It was standing room only Monday as the Veterans Resource Center in Freeland hosted a moving Memorial Day event.

Veterans and family members packed the house to pay tribute to fallen men and women of the Armed Forces through music, candles and to observe the 3 p.m. national moment of remembrance.

“By observing a full minute of silence, we remember who and what we honor today,” said retired Navy Capt. Sandra DeGroot, master of ceremonies for Monday’s VRC Memorial Day event and a VRC board member.

“On this national day of remembrance, we honor all who have served,” DeGroot continued. “It is our tradition to pay tribute.”

Four candles were lit during the ceremony.

The first candle, a red one, was lit for those who died in service to our country.
Audience members were asked to call out names of those lost in the line of duty.

Names were spoken aloud from every corner of the room, as people quietly wiped away tears.

Three more candles, white this time, were lit, representing those who had served and those still serving; for family and loved ones of those in service, past and present; and in honor of the skills and knowledge veterans bring home with them, as well as those who work to heal the wounds of war.

Three more times names were called out from the crowd.

“It is our mission at the VRC to promote community-based efforts to heal the effects of war on our veterans,” said DeGroot. “We are new and we are growing. I would dare say we are the only community center like this in the area.”

Veterans and family members at the ceremony represented World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan, as indicated by a show of hands.

There were also family members of World War I veterans present.

“It was heartwarming,” board member John McFarland said of the ceremony.

“There was such a mixture of ages, representing an entire strata of military service, which, when you think about it, defines our purpose.”

“We are growing stronger and stronger every day,” agreed Bill Hughes, also a board member and a veteran of Navy Seal Team Two. “This is great. And our Wednesday night support group is growing too.”

Music for the event was provided by the Open Circle Community Choir, based on South Whidbey Island.

About half of the choir’s 50 members were present, according to co-director Peggy Taylor. She said the mission of the VRC parallels the mission of the choir.

“One of our missions is to bring music into our community, especially healing music,” said Taylor. “We call it vitamin H – harmony.”

McFarland said the turnout at Monday’s event was a testimony to how much VRC founders Judith Gorman and her husband Perry McClellan had been able to accomplish since the center moved into the building last September, calling them an inspiration to those who volunteer.

He said the center has quickly become a place where veterans of all ages feel at home and come in just to talk and share a story and a smile.

“There’s a hidden and unexpressed value of this center,” McFarland said. “People leave here feeling good.”