New Wahkiakum County veterans memorial monument unveiled

There is now a new Veterans Memorial Monument in place at the base of the flagpole in front of the Wahkiakum County Courthouse. When unveiled at the end of a dedication ceremony on Veterans Day, it received high praise and compliments from veterans and members of the public in attendance.

The basis for Veterans Day, originally known as Armistice Day, was the 1918 armistice that brought an end to the fighting of World War I, “on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.” It seemed fitting to the dedication hosts, American Legion’s Barr-Johnson-Hill Post 0111 and Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 5297, to begin the dedication ceremony at that same time, day and month one hundred and six years later. Like President Woodrow Wilson in 1919, moderator Richard Erickson asked the large crowd in attendance to observe a moment of silence to reflect upon the sacrifices made by all veterans who make possible the freedoms we enjoy today as citizens of the United States of America.

Following a veterans’ flag salute and a pledge of allegiance, Erickson introduced the dignitaries in attendance that included Senator Jeff Wilson, County Commissioner Dan Cothren, members of the Cathlamet City Council, Sheriff John Mason, retired Sheriff Mark Howie and the American Legion District 5 Commander Dan Halverson. Carra Tawater, the granddaughter of VFW Post 5297 Commander Bill Tawater, sang the national anthem. Erickson then introduced the invited speakers, City Councilwoman Jeanne Hendrickson, Wahkiakum West Communication’s Executive Director Ken Johnson, County Commissioner Gene Strong, and the keynote speaker Representative Joel McEntire. The speeches were on target for the dedication with lengths thoughtfully appropriate for a Northwest outdoor event in November. Representative McEntire provided a thoughtful and insightful definition of a veteran.

As the sounds of the anthems of each branch of the military services were played, VFW Post 5297 Commander Tawater and American Legion Post 0111 Commander Nick Nikkila raised the tarp that had been covering the Veterans Memorial Monument since its installation on the previous Friday. Once unveiled, the Monument received an approving thunderous round of applause with numerous groups positioning themselves to be photographed with it.

Even Mother Nature appeared to approve of the dedication. The chilly wind and light rain occurring at the start came to an end and, in defiance of the weather forecast, the sun broke through the clouds to shine down on the ceremony and its attendees. For those in need of caffeine, carafes of hot coffee were donated by Patty Cakes Café and Roasting.

The monument is the work of two companies, Northwest Monuments of Gaston, Oregon, and United States Bronze from Oceanside, New York. Northwest Monuments completed the stone work and upon receiving the bronze emblems of the six branches of the military, installed them on the stone. They then set the monument in place two days prior to the dedication.

The costs of the Veterans’ Memorial Monument were shared by Wahkiakum County ($9,000), the City of Cathlamet ($3,000), Wahkiakum West Communications ($3,000), American Legion Post 0111 and VFW Post 5297 ($500 each).