Ceremonies Salute Soldiers Who Made the Ultimate Sacrifice

Quiet emotion marked Memorial Day ceremonies in Ventura County on Monday, as hundreds of veterans and their families gathered to hear speeches and lay wreaths in honor of those who lost their lives in battle.

In a solemn ceremony amid hundreds of American flags lining the paths of Ivy Lawn Cemetery in Ventura, Rep. Robert J. Lagomarsino (R-Ventura) told a crowd of 300 that the sacrifices of America’s war dead have paved the way for democracy in some Eastern bloc countries.

“The countries that some of us never thought would be free are becoming free,” Lagomarsino said. “Let’s all pause to consider how much of the new democracy now sweeping the globe is directly attributable to the day-to-day sacrifices of these men and women at arms.”

Thousands of military men and women remain missing in action or may still be held as prisoners of war, and they too should be remembered, said Lagomarsino, who is chairman of the House POW-MIA Task Force.

After Lagomarsino’s speech, more than three dozen wreaths were presented by Ventura veterans groups, including the American Legion, the Retired Officers Assn. and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Many saluted stiffly after placing the bright bouquets before the podium.

At a ceremony across the county, Rear Adm. George Strohsahl Jr., commander of the Pacific Missile Test Center at Point Mugu, addressed a crowd of about 250 at Pierce Bros. Santa Paula Cemetery.

Erect in full white uniform, Strohsahl said although the phrases glasnost and perestroika seemed to signify a movement toward peace between the Soviet Union and the United States, “We can’t count on phrases to keep the sea lanes open, or the skies free of enemy missiles and aircraft.”

Strohsahl saluted the ultimate sacrifice Americans made in past wars but cautioned: “Democracy works, but not without sacrifice or a standing, strong and ready military.”

While praising all Americans who have died in battle since the Revolutionary War, Strohsahl gave special attention to the Vietnam War, which he called “a bitter conflict.”

Strohsahl said although many Americans questioned the validity of the Vietnam War, “no cause is unjust when freedom is the price.”

At the end of each service, spectators stood at attention as a solitary bugle sounded taps. They then dispersed for a quiet moment at the gravesides of friends or relatives.

At Ivy Lawn, Vietnam veteran Ernie Tumamait placed a bouquet next to the gravestone of his father, World War II medic Vernon L. Tumamait, who died in 1955. He also placed a bouquet on the grave of a soldier buried next to his father, someone he never knew.

“The ceremony was beautiful,” Tumamait said. Next to him stood his wife, Anita, and his two young grandchildren, Johnny and Monique. The couple said they brought the children so they could see what Memorial Day is really about, and why they get the day off school.

Said Tumamait: “I think every young person should understand the importance of this day.”

Holiday TRIBUTES: Los Angeles area ceremonies honor fallen veterans. B7