American Legion Post 22 hosts the annual Memorial Day ceremony in Hood River at Idlewild Cemetery.
The service takes place around the Walk of Honor which has small plaques all along its border identifying each Hood River veteran who has passed away.
Just how historic is the Memorial Day tradition in Hood River at Idlewild cemetery? The above photo from the History Museum of Hood River County shows the crowd gathered at the cemetery on May 30, 1928, when Memorial Day was still called “Decoration Day.” A Civil War veteran had just passed away and been buried at the cemetery ten days earlier. His grave was no doubt decorated for the above ceremony, just as the graves of other Civil War veterans–as well as veterans of later wars also buried at Idlewild–have been decorated each Memorial Day since.
The 2022 Memorial Day program was especially moving as it sought community healing by highlighting the Nisei experience in America and Hood River in particular during and since World War II.
High-school student Melanie Glatter (center) speaks at the 2022 Memorial Day ceremony, delivering a carefully-researched and moving address on the Nisei experience in Hood River and America more broadly, before, during and after World War II. You can read her full remarks here. Thanks to the hard work of Melanie, American Legion Post 22 Commander Carl Casey (far left), and others, the State of Oregon is on the verge of officially designating Highway 35 as Nisei Veterans Memorial Highway.2022 Ceremony
You can see full video of the above 2020 ceremony, held during the pandemic and broadcast live, in lieu of the normal public service.
