Forever Farragut

FARRAGUT STATE PARK - "Excuse me, are you a WAVE? I knew a few," a kind gentleman said to Hazel Holmes on Saturday morning.

"We were all over the place," she told him, reflecting his kindness in her smile.

Holmes, 90, served as a WAVE (Women Accepted for Volunteer Service) during World War II, from her 20th birthday in March of 1944 to Oct. 31, 1945. She went to boot camp at Hunter College in New York City where she also marched in the annual Easter parade, attended Yeoman's school in Cedar Falls, Iowa, and was stationed at Farragut Naval Training Center, where she met and married Joe, her late husband of 67 years.

"We went horseback riding a lot," she said. "He worked at the riding stables."

Several people stopped to say hi and meet Holmes during the 28th annual Veterans' Reunion at Farragut State Park. More than 100 people were in attendance and about a dozen of them were Navy veterans who trained or were stationed at Farragut when it was active from fall 1942 to spring 1945.

"We were free to go, as far as the Navy allows you to go, you know," Holmes said. "They had buses, we went to Coeur d'Alene and there was all kinds of activities here. I met some really good ladies here, some really good friends. It was wonderful. I really, really enjoyed it."

Holmes has attended just about every reunion since they began. She said it's the memories that keep her coming back.

"I might see another WAVE that I knew," she said. "A couple of times I have."

The annual ceremony took place on the lawn of the Museum at the Brig and began with a flag presentation and emotional, live rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner." Reunion organizer Janice Lauer of Coeur d'Alene wore a hat that depicted a small boat and read, "Old sailors never die, they just get a little dinghy" as she spoke to the crowd.

"I was a child in WWII so I didn't know very much about sailors or soldiers or any of that kind of stuff," she said. "But I want to tell you guys, I'm mighty dang grateful I didn't have to learn to speak German or Japanese, and we owe that to you."

Lauer told a story about her first time going to the reunion. She met a former Farragut sailor who drove to North Idaho from Colorado and invited her to dinner the evening before the reunion. She accepted and accompanied him to the reunion the next day.

"Sweethearts, if you haven't danced with an old sailor under the stars, you haven't lived," she said.

Now, Lauer works to make sure the reunion happens each year. She dispelled the myth that this year was the last.

"I've had many calls, 'How long are you guys going to do this?'" she said. "My take on it is, as long as anybody still wants to come. I'll keep doing it until I can't do it anymore and have to hand it off to somebody else, because we have memories, and some of you have even more exciting memories than I have."

The morning was dedicated to the Farragut vets, who were invited to the front of the crowd to wave the giant American flag while a poem about the sailors was read. Veterans, friends and family members from as far away as Florida attended the reunion, which included self-guided tours of the museum and a social gathering with refreshments.

Charles McClain, 74, of Clarkston, Wash., is a Vietnam and Korea Navy veteran whose dad trained at Farragut. He pointed out a photo on the wall in the museum. It's of Company 628, and his young dad Charles is in it, wearing a big smile and his Navy blues.

"Dad was home on leave and my mother was 5-foot, 99 pounds and he took her out to a local bar and they were going to get a drink," he said, grinning. "They threw him out for bringing that little girl in there. That was with three kids at home, so this is 1943, just about."

Farragut Park manager Randall Butt said it is a huge honor to facilitate the reunion each year.

"It's amazing how the stories get going," he said. "Doesn't matter what branch of service or when you served, there's always good stories to go with it."

The Veterans' Reunion is scheduled to continue next year, the first Saturday after Labor Day.