Memorial service planned by VFW
May 25, 2010
The Issaquah Veteran of Foreign Wars Post 3436 hosts a Memorial Day Service at Hillside Cemetery at 10 a.m. May 31, just below the Veterans Section.
The Issaquah High School Junior Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps unit will provide the Color Guard and Honor Guard for a 21-gun salute. The Liberty High School Junior Naval ROTC will provide buglers.
VFW sponsored Boy Scout Troop No. 709 and Cub Scout Pack No. 639 will help set up at 9 a.m. May 29 and take down decorations from the cemetery after the ceremony. There will be someone at the cemetery between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday to hand out forms for people to specify the symbols — such as crosses and flags — they want on their veterans’ graves.
Lest we forget
May 25, 2010
Click here to view The Issaquah Press’ Veterans Section.
Press Editorial
May 25, 2010
‘Lest we forget’ section honors our veterans
Veterans, we salute you! This issue of The Issaquah Press is the first Memorial Day remembrance of Issaquah men and women veterans “lest we forget.” Please know that your service to our country is appreciated, no matter whether you are currently serving in the armed forces or did your duty decades ago.
We hope this impressive collection of photos remembering our local soldiers will grow and become an annual tradition.
The idea began with two local veterans — Press Editor Kathleen Merrill and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3436 Assistant Quartermaster Dave Waggoner. Together, they approached a few local businesses who willingly agreed to help cover printing costs. The Press publicized the search for local veterans, while Waggoner handed out flyers to his fellow VFW friends and at other locations, including the Issaquah Farmers Market. Read more
Veterans’ families need to decide on grave markers
April 27, 2010
Once again this year, the local chapter of the Veterans of Foreign Wars plans to continue its two-decade tradition of placing flags and crosses at this year’s Memorial Day service at Hillside Cemetery.
And once again, members need input from the families of veterans buried there to get the job done.
This year’s Memorial Day ceremony is at 10 a.m. May 31 at the cemetery.
In 2008, a resident complained about the placement of crosses at the gravesites. The VFW and Flintoft’s Funeral Home now ask families of veterans buried at the cemetery to sign a form authorizing the placement of various symbols, including a flag, cross, Star of David or other symbols that a family recommends at the gravesite. Families can choose more than one symbol or none.
Some family members may not want their veteran’s grave marked with a cross and it’s possible that a U.S. flag may not be appropriate for some graves, too, he said.
Issaquah Valley Grange honors David Waggoner as its man of the year
April 20, 2010
David Waggoner seems to be the community’s go-to guy when a volunteer is needed. Take last year, for example.
Waggoner of course accepted the offer when U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert asked him to serve on the board of volunteers of the Honor Flights Project. The project flies World War II veterans to Washington, D.C., to view the national memorial for the war.
“I was honored to give my time and effort to get as many of them back to D.C. as we could,” said Waggoner, 66, himself a veteran of the Vietnam War.
Because of his selfless efforts helping those in the community, the Issaquah Valley Grange is honoring him with its Man of the Year award for 2010 next week.
For a man who seemingly was never short on time to volunteer for one group or another, Waggoner was surprisingly short of words when it came to being honored for his efforts.
“I am humbled by the man of the year,” he said. “I have never been one before. I have no other words to say.”
Honor Flight program gets World War II vets to D.C. memorial
November 17, 2009
David Waggoner, who is working to get donations to fly World War II veterans to Washington, D.C., to see the national WWII memorial, speaks to a local group on Veterans Day. By Greg Farrar
As the ceremonies of Veterans Day fade, one local man is hoping to keep that spirit alive through the rest of the year by launching the Freedom Fighters Honor Flight program.
The national program flies World War II veterans to Washington, D.C., to see the national World War II memorial. The newly formed Puget Sound area chapter will fly its first veterans there March 22 and 23.
“They served our country and it’s a way for us to say thanks and that we didn’t forget,” said David Waggoner, a retired lieutenant colonel who served with the Army in Vietnam and who is commander for Issaquah’s Veterans of Foreign Wars outpost.
He knows all too well what seeing that memorial means, after being drafted and serving in Vietnam and losing many men and friends. Read more
Memorial Day services set for Monday
May 19, 2009
Members of the VFW Post No. 3436, led by Post Cmdr. David Waggoner (foreground) perform Memorial Day services at Hillside Cemetery last year. File
The local chapter of the Veterans of Foreign Wars will hold a 10 a.m. Memorial Day service at Hillside Cemetery.
Issaquah City Councilman Fred Butler, a veteran of the U.S. Army, will be the guest speaker. The Issaquah High School junior ROTC will provide a color guard and a 21-gun salute at the conclusion of the service. In observance of Memorial Day, flags will be flown at half-staff.
At 9 a.m. May 23, VFW members and Boy Scouts will begin placing flags and crosses at gravesites, said Dave Waggoner, senior vice commander of the local VFW post.
“We’re one of the last little towns who still holds a service at the cemetery,” Waggoner said.
Veteran crosses not all welcome
April 21, 2009
Graves in Hillside Cemetery are decorated for Memorial Day. File
The local chapter of the Veterans of Foreign Wars plans to continue its two-decadelong tradition of placing flags and crosses at this year’s Memorial Day service at Hillside Cemetery. But members need input from the families of veterans buried there to get the job done.
Last year, an Issaquah resident complained about the placement of crosses at the gravesites, said David Waggoner, senior vice commander of the VFW Albert Larson Post No. 3436.
Because of the complaint, the VFW and Flintoft’s Funeral Home are asking families of veterans buried at the cemetery to sign a form authorizing the placement of various symbols and what they want them to be. Those include a flag, a cross, a Star of David or other symbol that a family recommends at the gravesite. Read more
Local Scouts help remember our veterans
November 18, 2008
Cub Scouts in Pack 639, sponsored by Issaquah VFW Post 3436, collect and return spent shells used in the Veterans Day 21-gun salute at City Hall to post commander David Waggoner. Photo by Greg Farrar.
For some students, Nov. 11 may have just been a day off from school. But for others, it was a time toremember sacrifices made by many men and women who have served in the country’s armed forces.
Veterans Day celebrated
November 4, 2008
The Issaquah Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3436 hosts a Veterans Day Service at 11 a.m. Nov. 11 at Veterans Memorial Field. City Council member Eileen Barber will accept the VFW’s gift to the city of 11 new U.S. flags to fly atop the flagpoles in Issaquah.
This is the VFW’s fourth year of the project. Issaquah High School’s Naval Junior ROTC Honor Guard will fire a 21-gun salute.
