On Monday May 27th, 2013, Evergreen Washelli will host our Annual Memorial Day Commemorative Service. Please join us as we honor America’s fallen and salute the flags on our “Avenue of Colors”.
In the morning, at 7:00 AM, there will be a Flag Placement at the Veterans Memorial Cemetery. Each of the 5000 white marble upright markers in the Veterans Section will receive a flag placed by hundreds of volunteers that will come out for this event. Veterans, scout groups, churches, local organizations and families will place the flags.
The 1:30 p.m. concert will feature marches, patriotic selections and other music provided by the Seattle Pacific University Symphonic Wind Ensemble and Drum Corps. The Service of Remembrance begins at 2:00 p.m.
Following the Memorial Day Commemorative Service, we invite you to attend a guided tour of the Veterans Memorial Cemetery and learn about the remarkable lives of the Medal of Honor recipients in our care.
Our guide this year will be David Bloch, son of the Medal of Honor recipient Orville Emil Bloch. We are extremely honored and excited to have him as our tour guide.
Kindly meet us at the Doughboy Statue in the Veterans Memorial Cemetery at 3:15 pm. We ask for a $5.00 suggested donation for attendance, which will go to the purchase of flags for the Avenue of Flags. For more information, and to reserve a spot, please call us at (206)362-5200 or email tours@washelli.com.
David Bloch at Washelli’s Medal of Honor Ceremony July 2011
Following the Memorial Day Commemorative Service on May 27, 2013, we invite you to attend a guided tour of the Veterans Memorial Cemetery and learn about the remarkable lives of the Medal of Honor recipients in our care.
Our guide this year will be David Bloch, son of the Medal of Honor recipient Orville Emil Bloch. We are extremely honored and excited to have him as our tour guide.
Kindly meet us at the Doughboy Statue in the Veterans Memorial Cemetery at 3:15 pm. We ask for a $5.00 suggested donation for attendance, which will go to the purchase of flags for the Avenue of Flags. For more information, and to reserve a spot, please call us at (206)362-5200 or email tours@washelli.com.
On Monday May 28th, 2012, Evergreen Washelli will host our Annual Memorial Day Commemorative Service. Please join us as we honor America’s fallen and salute the flags on our “Avenue of Colors”.
The 1:30 p.m. concert will feature marches, patriotic selections and other music provided by the Seattle Pacific University Symphonic Wind Ensemble and Drum Corps. The Service of Remembrance begins at 2:00 p.m.
Captain Pete Mingo
This year’s speaker is Captain Pete Mingo. Captain Pete Mingo received his commission in 1990 from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. After graduation, he served aboard the Coast Guard Cutter HAMILTON home ported in Boston, MA where he qualified as an Engineering Officer of the Watch and Officer of the Deck. Following this tour, Captain Mingo completed Naval Flight Training in Pensacola, FL and received his wings in December of 1995. He was subsequently stationed at Air Station Cape May, NJ and later relocated to Coast Guard Group/Air Station Atlantic City, NJ.
In 2000, Captain Mingo transferred to Jacksonville, FL and became a plank owner of HITRON-10, the Coast Guard’s only aviation-Counter Drug squadron. After four years of flying the MH-68A he transferred to the Maritime Security Response Team and completed an aircraft transition course. He then flew MH-60’s out of Air Station Elizabeth City, NC as part of the Coast Guard’s only Counter- Terrorism unit, focused exclusively on maritime security threats.
Captain Mingo was assigned to Aviation Training Center Mobile, AL in 2006 as the Chief of the Aviation Special Missions Branch. This Branch was responsible for Airborne Use of Force, Rotary Wing Air Intercept, and Joint Air-Surface Tactics. In 2008, Captain Mingo assumed the position as Chief of the Training Division, and was placed in charge of Aviation Training for the entire Coast Guard. With a staff of approximately 130 active duty and civilian instructors, he was responsible for initial and proficiency training in all of the Coast Guard’s fixed and rotary wing airframes.
In 2010, Captain Mingo was assigned to Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, DC where he assumed leadership of the Future Forces Project Division and later transferred to his current assignment in Seattle, WA as the Chief of Incident Management for Coast Guard District Thirteen.
Captain Mingo has amassed 3300 flight hours in Coast Guard helicopters and is the recipient of the Meritorious Service Medal (2), the Coast Guard Commendation Medal (2) and the Coast Guard Achievement Medal (4). Captain Mingo is a native of New London, CT and currently resides on Bainbridge Island, WA with his wife Patricia and two teenage daughters
Following the Memorial Day Commemorative Service, we invite you to attend a guided tour of the Veterans Memorial Cemetery and learn about the remarkable lives of the Medal of Honor recipients in our care.
Our guide this year will be David Bloch, son of the Medal of Honor recipient Orville Emil Bloch. We are extremely honored and excited to have him as our tour guide.
Kindly meet us at the Doughboy Statue in the Veterans Memorial Cemetery at 3:15 pm. We ask for a $5.00 suggested donation for attendance, which will go to the purchase of flags for the Avenue of Flags. For more information, and to reserve a spot, please call us at (206)362-5200 or email tours@washelli.com.
Please join us in honoring our Medal of Honor and Silver Star recipients on Saturday, July 16th at 11:00am.
Evergreen Washelli is proud to have in our care several Medal of Honor Recipients. Please join us on July 16th to honor them at a special ceremony. We pay tribute to these Medal of Honor and Silver Star recipients on Memorial Day and Veterans Day, and we are now creating a permanent marker that will tell each medal recipient’s heroic story. This permanent tribute is our way of thanking each medal recipient and their families for their selfless and courageous service to this country.
On July 16th, the ceremony will be preceded by the Washington Letter Carriers’ Band performance at 10:30am, and the ceremony will commence at 11:00am in the Veterans Memorial Cemetery located within Evergreen Washelli Memorial Park. Our guest speaker is MG James M. Collins, Jr.
MG James M. Collins, Jr., known to many as “Jimmy”, is Principal with Jimmy Collins & Associates in Washington state. He recently completed his military service as Major General in the U.S. Army. Collins is an experienced executive and opinion leader in the business, military, and volunteer communities of Washington state and the nation. Collins’ military experience reflects over 35 years in active duty Army and Reserve leadership roles. In his last active duty assignment from 2002 through 2005, he was Deputy Commanding General and Chief of Staff for I Corps at FT Lewis, WA. In that role he led over 30,000 soldiers and employees. He also spent substantial time deployed in Asia and working with America’s allies in Thailand, Japan, Korea, Singapore, and the Philippines. His military awards include the Army’s Distinguished Service Medal. His formal education includes a BS in Business Administration from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville; as well as an MA in Social Sciences from Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington. He is a graduate of the U.S. Army War College and the U.S. Department of Defense’s most senior military training course, the Joint Flag Officer Warfighting Course. As to volunteer roles Collins serves as Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army for Washington state as well as a member of the TriWest Healthcare Executive Advisory Board. Jimmy is a Distinguished Eagle Scout and a recipient of the Silver Beaver Award from the Boy Scouts of America. Regionally, he serves as Board Chair-Elect with Seattle’s SeaFair Festival connecting and celebrating community spirit of Puget Sound. Jimmy was a founding board member for Hire America’s Heroes to connect major corporations with military veterans, Guardsmen and Reservists as an excellent source of employees. He and his wife Linda have two grown children and reside in Steilacoom, Washington.
The Medal of Honor is the highest award for bravery that can be given to any individual in the United States of America. The deed of the person must be proved by incontestable evidence of at least two eye witnesses; it must be so outstanding that it clearly distinguishes his or her gallantry beyond the call of duty from lesser forms of bravery; it must involve the risk of his or her own life; and it must be the type of deed which, if he or she had not done it, would not subject him or her to any justified criticism.
Silver Star is the U.S. Army’s third highest award for bravery. It is awarded to those individuals whose gallantry in action was performed with distinction, but was not sufficient to warrant the Medal of Honor or the Distinguished Service Cross.
On Monday, May 30th, 2011, Evergreen Washelli hosted our Annual Memorial Day Commemorative Service. Thank you to all who joined us in honoring America’s fallen and saluting the flags on our “Avenue of Colors”.
Our keynote speaker this year was COL Gustafson. There were also performances by soloist Maria Kesovija, as well as the Seattle Pacific University Symphonic Wind Ensemble and Drum Corps. The concert began at 1:30pm and the ceremony commenced at 2:00pm. Following the Memorial Day Commemorative Service, we hosted a guided tour of the Veterans Memorial Cemetery and the remarkable lives of the Medal of Honor recipients in our care. Our guide this year was David Bloch, son of the Medal of Honor recipient Orville Emil Bloch. We were extremely honored and excited to have him as our tour guide.
David guided us through the history of the Veterans Memorial Cemetery, as well as the stories of Private William C. Horton,Captain Vesa Alakulppi, PFC Lewis Albanese, PFC William Kenzo Nakamura, 2nd LT Robert Ronald Leisy, Coxswain Harry Delmar Fadden, and of course Colonel Orville Emil Bloch. Please join us on July 16th at 11:00am for our Medal of Honor Tribute Ceremony.
Below are photographs from the 2011 ceremony, flag placement and also the Medal of Honor Tour. We were fortunate enough to connect with Sharon Kircher Alakulppi, wife of Silver Star recipient Vesa Juhani Alakulppi, by chance on Memorial Day. She spoke to the Medal of Honor tour group, and we cannot thank her enough for her time and her stories.
As part of Evergreen Washelli’s Tribute to the Medal of Honor and Silver Star recipients in our care, we invite you to discover more about the lives and service of each brave soldier. Below are the obituaries of each recipient, please take a moment to read their stories and sign the guestbook. On Saturday July 16th, please join us in the Veterans Memorial Cemetery located with Evergreen Washelli to honor these medal recipients at a special ceremony.
Lewis Albanese (Vietnam)
William C. Horton (Spanish/American)
Robert Ronald Leisy (Vietnam)
William K. Nakamura (World War II)
Orville Emil Bloch (World War II)
Harry Delmar Fadden (Spanish/American)
Vesa Juhani Alakulppi (Vietnam, SIlver Star Recipient)
On Monday, May 30, 2011, Evergreen Washelli will host our 85th Annual Memorial Day Commemorative Service. Following the ceremony, we invite you to attend a guided tour of the Veterans Memorial Cemetery and to learn about the remarkable lives of the Medal of Honor recipients in our care.
Our guide this year will be David Bloch, son of the Medal of Honor recipient Orville Emil Bloch. We are extremely honored and excited to have him as our tourguide.
Kindly meet us at the Doughboy Statue in the Veterans Memorial Cemetery at 3:15 pm. We ask for a $5.00 suggested donation for attendance, which will go to the purchase of flags for the Avenue of Flags. For more information, and to reserve a spot, please call us at (206)362-5200 or email tours@washelli.com. Tickets for the tour may also be purchased here.
