On Veterans Day

Once again, November 11th approaches. That is Veterans Day, a day that features honoring those from Sierra County who served in the uniformed services of and for our country. The Sierra County recognition ceremony began in the early 2000s when a local group got together and made it happen in Downieville at the county seat’s bell tower. Those initially involved, Marshall, Funk, Stringer, Johnsen, et al., were supported by the Fire Department (to unlock the bell), the Sheriff’s office, the CHP, the Mountain Messenger, and Tom Potter’s Grubstake restaurant. John Funk put together the flags that still are featured in the ceremony and parade following the roll call at the bell.

This recollection is mine, Mary Johnsen. I arrived in Downieville with my husband John Johnsen in 1997, and we noted that there was no local special recognition event on the special day when the nation honors its veterans. We felt strongly that all the local veterans deserved to be recognized since they served both in times of war and in peace in challenging jobs far from home. So I made some calls and we had some meetings and the people came and a wonderful and meaningful tradition resulted. My only disappointment was that the school children haven’t attended each year to see this local living recognition right there across their athletic field. Oh well!

In  those first years, I would make up a roster which was posted all over the county by members of the Sheriff’s office. The 2010 one had 131 names on it, with 130 in 2011. Some active duty names were on there too. Over time, the Navy has had Black and Rust, Rust, Rust, and Rust. There were a lot of Marcantonios too, the brothers Marshall,  some fathers and sons. There were seven women (Fisher, Carnahan) among all those men. The 2011 roster had 56 Army,  28 Navy, 26 Marine Corps (with Aaron Stringer on active duty), Coast Guard 1, Public Health Service 1, and AF 19. These people had served in World War II through the Vietnam War and Persian Gulf years. Ryan Black and Shane Rust both have had Navy careers.

One of the recollections my husband had was of a time in Saigon when a helicopter landed by his billet, bringing an infant girl to safety. That baby, Kathleen, in a future year  married Billy Epps of Downieville-  small world!

The noon siren initiated the ceremony with Marine Corps vet Bernie Stringer calling to attention the veterans gathered behind their flags for the playing of the national anthem and the roll call. Stringer would call the Roll, the names of those who died that year. When there was no “here” in response to the name, the bell was tolled three times. This was repeated for all the known deaths that year, with the honor of being the bell ringer much cherished. One year my husband, a two-tour Vietnam and 25-year Army vet, was the  bell ringer.

Back to the flags. As the veterans gathered before noon, a veteran would claim the flag of his or her service and lead off after the ceremony in the order of the seniority of that service. That means the Army vets led off first since the Army dates from June 14th, 1775. Then the Navy, October 1775, and the Marines, November 1775. Then the Coast Guard came next in August 1790, the Public Health Service in 1798, and finally the Air Force in September of 1947. Formerly, the flyers were a part of the Army known as the Army Air Corps. Now there is another service—the United States Space Force, established on December 20th, 2019.

At the completion of the ceremony, the marchers formed up and, protected by the CHP, headed down Main Street to music from the Hellcats of the US Military Academy band at West Point. The group gathered at the Grubstake for lunch and storytelling and maybe a little speech or two. Frank Lang, in his Public Service uniform, was a favorite and respected speaker, his O-5 rating having taken up quite a few years in uniform.

Over the years, I noted that several vets known to me had never attended. They included those who were not ready yet for the emotional impact of that ceremony. It took time! For SM and FE, that time never came. FE was the most highly decorated, but CS eventually did attend. The poor man got special hugs from me along with some tears. So too did those others.

In 2013 my husband, John Johnsen, Lt. Col. USA (ret), died in Downieville. In his honor, the Veterans Day ceremony included the  members of the California Governor’s Honor Guard, soldiers in dress uniforms who performed the traditional flag folding ceremony with the firing squad and bugler playing taps. The container of John’s cremains was delivered there by the Sheriff’s patrol car—Jim Cannon—and placed on a table set up under the tower. I sat there with our surviving sons, Erik, Major, USAF pilot in his uniform, and Jim and David behind me. Our son John, Lance Corporal, USMC, had died in 1984 in an accident at his base at El Toro- he was there in my heart. David has now joined John and Johnny. Darcy White made a book of her pictures of that day. I look at it often. Several of John’s classmates from West Point attended. One grad had driven from Arizona, and since, he too has joined “The Long Gray Line”; I’ll be joining them pretty soon since I hit 90 in September, but I must say that the ceremony there in Sierra County was way more meaningful and special than those I have attended at Arlington National Cemetery. The Johnsen clan loves and loved Sierra County.

You can see why I was apt to be found each year standing nearby during the Veterans Day ceremony. I warmly thank those who have continued to make sure the ceremony happens as it continues to acknowledge those for whom the bell has tolled that year. My roster count each year has steadily dropped while the contribution of their values to our country remains. I spoke of those values at West Point in May at John’s 70th reunion of his class of 1956. I still serve as the family bereavement counselor for that class, but in my heart I still cherish my memories of those Sierra County Veterans Day ceremonies.

In my opinion, this sparsely populated Sierra County of beautiful mountains and streams has surely contributed more than its fair share to serving this nation. While Memorial Day honors those for whom the bell has tolled, Veterans Day honors and thanks all who served, with a nod to those on active duty now. This year, November 11th falls on a Wednesday. I wonder if the school kids may get to see history once again played out by the bell tower. My thanks go to all those who will make it happen. Those vets deserve their big day! 

Mary P. Johnsen

aka  MM’s Belle Tauer 1998+-