Hundreds pay respect to service members and their families

VANCOUVER — A color guard, followed by “Taps” and bagpipes opened the ceremony Saturday afternoon at Vancouver Mall.

Over the next 75 minutes, dozens of Vietnam and Vietnam Era veterans had accepted an invitation to take the microphone, introduce themselves and/or share a story.

Welcome home.

Ron Powers, one of the organizers of the ceremony to honor veterans of that era, said more than 200 people attended. Many were veterans, others were family members, and several others just stopped to pay their respects and listen.

“I was really impressed that we had that many people show up,” Powers said.

“You could tell by the stories, they were stories people wanted to tell, to get out of their system, and to share. Everyone was appreciated, too. You could tell there was a lot of respect in the room”

Powers is the advisor of the Clark College Student Veterans of America Club. He said members of that club were there to appreciate the older veterans.

The student veterans club, along with PureKraze Events for Veterans, and the Community Military Appreciation Committee organized Saturday’s ceremony.