Santa Rosa Memorial Day observances honor war dead

Hundreds gathered in the chill of an overcast morning at Santa Rosa Memorial Park on Monday to pay respects to those who have died in service to the United States Armed Forces.

They remembered, in some cases, family members and dear friends. Others recalled service members they fought alongside. Still others honored men and women they never knew but felt indebted to, nonetheless.

For Linda Kynoch of Santa Rosa, whose son, Army Cpl. Joshua Kynoch, died 10 years ago in Bayji, Iraq when his Bradley Fighting Vehicle triggered an IED, or improvised explosive device, the loss remains fresh despite a decade spent trying to learn to accept it, she said.

But Kynoch, the keynote speaker in a Memorial Day program that blended somber reflection with patriotic ritual, credited community support with helping her move forward, and said her son’s daughter and two sisters offered daily reminders of “why I must stay strong and stand tall.”

“No matter how sad I feel, I will always stand with great pride in what all have given for our freedom in this great nation,” Kynoch said.

Hosted by the American Legion, the Marine Corps League Detachment 686, and a host of other service groups in partnership with Memorial Park, Monday’s event drew what looked to be about 600 people of all ages, in civilian clothes and in uniform, though many among the latter group appeared grayed and some needed help to stand.

Proudly attired in headwear bearing insignia and medals related to their military service, they saluted crisply during the Pledge of Allegiance, the National Anthem, and the posting of the flag, raised this year in honor of Navy veteran Herb Louden, a Pearl Harbor survivor, who died on Veterans Day at age 97.

There were occasional tears, as well, when the Redwood Chordsmen singing group offered a medly of anthems honoring each branch of Armed Forces. Those representing each force were asked to stand in turn, as representatives from a dozen service groups offered wreaths and a lone bugler played taps.

“This stuff makes my eyeballs sweat,” Master of Ceremonies Steve Bosshard admitted at one point during the program.

“Taps is the heartbreaker,” said Ignacio Anguiano, 34, an Iraq War Marine Corps vet. “It took me a very long time to listen to taps.”

For Col. Kathy Corsiglia, a retired Army nurse from Santa Rosa who served during the Vietnam War, the event was an opportunity both to greet new friends and to grieve old ones she knew long ago, in a different kind of place.

“I have such a wonderful feeling about all the people who have dedicated their youth...” she said, trailing off as the tears came. “I became a nurse to take care of my friends.”

For Navy veteran Richard Jones, who also served during Vietnam, Memorial Day “is the most special day of the year” - a time to remember the brothers in arms who walked in your boots and had your back, held your trust.

That camaraderie and kinship, “It’s with you the rest of your life,” said Jones, president of Sonoma County Vet Connect Inc., a veterans’ service agency.

“You eat, sleep and sweat with these guys,” said Anguiano, who works with Jones, of those who served with him.

With her stars-and-stripes-patterned sneakers, her fancy red-white-and-blue painted nails and her poodle’s U.S. flag kerchief, Lily Caldera, 30, displayed a love of country seldom seen among Americans of her age.

But the Mexican-born Caldera, who hopes to gain her citizenship this year after 23 years of living on U.S. soil, said she’s always felt a love of the United States, a respect for its “rich history,” and a deep appreciation for ?the service members who gave their lives to make it great.

“They died to make this the dream country,” said Caldera, who approached several veterans after the ceremony to thank them personally and shake their hands.

In a separate ceremony that followed at nearby Santa Rosa Rural Cemetery, members of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War honored the Union and Confederate soldiers whose suffering and strife helped define the nation, though not without the loss of more than 600,000 lives by the time the war ended 150 years ago.

Many others left part of them on the battlefield, returning home with physical, emotional and mental scars, said speaker Dean Enderlin.

Santa Rosa resident Ted Wilmsen, a Vietnam War-era Army veteran who was among about 300 who attended the program in the oak-studded cemetery off Franklin Avenue, wiped away tears as a bugler up the hill played taps.

He’s troubled, he said, that men and women go into battle over and over in the name of God, praying for God’s protection against a foe, “when in fact the tears of God rain down for thousands of years seeing that people just can’t seem to get along.”

You can reach Staff Writer Mary Callahan at 521-5249 or mary.callahan@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @MaryCallahanB.