Honored Heroes Remembered
Story & photos by SPC Charles Ames
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They have awaited this day since they lay down their arms so many years ago. Recently they took down their uniforms, inspected their faded ribbons and remembered the names and the faces one more time. Their final tour would be to Olympia… to pay respects to those they fought alongside.
Their memories and their pain will surface one last time. Those with us today are the lucky ones, but they are all our honored heroes.
Threatening clouds took mercy on those assembled to honor Washington's fallen from the second ‘war to end all wars’. Thousands filled the seating area, gathering a short distance from the State Capital Building in Olympia near a new monument yet to be unveiled. They milled about before the ceremony seeing old friends, smiling nervously, shaking hands.
This was a crowd perhaps a bit heavy with our senior citizens, many wearing the dress uniform of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. But there was a younger crowd in attendance too. The sons, daughters, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the survivors and of the fallen. There were others as well - those of us who simply wanted to say "thank you" to the men and women who fought to preserve peace so many years ago.
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After many years of planning, design and construction this solemn and impressive monument finally come to fruition on the late spring Memorial Day of May 28, 1999. . Each of the 4000 fallen is represented by a single bronze stalk of wheat in the two-part structure, their names inscribed on five 14-foot high blades that push into the Olympia sky from this day forward.
Governor Locke’s father, SSG Jimmy Locke, was one of dozens of veterans who participated in the ceremony on the Capitol campus. Workers who toiled at Boeing, Todd and Kaiser during the war were invited to help as well.
Members of the Washington National Guard participating were Assistant Adjutant General Leroy S. Legowik, the Washington Army National Guard Color Guard, and a formation of two dozen Army and Air Guardsmen. The benediction was delivered by Major George Heart of the Washington State Guard. MSG Robert MacPherson was included in the Olympian Highlanders, one of nearly a dozen bagpipe bands on hand this day.
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Speakers included Governor Gary Locke and General John Shalikashvili (Ret), now a resident of Steilacoom, WA. The Master of Ceremonies was Washington's Secretary of State Ralph Munro. Numerous other dignitaries were present as well, including Senator Patty Murray.
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Other aspects of the dedication involved music by the I Corps Army Band from Fort Lewis, a Color Guard review, a fly-over of a vintage P-51 Mustang and a DC-3, a youth choir, a Marine Corps firing detail, and the lonely sound of "Taps".
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From this day forward the anthematic ‘amber waves of grain’, one for each of Washington's fallen, are now frozen in bronze, in time, and in the memory of us all. The sculptor, Simon Kogan, is an resident of Olympia. Mr. Kogan has also rendered works at St. Martin’s College, and at other locations in Olympia and Seattle. His work can also be found in Washington, DC. In fact, Mr. Kogan has works on display from California to Moscow.
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