SEQUIM — Eight days before the world commemorates the 60th anniversary of the Allies’ D-Day invasion of Adolf Hitler’s Atlantic Wall on the coast of France, World War II veterans joined other former service men and women for a Memorial Day ceremony Saturday morning at the VFW Post Hall.
It was a somber occasion for the 29 World War II veterans who came for a traditional military breakfast, a tribute to their service and a televised display of the dedication in Washington, D.C., of a national World War II memorial.
It was also an important event for almost 100 of their spouses, friends and colleagues who served in later conflicts.
Sequim Mayor Walt Schubert delivered a short statement in support of veterans everywhere.
“You have set the standard for all generations to live up to,” Schubert told the audience.
“Our military forces in harm’s way today have you as role models to lift and guide them.”
Emotional moment
For State Rep. Jim Buck, R-Joyce, the event was especially moving — and bittersweet.
The West Point graduate, who served as the event’s keynote speaker, choked back tears as he remembered his father, who died in late April at age 78.
“This will be the first Memorial Day in which Lance Cpl. James Buck Sr. will not be here,” the younger Buck said, choking back tears.
