Patriotic bikers host annual Veterans Wall ceremony

PALMER — The Alaska Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association (CVMA), chapter 43-3, hosted the Veterans Day Wall of Honor Ceremony on Saturday. For a little more than an hour, there were speaker presentations, a flag ceremony, riflemen routines, and songs from a bugler. Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) post 9365 provided refreshments, including coffee, muffins, cookies, and brownies.

Bikers, veterans, family, friends, and politicians gathered to pay respects to the veterans both past and present. This annual tradition has a way of drawing substantial crowds. Gov. Bill Walker, Wasilla Mayor Burt Cottle, Palmer Mayor Edna DeVries and Mat-Su Borough Mayor Vern Halter were among the list of speakers that day. The winds blew violently on an already cold occasion. The Veterans Wall is located by the former office of the Mat-Su Convention and Visitors Bureau, near the Mat-Su Regional Medical Center. Luckily for everyone attending, most of the ceremony was inside the vacant building.

The CVMA has been attending the event years. According to CVMA Auxiliary member, Kathy Bart, this is the first time they have hosted it. Kathy was the head coordinator for the event. She’s married to Dale Bart, a longtime member of the CVMA and the Sergeant at Arms. Each year a different organization is selected to host the Veteran Wall event and Memorial Day. Kathy was happy to get “all hands on deck.”

“I think it’s nice to give everyone a chance to be active participants,” Kathy said.

Hazel Schwulst creates the panels for the wall. She and her family have been directly involved with the wall for over 25 years. Her husband and son -in-law were part of the original crew that put the wall up. She said that a new panel (5 years in the making) was being added to the wall that day. Each panel has a list of military men and women’s names inscribed onto granite slabs.

After the introduction, a young lady, Justice Lanae Panamarioff, sang Amazing Grace. The entire room sang the national anthem with her. After the Pledge of Allegiance, Kathy read a short proclamation from President Trump. The governor, three mayors, senators’ assistants conveying messages on their behalf, and a handful of veterans took turns speaking about what Veterans Day meant to them. They all expressed heart-felt gratitude for the service and sacrifices made. Walker said that Alaska has the highest population of Veterans per capita (12%), which is also the highest in the nation. He took a moment to reflect on the recent death of Private First Class Hansen Bradee Kirkpatrick, the Army Soldier who lost his life in Afghanistan over the summer.

“We’ve lost one of our own. We are certainly remembering him today,” Walker said.

Dale, along with fellow combat vets, stood outside on the porch for the entire event. Facing the harsh winds and below-freezing temperatures, they stood in order and performed their rifle routines during the flag ceremony and the closing Tap ceremony to honor the fallen soldiers. One of the main requirements to enlist as a MVCA rider is to have served in combat, hence the name. Dale said his fellow riders each have their own unique story but all have a shared experience. He said his time in combat left scars and he experienced dark times in his life. His friends were there for him and helped him pull himself back together.

“We ride together, we support each other,” Dale said. “Nobody understands what you’ve gone through unless they’ve been there. And they’ve all been there.”

One veteran, Laddie Shaw, came up to the podium and recounted the stories of Alaskan soldiers, both ones he knew and those he knew of. He included personal accounts of his time in service with his brothers in arms. He said it was important to share the “stories of our lives.”

“All the veterans I mentioned here today, as with many of us standing together here, have stories that are seared in the deep recesses of our souls. Let us go forth as a family to support each other. Let’s chase the angels and screw the demons,” Shaw said.

At one point, there was a chance for anyone in the room to line up and circle past the podium and share a brief statement. One teary eyed veteran came up to share a quote from someone close to his heart: “Don’t honor me with flowers, just the way you live your life.”

“Toolbox” had been coming to the wall since it was first built. He is the chapter 43-3 commander for the CVMA. He stood up there with her leather, biker attire and shared warm messages of thanks to everyone for attending.

“I hope that today you have met a new friend, and that friendship will carry on; just like the brotherhood we all shared while serving our country,” Toolbox said.