From the Archives: Veterans in Spokane

In honor of Veterans Day, this slide show features historical photos of men and women who served and ceremonies to honor them.

Section:Gallery

Tue., Nov. 10, 2009

Members of veterans' organizations march down rainy Riverside Avenue on Nov. 11, 1958, as part of the parade in observance of Veterans Day. A program at the Lincoln statue followed.

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A memorial is held at Riverside Cemetery on Armistice Day in this undated file photo.

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Thousands jam the streets of Spokane for the unveiling of the Abraham Lincoln statue on Armistice Day, Nov. 11, 1930. The bronze memorial cost $25,000. A reviewing stand held the dwindling gray-haired band of men who fought with the Grand Army under the 16th president of the United States.

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Attorney Leslie M. Carroll is shown in this undated photo speaking at the Lincoln monument at Monroe and Main after the Armistice Day parade. "Let us never forget we are a nation dedicated to peace," he said.

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From left, Russell A. Bishop, Verne Christie and Homer Safford stand at the recent burial of three comrades in this undated file photo. The American Legion's graves and decorations committee aimed to know the location of the graves of all veterans and to see that those without funds are buried in the Legion's perpetual care plot.

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The 45th Anniversary cake for American Legion Post 9 also honored 36 of the unit's original members. The 36 World War I veterans were among 300 who attended the Post's first meeting in 1919. Joining in the festivities, from left, are Alex Parke, commander of the Grandview Department of Washington; Maurice Surplus, president of the post auxiliary, and Thomas M. Wilson, commander of the Spokane unit.

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Department of Washington American Legion Commander Glenn Lowe, of Harrah, gets help from the president of the Spokane Post 9 Auxiliary at a cake-cutting ceremony in observance of the 41st anniversary of the veteran's organization. Also pictured are Lang Armstrong, left, national executive committeeman from Post 9, and Orville V. Wilson, Post 9 commander.

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This undated file photo captures a two-minute pause during the annual Armistice Day parade to honor the service members who had died in Korea. Bugler Robert Hilton, right, of the Air Force band, plays Taps.

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Members of the Post 9 Auxiliary pass out comfort items and sweets to veterans in the VA Hospital in Spokane in this undated file photo.

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Spokane American Legion Post 9 member Harold Aronald salutes the flag as a recording of Taps from John F. Kennedy's funeral plays at a memorial for veterans at Greenwood-Riverside Memorial Park in 1989.

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Mules Toby, Paso and Mandy, photographed at Fort George Wright, are veterans of Army service, among 50 mules belonging to the Fourth Infantry Regiment. They were turned over to the Quartermaster's Department in 1939 to be distributed to other units. Eventually motorized equipment would take their place, hauling regimental equipment, machine guns and supplies.

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Flags drape the statue of Abraham Lincoln at Main and Monroe on Armistice Day, Nov. 11, 1930. A signal from President Herbert Hoover in Washington, D.C., would lift the flags.

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Veterans of World War I rest on a curb at the end an Armistice Day parade in Spokane in this undated file photo. Pat Paseato, left, served with the 91st division and Charles V. Flowers served with the 6th division.

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This undated photo, taken from the post office building roof, shows part of the crowd at a memorial service for war dead on Armistice Day. American flags, flags of Spokane veterans' organizations and floral wreaths flank the American Legion World War II cenotaph at Main and Monroe.

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Motorized anti-aircraft guns, with soldiers at salute, lead the detachment of fighting and supply machines from Geiger Field as they pass the reviewing stand in an Armistice Day parade along Riverside Avenue in 1941. The column of soldiers, mechanized equipment, floats, automobiles, marching veterans and high school bands took more than an hour to pass.

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The Lewis and Clark High School band and Ti-Girls were the final unit of an Armistice Day parade in this undated photo. About half the band had turned north on Stevens and the rest continued east when this picture was taken.

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This 1889 celebration in downtown Spokane welcomed members of the Grand Army of the Republic, a group of Civil War veterans. The group, founded in Illinois in 1866, met to strengthen friendships forged during the war as well as to support the veterans politically and financially through relief work and supporting pension legislation.

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Ceremonies mark the activation of an all-Native American American Legion post at White Swan, said to be the first such post in Washington, Feb. 28, 1946. From left are Donald Umtuch, adjutant and finance officer; Walter Underwood, first vice commander; Andy Olney, post commander; Andy Harrison, post member and veteran of World War II; Andy Hoptowit, sergeant at arms, and Kiutus Jim, post chaplain. The men wore regulation tribal regalia.

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The Lincoln statue at Monroe and Main in downtown Spokane is pictured in this 1931 photograph. The statue was sculpted with four tons of clay by Seattle artist Alonzo Victor Lewis, reportedly a decendent of explorer Meriwether Lewis.

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Thousands turned out at the dedication of the Abraham Lincoln statue on Armistice Day, Feb. 28, 1946.

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Members of the Charles King camp of the Spanish-American War Veterans gather in February 1940 for their annual banquet at the Desert hotel. They gathered to commemorate the battle of Santa Ana, fought in the Philippine islands in 1898. Pictured are members who saw action in the battle. Front row, from left: W.J. Nichols, Frank Merriam, Eric Foss and Frank Bordwell; second row, from left: G.L. Fisher, E.R. Ennis, R.H. Diehl, T.R. Mann, Robert Sly and D.O. Merritt; back row, from left: George Marks, A.C. Sanders, George Burggrabe, A.T. Amos, Ernest Wizeman and W.C. Russell.

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The United Nations flag made its first Spokane Armistice Day parade appearance in this undated file photo. Flanked by members of the Navy, Air Force, Army, and Marine Corps, the standard was carried with the American flag in the morning parade through downtown.

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Spokane residents observe the 22nd anniversary of the World War I armistice Nov. 11, 1940.

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The Libby Junior High School and Rogers High School bands and marching units and the Boy Scouts march in Armistice day parade in this undated file photo.

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The 161st infantry's two tanks rumble through Spokane during the Armistice Day parade in this undated file photo.

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Boy Scouts present massed colors as they parade westward along Riverside Avenue at Wall Street during the Armistice Day observance in Spokane in this undated file photo.

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Members of the Last Man club, an organization of World War I veterans, gather for their 13th annual banquet in 1946 at the Spokane hotel to toast each other and the last surviving member whoever he may be. Left to right, front row, are Vic Linden, Oscar Lindberg, Fred Richardson, Ben Lindberg, Dad Malone, Bill Kilgore and Alex Swanson. Left to right in the back row are Perry E. (Hap) Dye, Walter Bogart, Edward Nee, Bud French, Hilford Wallace, Earl Sumner, Jean Comstock and Fred Leubner.

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