Gallery: Lynnwood honor local veterans with annual Veterans Day celebration

Veterans Park was filled with dozens of community members and city officials who turned out to pay respect to the city’s veterans and their families Monday morning for Veterans Day.

Emceed by past-Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1040 Commander Martin Spani, the event included performances by the Northwest Jr. Pipe Band, welcoming remarks from Mayor Nicola Smith and a speech from past USV-JSC Deputy Commander John Natterstad. During her welcoming remarks, Smith said she was proud of the city’s work to provide resources for local veterans, like the Veterans One-Stop Wellness Center and Hero’s Cafe.

“These veterans initiatives have sparked something special in the Lynnwood,” she said. “It’s like a grassroots initiative that has now become a movement.”

The event also included ceremonial wreath laying by local veterans. During the laying of the Gold Star Mothers Wreath, VFW Honor Guard Captain Frank Martinez escorted Myra Rintamaki, mother of Cpl. Stephen Rintamaki, who died in Iraq in 2004.

The event closed with a rifle salute from the VFW Post 1040 Honor Guard, Echo TAPS performed by VFW Post 1040 buglers Glenn Ledbetter and Lukas Breen, and an “Armed Forces Medley” with Boy Scouts of America Troop 49 presenting the Armed Forces flags.

–Story and photos by Cody Sexton

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