Sounds of bagpipes and marching bands filled the air as participants in the Whatcom Memorial Day Parade marched in Bellingham, honoring fallen military service men and women on Saturday, May 25.
Although the start of the parade around noon was a bit chilly, with people lined up to get warm drinks on Cornwall Avenue along the parade route and others nestled on folding chairs under blankets, the sun came out during the three-hour event.
The parade was more than music and watching fire trucks. At the beginning, a group of Veterans of Foreign Wars volunteers carried large posters of military members from Whatcom County who had given their life during their military service.
Gallery: Whatcom Memorial Day Parade
The Grand Marshal of the parade was U.S. Army veteran James Desterhouse, who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Children danced to music played by a variety of high school marching bands and waved to city and county officials, such as Bellingham Mayor Kim Lund, who walked with her dog, and Whatcom County Sheriff Donnell Tanksley.
Memorial Day originally started after the Civil War in the 1860s and was known as Decoration Day, when communities across the country would decorate fallen soldiers’ graves with flowers on May 30, according to the U.S. Veterans Administration. After World War I, the observance grew to include soldiers who had fought in all wars.
Memorial Day became a federal holiday in 1971 and was moved from May 30 to the last Monday in May.
Retired Col. Wes Weston stood near a group of Gold Star families, relatives of those military service men and women who died in combat.
“We’re really here to help remember them and remember all those who have served our country,” said the Ferndale resident who served 28 years in the Marine Corps.
Weston noted that the wars the United States has been involved in have been fought with the best intentions to help another country defend the same freedoms and rights that the U.S. was founded on.
He added that a majority of those fighting in those wars were between the ages of 18 and 22.
“In the beginning of their lives, they’re out there, they raise their hand, they volunteer and serve that purpose,” Weston said. “And some unfortunately do not come back.”
The parade, formerly known as the Ski to Sea parade, has been running for 102 years, according to parade organizers.
Annie Todd is CDN’s criminal justice/enterprise reporter; reach her at annietodd@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 130.
