Kootenai County remembers fallen on Memorial Day

Veteran Kenny Moore and wife Lois attend the Memorial Day ceremony at Coeur d'Alene Memorial Gardens on Monday.
BILL BULEY/Press

Veteran Earl King salutes at a Memorial Day ceremony at Coeur d'Alene Memorial Gardens.

Julie Bishop, left, and Tina Batha carry the wreath at Coeur d'Alene Memorial Gardens on Monday.

Veterans Richard Biggar, David Morgensen, Jeff Broadhead and Bob Martin carry out the Missing Man ceremony at McEuen Park Veterans Memorial Plaza on Monday.

Veteran Charles Riffel raises his hand at McEuen Park Veterans Memorial Plaza on Monday.

Veteran Bob Leatherwood plays taps at Coeur d'Alene Memorial Gardens on Monday.

John and Tish Deus of Coeur d'Alene attend the Memorial Day ceremony at Coeur d'Alene Memorial Gardens.

Tom Wambolt participates in the Memorial Day ceremony at Coeur d'Alene Memorial Gardens.

Veteran Bill Turner visits Coeur d'Alene Memorial Gardens on Monday.

Submariner veteran Jerry Parker chats with fellow vets at Hayden Lake on Monday.

Veteran Bob Banta, second from left, participates in a Memorial Day ceremony Monday.

Children and adults watch Memorial Day ceremonies Monday.

Veteran Pat Shelly places the wreath in Lake Coeur d'Alene as Dennis Watson salutes Monday.

Veteran Michael Quinn watches a Memorial Day ceremony at Coeur d'Alene Memorial Gardens.

Members of the Northern Lakes Fire District put the flag away following a Memorial Ceremony at Hayden Lake.

by BILL BULEY
Staff Writer | May 28, 2024 1:09 AM

COEUR d’ALENE — Tears were in Tina Batha’s eyes as she and Julie Bishop carried the wreath forward during the Memorial Day ceremony at Coeur d’Alene Memorial Gardens.

This was her first Memorial Day without her husband, Carlyle “Casey” Batha, who died Sept. 9 at the age of 73.

Her husband enlisted in the Marine Corps when he was 17 and went to Vietnam when he was 18. He was decorated for his service, including a Purple Heart.

Casey and Tina were married for more than 40 years, had three children, raised bloodhounds for years and went through life together. He is missed. For Tina Batha, Memorial Day was tough to get through without him.

“It’s hard,” Tina Batha said after presenting the wreath.

Memorial Day ceremonies were held throughout Kootenai County on a sunny, blue-skied Monday. Flags few high, salutes were many, prayers were offered, taps filled the air and servicemen and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country were remembered.

Navy veteran David Morgensen was again part of the foursome for the Missing Man ceremony at McEuen Park Veterans Memorial Plaza attended by a small crowd.

“Too bad we didn’t have more people out here,” he said.

Military service is in his blood.

Morgensen’s father, Don, served with the Marines in World War II and his brother, Joe, was a doctor with the Army during Vietnam.

“We had it covered,” David Morgensen said, smiling.

Despite the turnout, Morgensen was proud to be there on Memorial Day.

“I’m glad we do this, even if it’s just us,” he said.

Veteran Bob Banta, at age 90, said no matter what, he'll give it his all to be there because it's important.

“You bet it is,” he said.

Keynote speaker veteran Bill Muck told a story of his pilot training that was difficult to pass and required him to dig deep.

“It is the hard times, not the good times, that will test your strength, your courage and your faith,” he said.

It is then you will find new strength, Muck said, the kind of strength so many veterans displayed for their country and never gave up.

He said they gave their lives for their country “not because they wanted to, but because that’s what their duty demanded of them.”

“May we never forget the sacrifices of our veterans who have fallen,” he said.

At the Honeysuckle Beach boat launch at Hayden Lake, the Hayden Veterans Commission and U.S. Submarine Veterans Inc. held a 30-minute ceremony.

Veteran Jerry Parker said submariners, “Brothers of the Fish,” are close knit.

“They went down in a group, so we honor them every year,” he said. “It’s nice to have barbecues, but you’ve got to have the ceremonies.”

His daughter, Julie Bailey, read a poem, “The Line,” at the gathering attended by about 100 people

She couldn’t finish, though, breaking down with emotion as she tried to read the words, “Their boat went down so quickly, There wasn’t time to pray. But God heard every mother, Who lost her son that day.”

Knowing her father was a submariner, she said, shook her.

“That could have been him,” Bailey said.

At Coeur d’Alene Memorial Gardens, Marine veteran Bob Leatherwood said that as he played taps he thought of those he knew who died in war.

“It’s not a day we celebrate. It’s a day for remembering,” he said..

Veteran Bill Turner visited the gravesite of his stepfather, Lester Wildman, who served in World War II.

“Pay homage to those who passed,” he said.

Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris was the keynote speaker. He shared a story of a couple in his neighborhood when he was a boy in California who lost their son in the Vietnam War.

Norris said that couple, the Martins, struggled to come to terms with knowing their son was killed in a foreign country.

“It changed our neighborhood. It changed the Martins,” he said. “The Martins were never the same. Our neighborhood was never the same.”

Norris said freedom is expensive and takes physical and emotional tolls. He repeatedly said it is not free.

“Today, we honored those who didn’t make it home,” he said.