<\/p>\n
As in cemeteries and ceremonies all over the country, the Mancos community gathered in Cedar Grove Cemetery to remember the fallen warriors.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe speak with one voice, with shared admiration,\u201d said VFW Post Commander David Johnson.<\/p>\n
Johnson voiced a commitment to the crowd of about 50 people, gathered, not just to remember the heroes who paid the ultimate price, but to be determined to help veterans who may be homeless or struggling in other ways.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to honor the dead, and we want to help the living,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The ceremony included a brief but poignant poem adapted to reflect the current needs of veterans.<\/p>\n
\u201cMen and women who have fought our wars are seeking their benefits to heal their scars,\u201d read Bob Sanders, an Air Force veteran.<\/p>\n
\u201cPromises made are now forgotten,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n
The Department of Veterans Affairs is currently embroiled in a scandal over claims that patients may have died waiting for appointments at the VA hospital in Phoenix, the Associated Press reported earlier this month. At a Colorado VA hospital, employees were told to falsify records to make it seem as though patients were seeing the doctor within a timely window, the AP said.<\/p>\n
The ceremony was attended by many local veterans, including Cortez resident Floyd Norris, a retired Navy Chief who served in the South Pacific during World War II and in Vietnam.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very important to honor vets and to honor some very close friends,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
During Vietnam, he served in the South China Sea.<\/p>\n
Johnson expressed his gratitude to Norris and all the experienced officers who served during Vietnam when he was serving in his 20s.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey continue to serve, until they end their career, if for no other reason to look after young pups like me,\u201d he said about the officers in Vietnam.<\/p>\n
Retired Army Staff Sgt. Sandra Valencia hopes Memorial Day serves to remind people of current conflict.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a good way to remember there are still people in harms way,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n