Local veterans were honored on Nov. 11 for their dedication, courage, heroism, and achievements. Colusa Veterans of Foreign Wars Post No. 2441 and the Maxwell American Legion Post No. 218 brought the community together at Veterans Memorial Park in Colusa on Veterans Day to honor the men and women who served in the U.S. armed forces.
The two organizations celebrate the anniversary of the official end of World War I, formerly known as Armistice Day, and remember those who served by reading the names of Colusa County’s veterans, dating back more than a century, which are etched into bricks on eight panels of the Veterans Memorial in the center of the park. Some were killed in action; others died years later; many are still alive and active members of the community. Some of the names, read in alphabetical order, represented families that sent many of their sons and daughters into harm’s way.
Former VFW Commander Dennis Sanders said this year will see a ninth panel erected at the memorial, located in the center of the park.
“Since last year, we have added 53 bricks to Wall No. 8, bringing our total to 1,058,” Sanders said.
The organizations also dedicated the two new bronze sculptured plaques placed at the entrance of the park, one depicting the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, and the other depicting the attack on the World Trade Center on Sept. 21, 2001.
The plaques were dedicated to lifetime member Steve Corbin, who died in 2020.
“The Veteran’s Day ceremony, unlike Memorial Day, honors all veterans – living or dead, active duty or retired, ‘’ said Former Colusa Mayor Greg Ponciano, during opening remarks.
“It especially gives thanks to the living veterans who served our country honorably during war or peacetime,” Ponciano said.
“These men and women that we honor today did not take this responsibility with any expectation of thanks or recognition; some of them left their post unceremoniously with only the personal satisfaction that they served their country with honor,” he said.
Colusa County Health and Human Services Director Elizabeth Kelly, a veteran of the U.S.Navy, was the special guest speaker for the 2022 ceremony.
While Kelly served in the late 1980’s and early 1990s during mostly peaceful times, she was part of President Ronald Regan’s “peace through strength” buildup of the military following the Vietnam War that put American back on its superpower feet.
Although Kelly, said she would have liked to have served on a naval carrier, it was not meant to be; women were not allowed to serve aboard ship until 1994.
“We all have our stories in the military and we all have what we experienced and our crazy stories,” said Kelly, who said she went into the service without “doing her homework.”
Kelly spoke humorously about the humidity shock of arriving in Florida from California, surviving Boot Camp, serving with few other women, attending college, and the unlikeliness of another war.
“But when I was getting ready to get out of the Navy, that’s when we did have a war,” she said. Kelly served in Operation Desert Shield (Gulf War), an armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.
On Aug. 2, 1990, over 950,000 military personnel were deployed, 290 killed, and over 1,000 wounded in the build up for what would become the Operation Desert Storm aerial bombing campaign against Iraq that ended with the liberation of Kuwait six months later.
“I felt very privileged to be a part of that,” Kelly said. “I don’t like that people have to lose their lives to keep us safe but I do know that it’s part of the deal.”
Kelly said Veterans Day honors the 19 million people veterans who are living today – and the many millions that preceded them since the American Revolution. ■