At the Cortez Cemetery, small flags billowed next to the graves of soldiers who died in combat while veterans and community members alike gathered at the American Legion Ute Mountain Post 75 to honor them. Attendees donned the traditional red poppies for Monday’s Memorial Day celebration and the Honor Guard, clad in their navy caps, carried in rifles for the 21-gun salute.
“There’s so few families now that have a veteran in their family,” John Shriner, chaplain of the Honor Guard, said. “That’s who built this country, helped establish it and has helped keep its freedom ever since.”
Cortez is an exception, Shriner said, with a highly visible community of those who served as well as those with family members who served.
“This community’s a little more in touch with veterans than the country at large,” Shriner said.
Attendees held their silence during the firing of rifles and the playing of taps, with some veterans lifting their hands to their brows to salute. Volunteers, who rose before 5 a.m. to cook, served biscuits and gravy, eggs, bacon and sausage. However, the event’s head chef and commander of the Sons of the American Legion, Gary Dausch, said attendance was sparser than expected.
Usually, he said, the Memorial Day breakfast exceeds 100 people, estimating that this year, attendance barely scraped 75. He attributed the dwindling number to political division. On this Memorial Day, President Donald Trump says he’s negotiating an end to the widely unpopular war in Iran which has killed 13 U.S. service members.
“This should be a day when there is no division,” Dausch said. “Whether you’re a Democrat or a Republican, you should be here supporting these troops.”
Dausch’s grandfather served in World War II, and while Dausch was rejected from the military due to his asthma, he still embedded himself within the veteran community that deserves honor and respect.
“If my country needed me today, I’d be there today as with anybody else in this room,” Dausch said.
As the Cortez-based festivities wound down, the honor guard made the pilgrimage to Rico where residents lined the highway dividing the town’s cemetery. A slight chill rippled through the air and gun smoke rose toward the clouds following the 21-gun salute.
“We on the Honor Guard have a special place in our hearts for Rico – not only for those buried here, but for the residents living here who turn out every year to gather here,” Shriner said in a speech to the small crowd.
He noted Rico’s strong veteran community as well as its continued enthusiasm for services like those on Memorial Day.
“We come every year to attend this service,” Town Mayor Pat Fallon, accompanied by the fire department, said. “The civil service industry is all tied together.”
Rico’s Fire Chief Todd Jones said he and his wife’s fathers – both veterans – are buried in the cemetery along with many other deceased service members with ties to the community.
“There’s quite a few here,” Jones said.
With the next Memorial Day coming up in another year, Dausch believes that one day of attention and respect isn’t sufficient.
“One thank you is not enough,” Dausch said. “They deserve this every day.”
avanderveen@the-journal.com
