Vallejo Memorial Day event recognizes those who gave all
May 25-Overcast skies and chilly temperatures didn't dissuade an audience of over 100 people from honoring Vallejo's fallen war heroes at the city's Warriors' Memorial behind City Hall on Memorial Day.
Monday's event was the second of two Vallejo observances honoring service men and women who paid the ultimate price for their country. An earlier service took place at the Mare Island Naval Cemetery.
"We are all here because someone you love gave everything," said keynote speaker Mayumi Kimura, Deputy Secretary of Women Veterans Affairs for the California Department of Veterans Affairs.
"Memorial Day asks us to stop and feel the weight of what we are here to honor. The 300 names are not entries in a program or plaques on a wall," Kimura said. "They are sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, loved ones."
The speaker was referring to the plaques on the wall behind her, and to the fact that, as of the most recent count, 300 Vallejoans have given their lives for their country, including 25 veterans from World War I, 230 from World War II, 12 from the Korean War, 29 from the Vietnam War, and four from Operation Iraqi Freedom.
In a striking display, a color guard of four cadets from Cal Poly Maritime Academy paraded the colors, with the California and U.S. flags tossing in the wind. The corps is formally designated the Rear Admiral Richard O. Kane Division, Naval Sea Cadet Corps.
The audience of over 100 -a sizable number of whom were already on their feet at the standing-room-only event -rose to hear the National Anthem and recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
The National Anthem was delivered by Staff Sergeant Alycia Cancel, a vocalist for the U.S. Air Force Band of the Golden West stationed at Travis Air Force Base.
Solano County Supervisor Cassandra James told the audience, "I stand before you as a beneficiary of the sacrifice of my great-grandfather, Clifton Waddles, a World War II veteran, and my grandfather, Staff Sgt. Lester James, a Vietnam veteran.
"Their service - and the service of so many represented here today - reminds me that freedom is never free," James said.
"Memorial Day traces back to one of the earliest documented observances in 1865, when formerly enslaved people and Union troops came together to honor fallen soldiers and pay tribute to Union prisoners of war," the supervisor said.
"Nearly 161 years later, we continue that sacred tradition - honoring the lives of service members who gave everything so future generations could live with equality, liberty, opportunity, justice, and hope," James said.
Vallejo Mayor Andrea Sorce posited the day as a call to action.
Beginning by giving thanks for what she described as the privilege of serving as mayor, Sorce noted, "This is our 250th year as a country, a country our service members gave all to protect.
"Think of all the ways we can honor that service, whether it's simply voting next week or speaking out against the forces of hate and bigotry," Sorce said.
Navy veteran Leo Orpilla of Vallejo arrived at the event early. As he waited for the event to begin, he shared that he had served in the Navy for eight years, including service in Vietnam.
Orpilla said he was glad to have served and derived great satisfaction from having done his job. Above all, he said, "You remember your friends and the people you loved who made the ultimate sacrifice."
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