Community

by Cyndy Hardy | Special to SedonaDaily.com
 
Sedona, AZ - Saturday, May 26, 2007 -Twenty-one rifle shots pierced Sedona’s desert stillness Saturday, at the first annual Memorial Day Event at Posse Ground Community Park hosted by the City of Sedona, to honor past present and future American soldiers.
 
In other deserts halfway around the world, reported American military and civilian war casualties increased by eight – totaling more than 3,800 since March 19, 2003, according to the U.S. Department of Defense.

“Freedom is like friendship and loved ones; it should never be taken for granted,” said Sedona Mayor Pud Colquitt.

“I’ve been free all of my life. But, it is not free.” she said, “Many soldiers paid the price with their lives.”
 
1st Sgt. (Ret.) Storm Cozy served as a drill sergeant in the U.S. Army military police from 1982 to 2004.
 
“I have lost track of the number of friends and soldiers of mine who paid the ultimate sacrifice,” Ms. Cozy said. “I remember their families at unit picnics and the looks across the barriers at deployment [as the families said goodbye].”
 
“I remind myself that there are currently sons, daughters, sisters, brothers and – yes – even grandmothers and grandfathers serving in Afghanistan and Iraq,” she said.

A bugler from Cottonwood VFW Post 7400 sounded “Taps” as the smell of hamburgers, popcorn and cotton candy floated on the cool breeze. Every member in the Post’s color guard was a decorated soldier.

The contrasting sensations stirred up memories for some to whom, when they were younger, ‘Kamikaze’ and ‘Bonsai’ meant not fancy drinks and trees; but ‘enemy.’
 
“At night, the Bonsais would storm us like ants. We’d mow them down like flies,” Glenn Smith, past exalted ruler of Sedona Elks Lodge No. 2291, said Saturday as he manned the Elks’ volunteer booth.
 
The Sedona Elks Lodge has collected donations for U.S. troops for about a year. So far, about 125 packages have been sent to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to Exalted Ruler Vito Pantaleo.

The packages include items such as toothpaste, disposable razors, deodorant and fabric softener sheets.
 
“The soldiers put the sheets inside their collars, sleeves and pant legs to repel insects,” Mr. Smith said.

Mr. Smith was among the first American children, sometimes called military “brats,” in Austria, living with his father in a three-story building once used by Nazi forces.
 
Mr. Smith was 17 years old when he followed his father’s footsteps by joining the U.S. Army Reserves. Almost immediately, he was called to serve in the Korean War. He spent two years in enemy territory above the 38th Parallel.

Another Elk’s member, Ruthanne Plase, said her father flew 35 missions over Germany in World War II. He would come in with holes all over his B-17 bomber plane. “‘Those babies got us home, though,’ he’d tell me,” Ms. Plase said, a little girl’s pride shining in her eyes.

The gleam dimmed as she talked about one of her students who refused to remove his hat before an American flag.

“He said, ‘Why? It’s just a piece of cloth,’” Ms. Plase said sadly.

Many Americans take freedom for granted, Mr. Smith said. His sister realized this during a trip to Saudi Arabia last year.
 
While eating in a mall with her male travel companions, a guard made her move because women were not allowed to eat with men, Mr. Smith said.
 
Many of the men and women who sat side-by-side at Posse Ground probably never thought twice about this simple freedom.
 
They shared military stories, watched the children play and celebrated the winners of the chili cook-off and pie contest.
 
Resident Bob Huggins’ secret ingredient, smoked tomatoes, may have edged him over his only competitor to win the chili contest.

Dottie Webster’s blackberry/apple pie won first place.
 
More than 100 attended the event - a small turn out for a city of nearly 12,000 – though respectable in a small-town context.
 
“This is just the start,” said Sedona Vice Mayor Jerry Frey.
 
Posse Ground was once the hub of community activity in Sedona, Mr. Frey said, where people gathered for rodeos, community picnics and Fourth of July celebrations.
 
The city hosted the event, which was coordinated by D’Nell Monroe, administrative assistant.

Bob Jensen, perhaps the oldest veteran at the event at age 88, sat contentedly with his wife of 30 years, Joan.
 
Mr. Jensen served in the U.S. Navy in WWII from 1944 to 1946, on an LST amphibian ship in the Pacific Theater.
 
The simple celebration was fitting for him.
 
Memorial Day is a time to reflect, not just on the service men, but on the families who enjoy the freedoms won, Mr. Jensen said.
 
He could have gone to a fancier celebration in Phoenix, but it’s not the same, he said.
 
“I’m a small-town boy,” Mr. Jensen said.