Candy’s Column: Honoring Wyoming Veterans

Posted by Candy Moulton

As people line up to vote in the 2024 election, I want to pay tribute to the men and women who shaped our republic some 250 years ago and those who defended it for two and a half centuries. Their service will be recognized on Monday during Veterans Day, and their sacrifice means we have opportunities and choices in our lives.

I was just a little girl when I saw my first veterans memorial in Wyoming. It is located on the southwest corner of the Carbon County Courthouse at 5 Rawlins.^th and W. Pine Street. I was probably five years old when I stood on this corner with my family in a long line of people waiting in a cup for a sugar cube that was the polio vaccine.

My sister, brother and I were probably bored waiting in line, so as we walked past the Veterans Monument, our father led us to it and read some of the many names of soldiers who served in the armed forces. We all knew that he was an aircraft mechanic in the Army Air Corps and had been in Mississippi and Alabama during World War II, which he always called “The Great War.”

There have been more wars since I was a child and other family members and friends have been exposed to danger in the Army, Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard and Marine Corps. And over the decades, I’ve seen other veterans’ memorials—some of them very simple, like the stone marker for World War II veterans in Hanna. Others are more complex, like the monuments at Memorial Park in Cody.

One of the newest in Wyoming is the Walk of Honor, Wind River Veterans Memorial, on the Wind River Reservation near Fort Washakie. This beautiful memorial to Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho veterans who served in all branches of the military is an inspiring site with a red carpet symbolizing Native American courage and the desire to live a purposeful life.

The four stones that form the memorial symbolize the eras leading up to the world wars, as well as World Wars I and II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, and then the post-Vietnam era, including the Gulf Wars. When viewed together, the four stones also represent the buffalo, a symbol of strength and courage.

One of the statements engraved on the Wind River Memorial is a phrase often used on memorials: “Our flag does not fly because the wind moves it. He flies with the last breath of every soldier who died defending him.”

We should all think about this as we celebrate our veterans on November 11th. Of course, this timing is important because November 11th^th hour 11^th day 11th^th The month of 1918 is the armistice between the Allied countries and Germany, marking the end of the First World War.

As we all know, more wars followed, and even now, events are unfolding that involve many nations and continue to require service and sacrifice on the part of the men and women of the United States Armed Forces.

My friend Scotty Ratliff served in Vietnam and suffered injuries that he has had to deal with since the day he was wounded. One of his sayings is included in the Wind River Veterans Memorial: “Service does not make the warrior, but service makes the warrior.”

Anyone who knows Scotty understands that he was a warrior not only on the battlefield, but on the reservation and in Wyoming. I know him best as the founder (along with some friends) of the Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame.

Scotty was the first tribal member elected to the Wyoming State Legislature, serving from 1980 to 1992. He also served as tribal spokesman for U.S. Senators Michael Enzi and Cynthia Lummis. He is officially retiring and will be celebrated Friday from 3 to 5 p.m. at a reception at the Central Wyoming Community College Intertribal Center.

One of his contributions to the tribal community and state is the Wind River Veterans Memorial.

Other statements from tribal members are part of this memorial, including a statement from Burnett Lee Brown that reads, in part: “I cried, I suffered, I hoped and I prayed. But most of all, I lived through times that others would say were best forgotten… I can say that I was proud of who I was, a United States Marine, for my tribe and for my country, the United States of America. “

When it’s 11^th hour 11^th day 11th^th As the month approaches next week, take a moment to remember all the veterans. In the meantime, take a walk around your city or county and pay your respects at your local veterans memorial, because as I travel around Wyoming, I can tell you that almost every city has one or a sign. Some of them are large and impressive, others are small, but all of them are significant in their significance.

Candy Moulton can be reached at [email protected].