Thousands of holiday boughs were placed at headstones on Dec. 16.
MEDICAL LAKE – Area residents came out in large numbers to help place boughs at the headstones at the Washington State Veteran's Cemetery on Saturday, Dec. 16.
There were a few changes to the event this year, according to Cemetery Director Rudy Lopez. One of the bigger changes is that the cemetery is no longer in partnership with Wreaths Across America.
Instead, the cemetery has partnered with a regional supplier of boughs, Lopez said. That means fresher products and faster delivery.
Families with loved ones buried at the Veteran's Cemetery purchase boughs the week leading up to the remembrance ceremony, he said. All holiday boughs are made available only through public donations.
He also said it is important to remember that donations made to Wreaths Across America do not benefit the Veteran's Cemetery, so part of the reasoning for the switch is to keep more of the donations and resources localized.
On site for the event was Cindy Blue-Blanton, who helps organize the outreach, securing of community sponsors and marketing for the Esther Reed Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Blanton said it has been an honor for their group to work with the Veteran's Cemetery, and to help get others involved.
"Since the Veteran's Cemetery opened in 2010, without our volunteers this honorable endeavor could not be accomplished," Blanton said. "It takes time, connections and donations to achieve our goals."
"The cemetery isn't going anywhere, it's only going to expand."
Lopez said they have over 9,500 individuals interred at the cemetery, and said it is an honor to take care of them in perpetuity.
"We live in such a great country," Lopez said. "And it's because of these great patriots that stepped forward and answered our nation's call."
"They went into harm's way and saw and experienced things that men and women should not have to do, but they did so on behalf of a belief."
After speeches were given, Lopez told the story of an interred veteran, Tech Sgt. Berton P. Keleman.
Lopez said Keleman served in World War II and had a captivating story.
Keleman was born in 1923 and died in 2019 according to Lopez.
Keleman's story was a tale of survival through some of the worst odds a human can face Lopez said.
He served and survived the north Africa Campaign in World War II. Keleman also fought in and lived through the Sicily Campaign, and even stormed the beaches of Normandy on D-Day.
Lopez said Keleman was captured five weeks into that campaign and was made a Prisoner of War and placed in a German camp.
Keleman was held in captivity for five months according to Lopez where he was given a fistful of barley and a cup of water per week as rations.
The soldiers were essentially wasting away, Lopez said.
According to Lopez, Keleman and a group of prisoners were loaded into a boxcar at one point, and the soldiers immediately thought they were being taken somewhere to be killed.
"They each felt they needed to do something to save themselves," Lopez said. "Because if they failed, America failed, and if America failed the allied forces failed."
"So they did everything they could to pry some boards loose from the box car as it went down the train tracks. They managed to get out and scatter to the wind to increase their chances of survival."
Lopez said the troops were being shot at, and some soldiers were able to make it out and survive.
Keleman was able to make his way to a thicket that was on the edge of a farm according to Lopez. Keleman was able to crawl out in the night, taking carrots and other vegetables to survive.
He would eventually find some help from a farmer, who would help him regain his strength and recover his health.
Lopez said Keleman continued to serve in the military after he was found and rescued by American troops. Keleman died March 27, 2019 and was interred at the Washington State Veteran's Cemetery.
Matthew graduated from West Virginia University-Parkersburg in 2011 with a journalism degree. He's an award-winning photographer and enjoys writing stories about people.
Reader Comments(0)