SPRINGFIELD – The inevitable return of Oregon rain clouds held off on Monday morning for Springfield’s 77th Annual Memorial Day Ceremony.
The City of Springfield partnered with the American Legion Post #40 to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice and reflect on the cost of freedom at the Veterans Plaza at Willamalane Park.
Flag bearers representing various military branches held up flags representing America, the Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, POW, Oregon, and Springfield Lodge #2145. The Willamette Leadership Academy (WLA), a military-style charter school, raised the American flag to half-mast as a mark of respect for soldiers who have died.
Nick Gillaspie, American Legion Post #40 Commander and Air Force veteran, introduced distinguished guests who gave speeches, including Springfield Mayor Sean VanGordon and Lane County Commissioner David Loveall.
“The military draws people from the varied and the diverse, but the path always points in the same direction, the same mission to defend the country and its citizens from external threats, protect national interests, and to be a responder of domestic emergencies,” Loveall said. “This fundamental purpose paves the way for that inner, eternal search to be discovered, the one where veterans make a meaningful impact on the world by their sacrifice of service.”
VanGordon recited the names of Springfield residents who gave their lives in service to the country.
“There are no perfect words for the loss carried by families, their friends, and the communities who gave so much. We remember those who were loved, brothers, daughters, parents, friends, and who in return cared enough about others, about their fellow Americans, to give their lives,” VanGordon said.
“Today, my family remembers Isaac VanGordon, U.S. Army. We remember the many names we carry in our hearts, including those not spoken aloud today. We honor it in how we live, in how we treat people, and how we carry forward the idea that we are stronger when we stand together,” he said.
Marine veteran and Thurston High School graduate Troy Olsen honored Second Lieutenant Dennis Daggett with a Battlefield Cross ceremony presented by WLA. Daggett lived most of his life in Lane County. He served as an infantry officer in Vietnam from 1967 to 1968. He has been awarded a Bronze and Silver Star for gallantry in action while engaged in military operations against an armed hostile force in Vietnam.
On Nov. 17, 1967, Daggett was serving as a platoon leader with Company C, 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division in Vietnam. His unit was conducting a search-and-destroy mission southwest of Ban Blech when they encountered a much larger North Vietnamese Army on a ridgeline.
Despite being heavily outnumbered, Daggett repeatedly led assaults against enemy bunkers at close range. His attacks pushed the enemy back and prevented his platoon from being overrun. As the battle intensified and enemy fire poured in from multiple directions, Daggett reorganized his men and continued to direct the fight, exposing himself to danger. He coordinated the withdrawal of his troops so that artillery could be brought to bear on the enemy position.
“Lieutenant Daggett described the battle in this way: if you held up one finger, it would have been hit. The fire was that thick,” said Olsen.
His leadership, courage, and calm decision-making helped force the enemy into retreat and secured a victory for his unit. Daggett passed away at the age of 73 at Quail Park Memorial Care Residence in Eugene, after a lengthy battle with Alzheimer’s on January 17, 2017.
After Olsen explained Daggett’s services, WLA presented the Battlefield Cross. The symbolic replacement of a cross includes a soldier’s rifle pointed at the ground to show they were killed in action, their boots to symbolize their final march into their last battle, dog tags signify the fallen soldier, and the helmet that rests on the butt of the rifle, indicative of the great sacrifice that has been made.
Olsen said the collection of the Battlefield Cross represents roughly 5,784 soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines who lost their lives from Oregon in this representation.
Gillaspie clarified some confusion that had arisen about the Air Force flyover. Many folks had become accustomed to seeing and hearing the fast-flying jets roll over before or during the Memorial Day ceremony.
He said paperwork for the flyover request starts around January, but they do not know what time they will be coming until four or five days before the event. The late notice makes it difficult to schedule the ceremony to line up with the flyover.
“We don’t think that we’re going to try to incorporate flyovers in the future, because this is what should be driving what’s going on today,” Gillaspie said, gesturing to the crowd.
About an hour and a half after the ceremony, the 142nd Wing out of the Portland Air National Guard Base made an appearance in the cloudy skies.
