PORT TOWNSEND — Memorize this phone number and share it freely, Post Commander Kathryn Bates said: 800-273-8255, extension 1, is the Veterans’ Crisis Line. It offers confidential help 24 hours a day.
“We must remove all stigmas from asking for help,” be it for depression or post-traumatic stress, Bates added. She addressed a multi-generational audience of about 60 people during the Veterans Day ceremony at 11 a.m. Thursday.
On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, veterans of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard gathered at the American Legion hall in downtown Port Townsend.
The hall is known as Marvin G. Shields Memorial Post 26 in memory of Shields, the only Navy Seabee to have received the Medal of Honor.
Shields, killed near Dong Xoai, Vietnam, on June 9, 1965, is buried at Gardiner Cemetery.
To begin Thursday’s ceremony, Post Chaplain Muyo Swanson offered a somber message. As many as 15 to 20 veterans die by suicide every day, according to U.S. Department of Defense report, Swanson told the assembly.
Keep the veterans you know at the front of your mind, he added, “and try to do what you can to help them.”
After members of the Port Townsend Summer Band played the National Anthem, Bates gave her commander’s address. She reminded her listeners of the variety of people who have served in the U.S. military, including Harriet Tubman, who was a nurse and cook in the Union Army, and Jackie Robinson, who served in the Army’s 761st Black Panthers tank battalion in World War II.
A bad day at work for a service member, Bates said, can mean the worst of consequences: watching a friend die or losing a limb. We must remember the sacrifices veterans have made.
The top priority today, Bates added, is suicide prevention.
She asked members of the audience to talk with the veterans in their lives. She urged veterans to talk with one another; “we encourage buddy chats,” she said.
The commander also recommended “Walk in My Combat Boots,” by James Patterson and retired Army First Sgt. Matt Eversmann. The book is a collection of interviews with men and women who served in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan, about their experiences fighting, losing friends and coming home.
“We remind all vets,” Bates said, “that their service matters.”
At the front of the legion hall, a small table was set up in honor of prisoners of war and of service members missing in action. On it were several symbols, including a slice of lemon — for their bitter fate — and a candle for the light of hope, to illuminate their way home.
Swanson, in his benediction at the end of the ceremony, added that he’s been thinking of his fellow service members who won’t have the chance to grow old.
“May we never forget,” he said.
“Namaste,” added Muyo, using a Sanskrit word expressing respect.
“Thank you all.”
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Jefferson County senior reporter Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-417-3509 or durbanidelapaz@peninsuladailynews.com.
