wars and conflicts.
“But as important as honoring them is remembering what they died for, their commitment to the ideals we hold dear,” Bates said.
She urged the audience to ensure that their children and grandchildren do not forget America’s heroes or the rights for which they fought.
“Certainly we have made mistakes, but we have attempted to correct them and cure injustices where we found them,” Bates said. “I am reminded that we are a nation of patriots who revere history and love this country.”
She closed her address with a quote from “In Flanders Field,” the poem written by Canadian army physician, Lt. Col. John McCrae in 1915 as witness to the lives lost there in battle:
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep
Though poppies grow in Flanders Field.
Paper replicas of the red poppies of Flanders Field are made by disabled and hospitalized veterans and worn on Memorial Day. Donations collected from the wearers by the women’s auxiliaries of the VFW and the Legion benefit the veterans and their families.
Auxiliary Presidents Diane Connell and Dorothy Toomey, and Mayor Kelly Boyd, a veteran, also spoke at the ceremony.
“I take this day to think about the comrades I lost,” Boyd said. “But we need to remember those in the conflicts fighting to protect us.”
Retired U.S. Marine Corps. pilot Col. Charles Quilter II was the voice for the members of the posts who died in the past year — responding, “Not Here,” when the names of Stan Brown, Evan Ellison, Richard Goehring, Lee Harris, Bert Lynn, William Moulton, Robert Piel, Col. Anosta Pisegna, Russell Reeves and James Stewart were called and the bell tolled.
“It is an honor to do this,” Quilter said.
