A crowd of about 200 gathered in the light rain at Edmonds Memorial Cemetery Monday morning to honor those who have given their lives for their country during the city’s 28th annual Memorial Day ceremony.
Among those recognized were veterans from the Edmonds School District 15 who died in World War I, World War II, the Korean and Vietnam wars and Snohomish County and Washington National Guard military casualties from 2001-09, including Army Sgt. Major Larry Strickland, a graduate of Edmonds High School who died in the Sept. 11, 2001 attack on the Pentagon.
The ceremony also honored those local soldiers missing in action or taken as prisoners of war.
The Edmonds Memorial Cemetery was placed on the Washington State Register of Historic Places in 1972 and has over 400 veterans interred. In honor of Memorial Day, graves of all the veterans were marked with a white cross and a miniature U.S. flag.
Mayor Haakenson’s speech today was outstanding; he “painted a picture” that very vividly described what this day is really all about.