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Imagine, a single dirt
street stretching like a ribbon

through the heart
of a modest town.

It's 1940 Washington, Utah, a
community of about 500 souls,

where life was as warm and
inviting as the desert sun.

Two dim, 40-watt
streetlights stood sentinel,

their glow casting
long, comforting

shadows across the road.

By day, the air was filled
with that distinct aroma

of farm life, and the
laughter of children

echoed across open fields.

By evening, neighbors would
gather on their porches,

sharing stories under the
vast expanse of the Utah sky.

In this town, everyone knew
your name and your story.

Need to borrow something?

It was only a porch away.

Extra eggs?

Shared without hesitation.

Washington wasn't
just a place to live.

It was a living,
breathing memory

to the strength of community
and the simple joys of life.

This simple way of life,
however, was altered forever

by the grasps of World
War II as a fourth

of its community patriotically
left to help fight in that war.

Because of those soldiers'
service and sacrifice,

this town has honored
them throughout the years,

and has always looked
up to them as heroes.

Do you want them at ease?

I need
to say anything to them?

You don't
have to say anything.

At ease.

All
right, you guys, hey.

Thank you.

Thank you so much for coming.

You have been, for the
last five years, people

that we could count
on to do this.

And as an old guy,
I have to tell you,

it makes me pretty
proud to see you here.

And I think what you're
going to do tonight

is going to be very memorable.

It's a perfect night, except
a little cold, to do this.

Our goal is to create
a field of flags

to honor the veterans that
served in Washington County.

move it.

You want to move it?

So I'm Burke Staheli.

I grew up here.

OK.

Snap it a couple of times.

Is it straight?

Good.

In Washington, Utah,
generations have grown up here.

Take it clear on that end.

Lift.

And Caeden, you come over
here and run it right up

this middle row.

Maybe this will be a
tutorial for people

all across the United
States, how to lay

out a flag field in 20 minutes.

We said I went to second
grade in this room

we're sitting in right here.

And I guess, my dad
probably did, too.

First of all, I grew up going
to church in the Rock Church

just north of where we are.

And every-- every
time I'd go to class,

I would see this big framed
poster of all of these veterans.

We've done this now
for almost 20 years,

so they water the grass so
that it's kind of muddy.

And so we can put these in.

But then when we
pull this, when we

pull the flags on top of them,
they go down into the mud.

And then it kind
of locks them in.

Make sure it's touching every
single one of those posts.

So grab some of
these stakes and make

sure they're fairly straight.

See how that one's
a little crooked.

Each of you grab three or four.

And then you guys
just move the tape up.

OK.

You guys, each of you,
grab three or four

of the straight ones
out of the bucket.

And Caeden, you just stay over
there and move the tape up.

And then we'll be ready.

We're going to start
putting them out at five.

Only every 10 feet.

So just 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60.

All right.

Then grab some more stakes.

Push them in good.

What we're going to do is
we're make like a spear point.

OK.

So even though we put them in,
we're going to take them out.

So I want those four
that way, all out.

And those four on
that end, all out.

Just pull them out.

Yep.

Never really fought in a war,
but I'd been in the military.

And I thought, what
could I do about it?

Sir, young man, these
are military flags.

You guys want to take those up
and put them up by the soldier.

Come over here, volunteers.

Come here.

I know some of these guys.

Come here.

Come here, come here, come here

Oh, my goodness.

Come here.

Come up here.
Come up here.

All right.

Turn around and face
these these ROTC soldiers.

All right.

So what they're going to do is I
want you to partner up with one

of them, or two of them.

All right.

These are your
volunteer helpers.

We'll start on this table.

And when that table's done,
we'll work to the middle table.

And then we'll work
to the north table.

Is everybody-- OK.

All of you guys,
go find a buddy.

Buddy them up.
OK.

Fall out.

Find a buddy.

All right.

And let's start
putting the flags up.

All right.

Been
in the military,

I just retired four years ago.

Was in the Navy for
7 and 1/2 years,

in the Army for 24 and 1/2.

Veteran is, by
regulation, someone

who served more than
180 consecutive days

on federal orders.

A lot of times, people
will say that Veterans

Day is the same as Memorial
Day, which that's not true.

Veterans Day is, specifically,
to give thanks and honor

to those veterans that are
still serving, that served,

and many of them that have died.

Memorial Day is for
those specifically

who gave their lives
for this country

that are already deceased.

Get
it straight, guys.

Get it-- make sure
it's straight.

Thank you, veterans.

All right.

Now, step away from it.

Let's go.

Step away from it
And then you guys just open up.

Just open up, and
they'll be able to see

the whole-- look back.

Everybody, hey, just open up
and look back through there

and see what you
just barely built.

All right.

I married a girl
from Heber City,

and her dad was a veteran
of the Korean War.

So we would always visit her
mother and her father's grave

on Memorial Day in Heber City.

And I remember coming
around the corner

every time to their
cemetery and just being

overwhelmed by the patriotism.

And I remember driving
back and thinking,

what can I do about it?

When I was a little
boy, this cemetery,

it used to be all dirt.

And every time it would
rain, like mud would run.

And over the course of
years, some of these good men

that you're going to meet today
that run the cemetery, Mr.

Bithell, who grew up here
and is a Washington kid,

they made this place look nice.

One thing I want to teach you
today, and that is cemetery

is not a scary place.

It's a special place.

It's a place where we
honor our ancestors,

where we honor those
who went before us.

And this is neat.

We're out.

You're out of
school, but reverent.

We want to be reverent,
which is respectful.

As you do these soldiers today,
I want you to honor them.

I want you to love them.

I want you to respect them.

I am going to demonstrate
what you're going to do.

And then I'm going to assign
Washington Elementary a section

of the cemetery to do.

All right.

Thanks.

And you make sure you tell
these gentlemen, thank you.

Because when we
originally bought these,

we had enough money to buy 160.

And now the city has provided
more than 500 of these.

In the cemetery,
you're going to see

every headstone
marked with a flag

like this that needs a plaque.

So what you do is
you come up to it,

your teachers will help assign
you, so don't miss anyone.

You take this and you
just set it on the ground.

Then you put this marker
right where that flag was,

pretty much.

OK.

Push it in pretty good,
so it doesn't come out.

And then you put the flag in.

All right.

Now, here's the important part.

This is the respect part.

So you stand in front of it.

You take two steps back,
put your heels together

like in a little v. All right.

And you look at their name.

Can you guys repeat
his name with me?

Quentin Alexander Nisson.

So you're going to do this.

You're going to go like this.

You're going to look
at their headstone.

Look at their name,
and you're going

to say, Quentin
Alexander Nisson,

thank you for your service.

And you're going to
drop your salute.

Then you're going to get
on your hands and knees.

All right.

And you're going to
go around like this.

And you're just going to
trim and clean all around.

OK.

Just take a little bit.

Just like you're a
little weed whacker.

All right.

And you're going to go all
around until you get that done.

And then clean it
off with your hand.

And then when you're
done, go back to the line

and get another flag.

All right.

Take some time and
get to know them.

Each one of these soldiers,
and there are men and women,

each one of them are special.

All right, everybody,
walk up here with me.

George Norman Holgerson,
thank you for your service.

Thank you for your service.

Doyle Edwin Charter,
thank you for your service.

Max Richard Grundvig,
thank you for your service.

Evan Ray Sproul, thank
you for your service.

Peter Lamar Mickelson.

Thank you for your service.

My
goal, as a principal,

was to make sure that the
youth of America, that they

knew that freedom isn't free.

And so that was my whole thing.

This is Rodney Neilson.

Rodney Neilson grew up just a
block south of the old school

in the middle of town.

And my dad knew
him, and my dad said

he was the best-looking,
nicest kid in town.

When I became the principal
of Washington Elementary,

I was going through
some old documents,

and I found some
old grade books.

And I found Rodney Neilson.

And two things I remember about
him is he had straight A's.

He had perfect grades.

And he also had
perfect attendance.

All of the old soldiers
would tell you,

Rodney Neilson was
the most respected

of all of the soldiers
that went to World War II.

Well, in May of 1945, Rodney
Neilson was flying his plane

on a mission, and his
plane ran out of fuel,

and he had to crash
land in the ocean.

He glided it in
and just off shore.

He landed it.

And a bunch of his guys
jumped out of the plane

and tried to escape.

And some villagers captured
them in the South China seas.

And some villagers
captured them,

turned them over
to the Japanese.

And just before the end of the
war, almost just a week before,

the Japanese executed
Rodney Neilson.

Rather than letting
him go, and letting

him come back here and live
his life, they executed him.

And so in our town, and I'll get
a little emotional about this.

But in our town, Rodney Neilson,
even since I was a little boy,

has been revered.

And this spot right
here is hallowed ground.

Because Rodney Neilson was
a native son of Washington,

we named the post after him.

And we made-- we got
together the monies

and put in place a new
monument for his grave

in Washington City Cemetery.

I encourage people
to take a look at it.

I think we did a really
good job of honoring him,

and we want to continue
to honor his name.

Hello.

We're on the same track.

We're so glad you came.

Thank you.

I appreciate
your service.

Thank you.

There we go.

My
name is Susan Hancock.

My husband and I brought
our two little teeny

children here in
1978, and Washington

became our new hometown.

We're family.

Hello, cousin.

This picture, this historical
photograph hung in our church.

And it was along the hallway.

And I remember taking screaming
children out of a meeting

and bouncing them in
the hall and standing

there looking at the picture.

And one day, while I was
doing it with my little son,

Brayden, at the time,
Terril Clove was out there.

And we were out
in the lobby one day

and she was asking
me about the picture.

I said, well, those
are all the men

and the women that served in
World War II from Washington.

It was actually a fourth of
the population went to war.

And one day, it was early in
2002, Kathy Staheli was here,

and I came in and we stood
and looked at this photograph.

And she mentioned
to me, she pointed

to one person and then another
who had recently passed away.

And we stood there
together and I

said, Kathy, before we
lose one more veteran,

let's get them together.

Let's have a reunion.

And she loved the idea.

And so we contacted
Terril Clove.

We had a committee
meeting and decided

we needed to do something
to honor the veterans,

not just hang the
picture on the wall.

I had a friend offer,
who's a brain surgeon,

he came to our 20-year high
school class reunion and he

said, hey, I have $10,000.

What would you like to-- do you
something you could do with it?

I said, I have this idea about
putting flags on veterans--

on veterans' headstones.

And at that time, I believe
there was maybe 140, 150.

And I was the school
principal, and I thought

we could have the
fifth graders adopt

a veteran for the whole year.

They could learn about
them and write letters

and put them on their graves.

And so that started.

So through the years
as we have grown,

we'd always feed them
a wonderful meal.

We'd have a program.

We wanted to have it
start with a parade.

We've never had a parade before.

And I believe then,
we really focused a lot

on this World War II
bunch, knowing that they

wouldn't be around for long.

And from then, it has
just been successful.

We're here today
at the Washington Utah City

library.

And in this library,
there's a special painting.

And in this painting, it depicts
the history of Washington, Utah.

A portion of the painting
itself is depicted in

represents the veterans
that served in World War II

and from this town.

In the painting itself, you'll
see several different things

that stand out.

You have Grant Iverson
getting off the bus.

You have Rodney Neilson
walking with his luggage.

You have Rex Prisbrey
flying in a plane overhead.

You have Ivyl Smith, and several
other people and things in it.

Grant Iverson, when he was
serving in the campaign

in Mindanao, Philippines.

In that invasion, he was on
his LCT boat with his crew.

And they were making
deliveries back and forth

to the Island with soldiers
and different cargo

and things of that nature.

Dad never
talked much about it

because it was really
something that was really deep

inside of him.

And he didn't start
talking about World War II

until his really later years.

When he brought out
the box of pictures

the first time we
saw him, us girls

were just shocked because most
of the little native girls

in New Guinea were
topless, you know.

And so we were kind
of shocked with those.

Yeah.

Dad was in the Navy for 28
months, and 26 of those months,

he was overseas.

He had little PT boat
that would take people

and drop them off on the land.

And he says, I was so thankful
every day that I was in the Navy

and I wasn't a soldier.

Because it was so sad to see
him-- to drop him off and not

know what's going to happen.

Just before the atomic bomb,
they were all headed to Japan.

That's where they
were going to land,

and they were going
to deport there.

And he said, if they wouldn't
have let that bomb off,

he says, I know I wouldn't
have ever returned home.

And he says, it
was the second bomb

that really saved their
lives because it was

before the second
bomb is when they

were going to drop them off.

And he says, we'd probably
all lost our lives there.

In one of his deliveries,
he caught wind

that a special friend
of his, that he grew

up with from Washington, who was
in that campaign also, had died.

Now the person that had died
was Ivyl Smith Prisbrey.

And he went by Smith.

And that's how
everybody knew him.

He was an interesting
individual,

because when I was
doing my research on him

and contacting family members
of the different veterans

of this World War II
group, I found out

that he was one of
the few that actually

was married before he left.

And very few of those
that actually had a child.

So doing my background
and talking to people,

I found out that his
wife had passed away,

and that his daughter
was still alive.

To different people,
finding different avenues,

I got her phone number,
and I called her.

And we had a very,
very wonderful visit.

We both shared
information and stories

that we knew of,
and anyhow, she,

towards the end of the visit,
told me to wait a minute

and she went to go
get a piece of paper.

When she came back, she started
to read this piece of paper,

and she told me that this was
from Smith's commanding officer.

And in the letter, it said
that how he had passed away,

that he had caught
shrapnel from an explosion,

and that he was in the field
hospital for a day or so.

And then from his
wounds, he passed away.

And I thought to
myself, this must

have been a really comforting
letter to a degree for his wife.

But I never thought
of the impact

this would have on his daughter.

Because towards the end
of reading it to me,

she fell apart and just started
getting very emotional with it.

And that effort by
that commanding officer

was a connection for
her to her father.

And that to me, is special.

Now, out of the 104
veterans or soldiers

that came from this
town, everybody

came back except for two.

And to me, that, in
itself, was a miracle.

Do you guys know
who this guy is?

No.

This is my dad's-- this
is my dad's big brother.

Yeah, we know each other.

This is my Uncle George.

And he's been doing these wagons
we've been doing for 20 years.

- Yeah.
- Something like that.

And this is his wife.

And this is, in a case of
a better half, I would say,

that fits right here.

2002 is when we started.

Yeah.

And we have first year
to get everything going.

And we had a lot of World
War II veterans back then.

And we don't have any now.

Yes, we do.

I don't think any
is coming, but we

have one or two that are alive.
Warren Hannig.

Warren Hannig
is the only one alive.

So when the war
broke out, it was

everybody's thought about it.

And everything else was
their concern of how--

how did they feel about it?

Well, when the war broke out,
I was in California at the time.

And that's where I
went into the services

when I was in Los Angeles.

What was the reason you--

you joined the military?

Well, I knew I was
going to be drafted.

So we either going
to be drafted or--

or a chooser.

So that's what we did.

We-- we knew we were
getting close to that point.

Tell us a little
bit about Cleave Cooper.

Oh, Cleave Cooper.

He was one of my better friends
when we were growing up.

And we did a lot of things
together, a lot of things

we shouldn't have done,
and a few things like that.

Then Rex Prisbrey, he--

he was my first cousin
lived next door to me.

He went over to Europe.

I think I told you
he was flying B-24s

and he got shot
one time with flak.

And they had told--
they told his crew,

just get ready to bail out.

And finally, the engineer
on the plane was able to--

to twist the-- the
hydraulic tools

and seal it off so
that they weren't

losing all their interior.

The plane was getting
all flooded with oil.

And so he managed to
get it back to the base.

It was the National
Guard what Rex was in.

Rex and them were in the first
bunch to go from Washington.

But he said when
he was in there,

he didn't want to be in the
army because he said, he--

he wasn't about to
be trailing around.

So he wanted to be
in the air corps.

So he got in the air corps.

And then he flew the Hump.

Flying over the Hump

wasn't for the faint of heart.

I was a part of a 24th
combat mapping squadron,

which flew many missions
from India to China

through these mountains.

Every mission brought new
challenges, new dangers.

But we did it because
it had to be done.

If you weren't down on
the ground surviving,

you were up here,
facing the other threat,

unpredictable, natural elements.

Oil pressure?

Oil pressure steady.

And fuel.

Fuel is good.

How's she feeling, Rex?

Holding up.

There's a storm
brewing up ahead.

Do we go through
it or around it?

Well, we don't
have the fuel to go around it.

Through it.

Lovely.

How's it looking?

Swell.

Like navigating through
a minefield blindfolded.

Hey, we're sure
taking a beating.

Just hold her steady.

We need to climb
above this mess.

The instruments are moving.

Here's hoping
for calmer skies.

Engine is out.

Just an engine?

Feather the prop.

We can manage on three.

Losing altitude fast.

Hold it.

Hold it.

Hold it.

I am.

There, we need to make
it through that pass.

That's a tight fit.

Can we make it?

We have no choice.

Steady.

Come on, come on.

Steady, steady.

Oh.

You sure know how
to pick them, Rex.

It's just another day
over the Hump, Johnny boy.

Well, I really--

I worried-- we're worried
about them all the time.

I can remember the school
teacher, like, when

she was telling us what to do.

But our boys were always close.

They were-- they kept in
touch with each other while

this gone to and everything.

But we were a close-knit family.

We loved each other too.

And they gave a flag to put
in the door in mama's window.

And it had star on it for
each one that was in there.

And she always hang
that in the dark.

Rex said that one time,
he got this new plane,

he was the pilot.

And his crew, he had--

I don't remember how
many in the crew,

but they went in
the other plane.

They were all killed.

And Rex-- Rex got saved because
they'd given him another plane.

And then the Chinese got--

later, after he got
home from the war,

they made a big monument
for all of these people.

And the guys that got
killed and everything,

they invited Rex over to give a
speech to dedicate this thing.

I've got pictures of all of it.

It's really neat.

He was really honored,
and he was proud

that this crew was honored.

I believe it's
the best parade of the year.

I believe it's the
best parade in America.

There we go.

OK.

You got everything
here you need.

OK.
Yeah.

If you can go find some flags,
we'll put that on the other.

We have three boys.

Really?

I'm jumping up here?

Come on, Fred.

Fred, these mountain men,
they can do everything.

Fred, one of a kind.

One of a kind.

Appreciate your service.
Yeah.

Appreciate yours.

He's just going to come and
help you and get on board.

Wonderful.

You did good on the weather.

I know--

Isn't she in charge?

I think we're going to
have more guys than we

think from the Triple Deuce.

So if they don't all
fit, load these up.

What time do we
need to be here?

You've got 30 minutes until
you're late, so you're early.

You're early.

That's good for you, Tim.

Yeah, I know.

That's pretty good.

So we've got 10.

We're going to have 10 cadets
assigned, five on each side

to walk on the side
of the house there

to make sure no-- nobody in the
parade passes through that area

at all.

They're kind of--

Yes, sir.

OK.

Are you the leader, Barnum?

Who's the leader of this site?

OK.

Come here.

All right.

Give me you five.

You guys wait a sec.

OK.

I want the tallest guy out here.

You're out here, Blake.

OK.

And I want you
this far in front.

OK.

And then I want you guys
to be evenly spaced.

So you're going to
be in the middle,

and you're going to be about
two arm lengths in the back.

During the parade,
you guys' role

is to keep everybody
in the parade safe,

that nobody gets in here.

Nobody gets out here.

Nobody, no little kid,
no one runs out here.

You're going to be just
behind the howitzer right

here, just like that.

If the howitzer
stopped, you guys are

at the position of attention.

When the howitzer
moves, you're going

to step off your left foot.

You're going to move forward.

The howitzer is going to
stop, you're going to stop.

That very few people know
is that St. George City

and Hurricane City and
Washington City pay

for the buses for every band.

Because bands don't
make a lot of money.

But if they know they
can come to this parade

and they don't have to pay
the field trip fee, 30--

30 buses.

And that takes a
lot of organization.

Considering school had to start,
you had to get everybody there,

then you got to
get everybody here.

Then you got to get everybody
back before school is over.

Hi, guys.

Hello.

Thank you.

They're going to bring--
they're going to bring more.

They're bringing more.
You guys can have those, here.

I guess, the powers
have been decided,

it would be a great idea to
have everyone join together

in this celebration, instead
of having separate celebrations

in the different cities.

But we're grateful
that you're here,

and we want to welcome everyone
from Washington County.

So thank you so
much for coming out.

I think of everything that
started with a few little kids

cramped into the cemetery.

And I don't think--

I think Warren Hannig is like
the only one that's still

alive of that original group.

And-- and-- but I
think they know--

before they pass, they
know we cared about them

and their families sure know.

And anybody that moves
here, they love it.

We went from just
a reunion of these good people

on the wall behind me, to
where we were inviting everyone

who had ever served to
where we were inviting any--

I mean, not just Washington,
but any community who came.

And then it became the
County celebration.

And it is the biggest single-day
celebration and parade

that we have in our city.

We
want everybody that

has served to feel appreciated.

And-- and so we're grateful to
keep going on until we drop,

I guess.

Today, we gather
to honor the brave men

and women who have
served our country

with courage and sacrifice.

Any veterans over here?

Hi, everybody.

Here we go, Tom.

In every
town, there's a hero.

Every town, I don't
care how big it is.

And those heroes should be
recognized in bronze monuments.

And that's what we're
trying to-- to do.

And that's what they
are trying to do.

So I give credit to
those people that--

that think of the
people before them.

What happened is I have some
friends in town that wanted me

to do a bunch of bronzes for the
historical pieces in St. George

and around Southern Utah.

So as a result, I've
done 92 life size pieces.

The process in bronze is
called the lost wax process.

I start with a steel
armature on life size pieces

and small pieces,
and then I use an oil

based clay to put around the
skeleton or the armature.

The city gave
us permission where it was.

You've got to realize, 20 years
ago, that this was the only city

park Washington had.

And every activity was there,
4th of July, 24th of July,

every birthday party, every
flag football game, every soccer

game, every kickball game.

And so it was unique that the
way we could design it there,

that that veteran watched
over all of the activities

of Washington.

And if you go up
and look at that,

you'll see it standing
really high on some rocks

that looks over the park.

Still, I'm going to take care
of the citizens of Washington.

And I think a lot of
the kids feel that way.

And I think that's one of the
big advantages of what we did,

that it's making a lot of
the young kids, especially

in the Washington elementary
schools, really aware

of the sacrifice for freedom.

To see what young men from
this community did for me,

I never had to go to war.

And by them coming
home and telling

their story made
Washington what it is.

What it was going to
look like, I don't think

anybody had a design in mind.

We were working on the monument.

And I like to work with rocks.

Down at our place, we've
got rock walls and stuff.

And I said, I can put a
rock monument up there.

And we got two layers up.

And then I said, we've got
to have a massive rock where

that statue can stand
and be above the park

and be above everything else.

What
it's done, I believe,

is it's let
Washington city know,

and then Washington
County know, and then

I believe Utah know that--

that we love our veterans.

So these kids had
five or six ideas of wanting

to do a service project.

And they chose only wanting
to come to the cemetery.

They had like going and
helping some old people

and doing weeding
and everything,

but they wanted to do
the cemetery because they

just have a love for cemetery.

So when they came to me,
I was like, yes, yes, yes.

Let's talk about it.

And so we came up with a plan.

They decided, their goal was to
do 100 headstones in an hour.

And they've done 148.

So they've exceeded their goal.

And I think a lot of them will
come back in a couple of weeks

and see if the solution
is working for them.

And I think they'll take
a little bit more interest

in Memorial Day and
cemeteries, in general,

as well as with our veterans.

And that's-- yeah,
you couldn't ask

for anything better than that.

This is a rising generation.

They're helping to teach the
older generation, and some

of the maybe, you know,
ex-generation, of why

is Memorial Day important.

Why do we come for Memorial
Day to the cemeteries?

Why do we lay out flags?

Why do we want to try to keep
our veterans' headstones get

legible and clean?

And I think that this generation
is one of the best generations

to do that, because they
are so young and eager.

Again, we had 30 some odd kids.

They did 148
headstones in an hour.

And they were happy doing
it and excited doing it.

So that, right there, is
the reason why doing this

was not only important to them,
but really important to me.

Veterans mean something
to me, dead or alive.

He started
out in England,

and they were doing--
it was a mock mission

that they was getting
ready to actually

invade the Normandy beaches.

And they wanted to
do a mock up of it.

And he was involved with that.

And during that process, the--

there was, I guess,
a number of U-boats

that got-- the Germans, of
course, knew they were doing it,

and they got in there and
started torpedoing all

the ships, you know,
all the ships they could

that were involved
in this exercise.

And he was on one of them.

And of course, his was filled
with gasoline and all kinds

of things that he--

I guess, it really
upset him, you know.

Of course, it
would upset anybody

to be in a situation like that.

You know there was a U-boat.

And a lot of the ships
were getting hit.

He could see the flames
going up and explosions.

And that really upset him, of
course, like, you would anybody.

But either the Germans
run out of torpedoes

or they let off that
his boat didn't get hit.

Then, of course,
later on, he was

in on the invasion of Normandy.

He was at Utah Beach.

That's where he landed.

But he was hit.

That time, it was a land mine
when the carrier came in.

And I guess, it-- it
really tore the ship up.

Anyway, he was lucky
to get out of that.

And he was rescued
by an English ship.

And they were rescued from that
ship and put on a British ship.

And of course, they
were regrouped and--

and came in at a later date.

But anyway, those are two quite
harrowing experiences that he

told, talked about to me.

I think after the war, you know,
especially the combat he was in,

and everything, where he-- he
saw all the carnage of war,

it really kind of had a really
definitely an effect on him.

And he wanted to--
when he came back,

he wanted to do
things that were good,

to try to help people, and--

and try to negate all his
thoughts about the war.

When he came into Washington
on the bus, it was dark.

And of course, the bus stop
was the old store over here

that he eventually owned.

And it was dark and there
were no street lights,

except for just a
little one right

in the center here of town.

He became the mayor.

It was in 1950, and he
was the mayor until 1964.

And so he was actually
the mayor for 14 years.

But during that period
of time, he really

wanted to improve Washington.

Like I say, that was kind
of a catalyst when he came

into town to see no lights.

They were-- and the ones
that were there, that kids

had shot them out with BB guns.

He loved the town, too.

I mean, he grew
up in Washington.

And it was just part of his--

his being, I guess, if
you want to call it that.

We come
before thee this day

to dedicate this
statue, memorial statue,

of one of our residents in
this community, who we love

and who we have
appreciated over the years.

We are so grateful
for his service

and for his talents
and his willingness

to share all with us.

And we appreciate
all of those who,

during that Second
World War conflict,

whose pictures are inside
the Museum of that generation

of individuals.

And Quentin represents them,
as we put this statue of him

as a memorial to
him and to them.

May we all remember
them simultaneously.

As we come and
visit this memorial,

we'll be able to
remember those men who

serve not only in that
conflict, but before,

and those who have served since,
and those who continue to serve.

A hero is not just someone
who runs toward danger--

But someone who
carries the weight

of others' safety in their
heart long before the first step

is taken.

A hero is forged in silence--

In sacrifice.

And in the willingness to
give up comfort and time.

For veterans, heroism
is not a single act,

but a thread woven
through countless moments.

Standing watch in
the dead of night,

writing letters home
with shaking hands.

Holding the line
when others couldn't.

It's found in the quiet
resolve to protect strangers.

To endure
unimaginable hardship.

And to never leave
someone behind.

Veterans are heroes not
because they wore a uniform,

but because they wore the
burden of freedom for us all.

And never ask for anything
in return, but remembrance.

They are the ones who
stood between chaos and calm.

And now, where marching
on or fading away quietly

into the crowd--

They carry the stories
we must never forget.