‘At Least This Time They Showed Up’: 200 Turn Out For Cheyenne Memorial Day Ceremony

CHEYENNE —  “At least this time they showed up,” quipped Ross “Poke” Tucker before the start of Monday afternoon’s Memorial Day ceremony at Cheyenne National Cemetery.

“Yeah, let’s just say they caught a little flak over that one,” added Rob Courtier.

The two local Marines who served in the Vietnam War were part of a crowd of about 200 people that gathered for the first Memorial Day remembrance event after last year’s observance was quietly canceled.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, which oversees national cemeteries, didn’t update its website with the cancellation, prompting people from around the state and region to travel to Cheyenne for a ceremony.

“They told everybody it was going to happen, then nobody showed up,” Tucker said. “Even the VA didn’t show up. But I did, I was here.”

Not having a ceremony quickly drew the ire of people who showed up expecting one last year, which traveled up the chain of command to U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis. The Wyoming Republican was quick to demand answers from the VA.

There was no way that was going to happen again, said Tony Thomas, director of Fort Logan National Cemetery Complex in Colorado, which also includes Cheyenne.

“No miscommunication this year,” he told Cowboy State Daily.

The 620 veterans buried in the cemetery deserve all the honor and respect people can give them, Thomas added when speaking to the crowd.

“Throughout our nation’s history, patriots from all walks of life, from the Revolutionary War to Afghanistan … have paid the ultimate price,” he said.

‘People Shouldn’t Ever See’

Courtier was a sergeant in Vietnam, a squadron commander, and said days like Monday are difficult, but also extremely important.

Asked who he was remembering, his eyes grew watery as he answered.

“I got so many I couldn’t even begin to tell you,” Courtier said. “I know a lot of names on that wall, more than I want to know.”

There is one fellow soldier whom he singles out to remember.

“One of them I went to boot camp with, and he didn’t make it 10 days,” Courtier said. “They said over there (in Vietnam) the average life expectancy was 10 days.”

James Cowman adopted a far-away look recalling the comrades he served with who never made it home.

“There are too many, just too many names,” he said, adding there are things he and others saw in wartime that “people shouldn’t ever see.”

The self-described 88-year-old ski bum also was a Marine and served as an officer in Vietnam from 1961 “until about 1970-something.”

Despite having a commission, Cowman said there was no getting out of being a real soldier in the U.S. Marines.

“I was a tanker by trade, but the shit hit the fan bad in ’66-’67, and I ended up as a grunt, like everybody else in the Marine Corps,” he said. “That’s you in the Marine Corps — a guy with a rifle.

“And when they need you, you better go, plain and simple.”

‘Not A Day For Parades’

The sky over Cheyenne parted briefly for Monday’s ceremony after a weekend of dreary rain, only to grow dark and ominous about halfway through. While a chilly wind picked up and loud, long peals of thunder rumbled overhead, the next round of rainstorms held off until the playing of taps.

The featured speaker was retired Army Col. Rosemary Harding, who reminded those in attendance that Memorial Day is not a celebration.

“Memorial Day is not a day for parades,” she said. “It’s a day to remember (even as) families are left with an emptiness and grief that remains.”

She said that how we remember those who gave their lives for America’s freedom is as important as that they’re remembered.

“We should never, can never, forget these brave souls,” Harding said. “We have a duty to never leave a fallen comrade behind.”

Greg Johnson can be reached at greg@cowboystatedaily.com.