By MIKE FERGUSON

Baker City Herald

Get to know a veteran, Lyle Defrees urged about 90 people gathered at Mount Hope Cemetery during the Memorial Day ceremony Monday. Let that veteran know how much you appreciate all he or she did for their country.

And you might well learn something in the process.

andquot;I believe the most good we can do here and now is to comfort the living veterans,andquot; Defrees said near the conclusion of his remarks. andquot;We can show our love for them by putting up American flags in front of our homes (or) by having parties with patriotic themes to honor military and ex-military men and women in our neighborhoods and communities.

andquot;Or we can just quietly seek them out and show them that we love them and are interested in their lives and their experiences. It is a good idea to coax them into telling more about their experiences with the military and on the war front.

andquot;You may get an opportunity to hear some exceptional real tales that you may not even imagined.andquot;

Defrees said he’s been blessed to have known veterans whose service dated back to World War I.

andquot;I’m sure all of us have had these blessings,andquot; he said. andquot;We all have memories some humorous and some sad. These veterans bring perspective into our lives because of the experiences that they have shared.andquot;

Defrees, who served the U.S. Army and the Army National Guard from 1956 through his retirement in 1988, said that while Memorial Day means different things to different people a day at the lake for some, a day of patriotism and solemnity for others it ought to be a day of reflection for everybody.

andquot;Some wonder why their friends were taken and they came home,andquot; he said. andquot;For others it’s why a loved one never made it home. But of all of us, it’s a chance to say, ‘thank you.’andquot;

The tragedies the nation has experienced in recent years with the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks being the most recent have andquot;reawakened the spirit of patriotism in all hearts,andquot; Defrees said.

andquot;Unity and oneness binds all Americans in a special bond,andquot; he said. andquot;The words ‘United we stand’ and ‘God bless America’ still hold the power to stir our hearts on this special day.andquot;

Army National Guard Sgt. First Class Al Schmeits, who organized Monday’s ceremony, reminded the crowd of the symbolism involved in the makeshift tribute placed in front of the speaker’s podium: a pair of combat boots, a rifle with fixed bayonet, a Kevlar helmet and dog tags.

It’s a scene reserved for the battlefield, Schmeits said: the boots that andquot;carried our (fallen) comrade through joy and pain.andquot; A rifle that’s both andquot;burden and savior.andquot; A fixed bayonet (upon which everything else rests)

andquot;that today penetrates his sacred resting place.andquot; A Kevlar helmet, the andquot;protector of life, transformed into a memorial.andquot; And, finally, dog tags that identify the one who made the ultimate sacrifice for his nation.

VFW chaplain Don Burrows prayed for the andquot;repose and safe-keepingandquot; of the souls of the nation’s dead veterans. For those veterans who survived their service, he prayed andquot;for them to heal in every way.andquot;

andquot;May their sacrifices stay with us in liberty and freedom not just this day, but every day,andquot; Burrows said during his prayer. Honor guard members then unfurled and hung 10 flags to honor veterans with Baker County ties whose families have donated a flag in their memory in the past few months, bringing the Avenue of Flags total to about 450, Schmeits said.

The 10 veterans memorialized Monday were:

Harold Combs, who served in the Army during World War II

Harry Hathaway, a World War II Army veteran who served in the Pacific

Marvin Keith andquot;Buckandquot; Pilkington, a corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps

Silas D. Allen, a navy radioman during the Second World War

John Albert, who served in the Army during World War II

Clifford C. Yeakley, a sailor who served during World War I

George P. Tipton, whose Merchant Marine service was aboard the USS Fletcher

Billy andquot;Lesterandquot; Miller, a navy veteran whose service was aboard the USS Richmond

Gene Duncan, an army private first class, who served his country in 1961-62, and

Donald David Wroe, a Special Forces member who served from 1950 through 1952 in Korea.

Army National Guard First Sgt. Wayne Chastain played a moving rendition of taps on his trumpet to complete the ceremony.

It wasn’t just the area’s deceased veterans whose gravesites were decorated Monday. Rod, Sue and Heather Irby came to the cemetery to decorate the headstones of some of Rod’s family members as well as attend the Memorial Day service.

andquot;Mr. Defrees did a real nice job,andquot; Sue Irby said after the ceremony. andquot;And it’s always nice to see the flags distributed.andquot;

Sharon Carlsen, a 1972 Baker High School graduate now living in Oregon City, said she returns to Baker City every Memorial Day to decorate the grave of family members, including that of her beloved grandmother, Mozell Bracken.

Carlsen, too, attended the ceremony honoring the fallen veterans.

andquot;I thought,andquot; she said, andquot;that it was the most touching service,andquot; she said. andquot;When it was over, I just had to go up and touch the rifle and helmet.andquot;