Crowd Gathers in Claquato Cemetery to Pay Respects to Fallen Soldiers

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It was as though the weather knew the importance of the day, offering the best possible conditions for the congregation of people descending on Claquato Cemetery near Chehalis for the Lewis County Veteran’s Museum-hosted Memorial Day ceremony Monday morning.

White wisps of cloud decorated the otherwise bright blue sky, and rays of sun provided a comfortable warmth as Bill Anbolt, John Campeau and Gary Graveline presented the Stars and Stripes.

Walking in a line, uniforms appearing immaculate, the three planted the flag in its mount, near the large flagpole at the center of the cemetery. The crowd of onlookers — many sporting hats, jackets and other indicators of their past service to the armed forces — was entirely silent, the occasional click of a camera shutter the only noise to break the solemn silence.

“It is a precious gift that we have been given, and we gather here today to remember those that have given the ultimate sacrifice so that we would be given that gift,” said Museum Director Chip Duncan.

He said that 154 years ago, recently freed slaves set out to a mass grave for soldiers who fought in the American Civil War on the side of the Union. They made efforts to give the soldiers crudely buried in an unceremonious fashion some much-deserved respect.

“They were so thankful for the freedom they have been given by their sacrifice that they decorated the graves of those fine young men, thus creating the very first Decoration Day, which later became known as Memorial Day,” Duncan said.

The day’s guest speaker was retired U.S. Army Col. Ron Averill — who previously served a stint as Lewis County Commissioner for District 1 — and his 10-minute address focused largely on the historical context of the day.

He kicked off the address by mentioning many recognize Memorial Day as a good opportunity for a cookout to celebrate the commencement of summer. Or a time to take advantage of good deals offered through any number of Memorial Day sales events at businesses — a suggestion that drew a light chuckle from the crowd.

“For most Americans the real meaning of the day is mostly forgotten,” he said, following with a line recognizing the individuals gathered Monday understood the reason behind the day — and that was to give a moment of respect to the more than 1.3 million members of the U.S. Military who have died in wars since 1776.



It’s debated when and Memorial Day began, said Averill, with a number of individuals making compelling arguments about what was truly the first celebration of the holiday — primarily called Decoration Day until 1967. One of the instances was the event Duncan discussed in his opening remark — where thousands of African Americans living in Charleston gave proper burials to Union soldiers. Other locations had similar events. Averill noted that regardless of where it started first, the tradition of decorating the graves of fallen soldiers is a tradition dating back to ancient times.

“The first large observance was spearheaded by an organization of Union veterans, the Army of the Republic, in 1868,” he said. The event was held in Washington D.C.’s Arlington Cemetery.

Michigan declared Decoration Day an official holiday in 1871, and the other northern states quickly did the same. It wasn’t until 1971 that it became a Federal Holiday, always set to fall on the last Monday of May.

The vibrant green lawn of Claquato Cemetery was dotted with small American flags planted in the earth, designating the resting place of veterans. The scouts of Troop 373 were throughout the cemetery all that morning, placing the flags in the right spots, said Duncan.

Different organizations laid wreaths at the foot of the large American Flag sitting at the center of the cemetery. Duncan called the organizations one-by-one, and a representative set down the wreath, giving the flag a salute or a moment of a hand over a heart. Many of them were from local veterans’ organizations.

Duncan said wreaths have long served as a way to consecrate the dead. They represent eternity, he said, as their circular shape indicates no clear beginning or end.

Bookmarking the beginning and end of the service were songs sung by Miss Lewis County Rebecca Ford. Ford sang “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the beginning of the ceremony, and closed it out with “America The Beautiful.” For the final song, she encouraged anyone in the crowd who wanted to sing along to join her. And soon, the lyrics were echoing through the morning air.