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Remembrance, politics take stage Washington Memorial Day

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Remembrance, politics take stage Washington Memorial Day


Washington Veteran Tod Crone watches as American Legion Post 29 Commander Michael York concludes the May 27, 2024 Memorial Day service. (Kalen McCain/The Union)

WASHINGTON — A Memorial Day service in Washington’s central park Monday morning opened with many of the typical traditions for the solemn holiday.

American Legion Post 29 members posted the colors, and Pastor Anthony DeVaughn gave an invocation. Speakers offered words of remembrance for prisoners of war and soldiers missing in action, while other recited Logan’s Order and the Gettysburg Address.

Veterans at the event stood for recognition — whether in dress uniforms or T-shirts and shorts — and were met with applause. Guests pledged allegiance to the flag, and heard Robin Flattery Timmins’ rendition of the Star Spangled Banner.

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“I want to thank you for continuing to honor the memory of those who have gone on before us, and given their all,” Legion Post Commander Michael York said to the crowd, before paraphrasing a quote from Former President Franklin D. Roosevelt. “Those who’ve long enjoyed such privileges as we do, forget in time that men and women have died to win these privileges.”

But in another address at the event, keynote speaker and retired Lt. Col. Darwin Peterson set a more partisan tone.

Keynote speaker and retired Lt. Col. Darwin Peterson took a partisan tone in his Memorial Day address in Washington. Peterson argued that what he called "social and moral decay" had created a nation fallen service members would no longer recognize. (Kalen McCain/The Union)

Keynote speaker and retired Lt. Col. Darwin Peterson took a partisan tone in his Memorial Day address in Washington. Peterson argued that what he called “social and moral decay” had created a nation fallen service members would no longer recognize. (Kalen McCain/The Union)

Peterson said he prepared his speech by thinking about what questions a soldier killed in action might ask, if they could reach through time and inquire Americans today. The only such question, Peterson concluded, would be whether their sacrifice had been worth it, and created a decisively better country.

The answer, the retired military official argued, was no. He lamented the state of several hot-button issues — referencing roughly 600,000 abortion procedures performed in 2021, record-breaking levels of illegal immigration in 2024, federal support of electric vehicles, transgender students’ rights in school and criminal charges against former President Donald Trump, to name a few — and cited them as proof the nation was “not doing enough” to honor the service members memorialized on May 27.

Later in the speech, Peterson called on audience members to “elect leaders” that would “stop the social and moral decay that we see all around us,” referencing the same list of grievances.

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“At this point, I imagine that some of you are somewhat annoyed with me,” he said. “Many of you may feel that a Memorial Day observance is not really a place for politics. I agree with you … I’m not talking politics here, I’m talking about honoring the great American patriots who gave their lives for their countrymen and their country. A country they would no longer recognize.”

The address drew a standing ovation from some in the audience, while others remained seated on lawn chairs and benches, declining to clap at all.

The ceremonies continued as normal after Peterson’s speech, returning somewhat seamlessly to less contentious traditions of years past.

Silhouetted by a clear, sunny sky and the shade of a tree in Washington's central park, an American Legion Post 29 member plays taps on Memorial Day, 2024. (Kalen McCain/The Union)

Silhouetted by a clear, sunny sky and the shade of a tree in Washington’s central park, an American Legion Post 29 member plays taps on Memorial Day, 2024. (Kalen McCain/The Union)

Another speaker read off the names of area veterans who died since last Memorial Day, each accompanied by the chime of a bell. Volunteers ceremoniously folded the American flag, previously draped over a casket. A rifle salute rang out across the square, followed by the somber bugle call of taps, before Timmins and audience members sang “God Bless America.”

DeVaughn gave a short benediction, and the colors were retired.

“May we never forget those who sacrificed their lives for our freedom, and may we continue to thank God,” said York, before dismissing the assembled crowd.

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Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com





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Bellevue vs. Renton: Watch Washington boys high school basketball tilt live tonight

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Bellevue vs. Renton: Watch Washington boys high school basketball tilt live tonight


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Bellevue travels to Renton High School on Friday night for a nonleague matchup that pits two surging programs coming in on win streaks. The Wolverines (12-2) enter riding momentum from last season’s state quarterfinal appearance, while the Red Hawks (7-8) look to build consistency under head coach Rashaad Powell.

Head coach Warren King returns a deep senior class led by Jackson Skaggs, Max Harrity, Eduardo Molina, Kenny Shin, Trevin King and Nick Norrah. The Wolverines also feature junior Tayten Jones, giving them a balanced roster capable of competing with any team in the state.

The Red Hawks counter with their own weapons. Senior Isaac Elegan anchors the lineup, while junior scorer Sudan Luok provides offensive firepower. Junior co-captains Julius White-Kelly, Nick Jarvis and Jalen Taylor round out a core that has shown flashes this season.

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Opening tipoff is set for 8 p.m. PT on Friday, January 16 with a live TV broadcast on NFHS Network.

• WATCH: Bellevue vs. Renton basketball is livestreaming on NFHS Network

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How to watch Bellevue vs. Renton basketball livestream

What: Wolverines, Red Hawks set for Friday night Showdown in Renton

When: Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. PT on Friday, January 16

Where: Renton High School | Renton, Washington

Watch live: Watch Bellevue vs. Renton live on the NFHS Network



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National Guard troops to stay on Washington, DC, streets through 2026

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National Guard troops to stay on Washington, DC, streets through 2026


WASHINGTON (AP) — National Guard troops will be on the streets of Washington, D.C., until the end of the year, according to a memo reviewed by The Associated Press.

The memo, signed by Army Secretary Dan Driscoll and dated Wednesday, said “the conditions of the mission” warranted an extension past the end of next month to continue supporting President Donald Trump’s “ongoing efforts to restore law and order.”

Meanwhile, Trump said this month that for now he was dropping his push to deploy National Guard troops in Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland, Oregon, which had provoked legal challenges. He also backed off a bit Friday from his threat a day earlier to invoke the Insurrection Act to deploy troops to quell protests in Minnesota.

In Washington, troops have been charged with patrolling the streets and picking up trash. Trump has asserted repeatedly that crime has vanished in the city.

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Two National Guard troops from West Virginia that were part of the mission in D.C. were shot the day before Thanksgiving. Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, died from her injuries.

The National Guard has about 2,400 troops in Washington, with about 700 from D.C. and the rest from 11 states with Republican governors, including Indiana, South Carolina, Alabama and Oklahoma.



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Skeletal remains that washed up on Washington beach identified as Oregon mayor who vanished 20 years ago

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Skeletal remains that washed up on Washington beach identified as Oregon mayor who vanished 20 years ago


Skeletal remains that washed up on a Washington beach have been identified as those of a former Oregon mayor who vanished in 2006, ending a 20-year mystery with the help of genetic genealogy.

Edwin Asher, who previously was mayor of Fossil, Oregon, disappeared while he was crabbing in Tillamook Bay, on the northwest coast of Oregon, on Sept. 5, 2006, the Grays Harbor County coroner and Othram, a forensic genetic genealogy lab, said in news releases this week.

He was presumed to have drowned and was legally declared dead that same year, officials said.

In November 2006, skeletal remains washed ashore in Taholah, an unincorporated village on the Quinault Indian Reservation in Grays Harbor County, Washington, the coroner’s office said.

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Taholah is about 124 miles north of Tillamook Bay.

The local sheriff’s and coroner’s offices responded and collected evidence.

It was determined the remains were those of a man estimated to 20 to 60 years old or older, 5 feet, 9 inches tall and an estimated 170 to 180 pounds.

However, the man was never identified, and he became known as the “Grays Harbor County John Doe (2006).”

Last year, the Grays Harbor Coroner’s Office and the King County medical examiner submitted forensic evidence to Othram to try to identify John Doe.

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Scientists used genome sequencing to build a DNA profile for the man and genetic genealogy search to develop “new investigative leads.”

Investigators were led to potential relatives of the man, and reference DNA samples were collected from a relative and compared with those of John Doe.

Finally, it led to a positive identification: Grays Harbor John Doe was Clarence Edwin “Ed” Asher, born April 2, 1934.

He was 72 when he died.

Asher was born in Salem and raised in Astoria, and in 1952 he moved to Fossil, where he was a lineman technician for the Fossil Telephone Co. until he retired in 1995, according to his obituary. He also opened his own shop, Asher’s Variety Store, in 1965.

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He loved antique cars, fishing and boating, the obituary said.

He had served as mayor and also volunteered as a local fireman and ambulance driver.

He was survived by his wife of over 20 years, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. NBC News has reached out to the city of Fossil for comment.

Forensic genetic genealogy has grown in popularity in recent years and has helped solve decades-old cold cases.



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