They fought for freedom

COEUR d’ALENE — Phil Willadsen doesn’t usually attend Memorial Day ceremonies, but despite the cold and cloudy conditions Monday, he was there, leaning on his cane at Coeur d’Alene Memorial Gardens.

Wearing a cap, heavy coat and gloves, he closed his eyes and bowed his head as rifles were fired behind him in a salute to the fallen.

“It’s important to be there because of everything that’s going on,” Willadsen said. “I thought it was especially needed to come out today.”

Vietnam War veteran Don Lindberg of Hayden said he is there every year out of respect for those who died for their country.

“All the people who never got back,” he said, his voice full of emotion.

Ceremonies that included prayers, speeches, swords and music were held nationwide and throughout Kootenai County on Monday.

Children held hands of parents, and grandchildren sat next to grandparents, including veterans.

Flags were flying at Forest Cemetery as civilians placed flowers at the gravesites of loved ones.

Some fought back tears as they paid tribute to those who died fighting for their country.

“There’s really no words,” said Dennis Watson, chaplain for VFW 889. “I don’t think you can get enough words to describe the sacrifices that these people have made.”

Veteran Bob Banta, who served in the Korean War, tossed the wreath into Lake Coeur d’Alene as a crowd of about 150 looked on at McEuen Park Veterans Memorial Plaza.

“It’s an honor to do it,” Banta said.

Journalist, author and Coeur d’Alene-area resident William Jasper was the keynote speaker.

He said many will celebrate Memorial Day with family gatherings, camping trips and barbecues. But for others who lost a loved one on the battlefield, “There will always be an empty chair at the family table, a hole in the fabric of their lives that will not be mended this side of eternity.”

Jasper said the country is facing great challenges and threats from within. The national anthem is mocked, cities are burned and there are endless attacks on God, family and patriotism.

“Assaults on all that is sacred, holy, righteous and decent,” he said.

“The enemy of freedom is relentless and sleepless,” Jasper said. “The enemy today is not so much a foreign power as it is an enemy from within. We are being attacked and sapped and subverted from within. Clearly we are as a nation in grave danger of forgetting and if we allow that to happen, a great and evil darkness will descend upon the world.”

Kootenai County Commissioner Bill Brooks spoke to about 100 people at Coeur d’Alene Memorial Gardens of a high school friend who was killed in Vietnam.

“There's really not a day that goes by that I don't think about Randy,” he said.

Brooks said while he was able to go on with life, get married, have children, take vacations and go on beach parties, Randy was not.

He said Randy knew the dangers he faced when he joined the military, but he still signed on because “he was needed."

Brooks said “men and women from all the services made a similar commitment.”

Veteran Jim Mangan said he considered it a "sacred obligation" to be at the Memorial Day ceremony, as he was one of those "lucky enough to come back" from combat.

Veteran Ivan Bishop said Americans should value such freedoms as being able to drive thousands of miles in any direction they want.

"Who's going to stop you?" he asked.

Hayden Mayor Scott Forssell delivered a short speech to about 100 people at McIntire Family Park.

He said more than one million men and women have died in military service to the United States since the Civil War began in 1861.

“It's to these men and women who gave their lives that we give our thanks, our gratitude, and our remembrance. We live today in peace and freedom because of those sacrifices,” he said.

Forssell said he often drives past a sign on Hayden Avenue that says, “Land of the free because of the brave.”

“You've probably seen it. Every time I see that sign, I take a moment to thank those that have died serving our country,” he said. “The next time you see that sign, I hope you do so, too.”

Navy veteran Kristin Phillips delivered the keynote address and talked of the sacrifices necessary for freedom — and that such sacrifices will continue to be made to protect it.

“After witnessing societies with government-imposed personal restrictions, veterans have learned firsthand how precious our personal liberties and freedoms are, and how easily they are lost to the power hungry and corrupt,” she said. “We are more than willing to do what is necessary to defend them.”

Wiley C. Raulston, who served with the Navy during World War II, was joined by his daughter, Deanne Nosworthy, son-in-law Doug Nosworthy, granddaughter Ashley Rotchford, and neighbor Karen Schwalbach at the Hayden ceremony.

The 95-year-old sat bundled up between them as he looked on and listened.

Nosworthy said her dad lost his wife of 73 years, Thelma in 2019, and it’s been tough since, but he soldiers on as best he can.

“We’re proud of him,” she said.