Veterans organizations honoring the fallen

Local veterans organizations have ceremonies planned for Monday morning as Americans around the country honor fallen soldiers on Memorial Day.

The Clovis event begins at 10 a.m. at Lawn Haven Memorial Gardens Cemetery and the Portales event begins at 10:30 a.m. by the flagpole at the Portales Cemetery.

Dale Streeter, commander of American Legion Post 31 in Portales, said the organization puts on the event each year as a way to honor men and women who sacrificed their life for their country.

Streeter said the event will feature several speakers including Col. John Boudreaux, commander of the 27th Special Operations Mission Support Group at Cannon Air Force Base, Portales Mayor Ron Jackson and other members of the community.

“Memorial Day is one of the most important days of the year for national remembrance of people who sacrifice their lives in our wars and it commemorates service men and women,” Streeter said.

In Clovis, the various veteran’s organizations get together each year for a joint Memorial Day ceremony, a tradition that will be continued again on Monday.

“It’s an opportunity for us to honor our fallen as a group rather than individually,” said Tom Creehan, commander of American Legion Post 25 in Clovis.

Creehan said the Clovis ceremony will also feature guest speakers from the community and Cannon. He said he hopes those in attendance take away simply, “a thought.”

“Think about what these men and women who have died for us have provided,” Creehan said.

Dale Huft, quartermaster for VFW Post 3015, said members will take part in the Clovis ceremony, then return to the post to prepare for a 1 p.m. cookout. Huft isn’t sure how long the post has kept the tradition going, but he knows it was standard when he first was associated with the post in 1994.

“It’s (an important day) for everybody,” Huft said. “We need to remember the people who sacrificed their lives to give us the freedoms we had. I always wish more people would be at the ceremony as well.”

Both events are estimated to last about 30 minutes. Leading up to Monday, members of American Legion Post 25 in Clovis and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 9515 in Portales also placed American flags by veteran’s graves.

Streeter said he hopes Monday’s event inspires the community to remember and appreciate what the armed forces provide.

“It’s just a reminder of the sacrifice the men and women have made to defend (the country),” Streeter said. “It’s about sacrifice, it’s about service, it’s about duty.”