59°F
weather icon Clear

Veterans in city cemetery are not forgotten

Memorial Day ceremonies at the city’s two cemeteries will give residents varying opportunities to honor the nation’s veterans Monday.

A ceremony at Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery, at 1 p.m. Monday, is the most popular local cemetery event honoring veterans, but far from the oldest.

A ceremony at Boulder City Cemetery, at 9 a.m. Monday, hosted by American Legion Post 31, is smaller but dates to the cemetery’s early days, resident Patty Sullivan says.

Sullivan’s ancestors, the Godbey family, were involved with the cemetery’s origins as an illegal burial place when Boulder City was still a federal reservation.

The burial at Boulder City Cemetery was in 1942, according to Dennis McBride, director of the Nevada State Museum, Las Vegas

Today, there are about 2,300 people buried there, 400 of whom are veterans.

The veterans buried at Boulder City Cemetery date to the Spanish-American War, Post 31 chaplain Ruth Taylor says.

The American Legion ceremony will include speeches from Master Sgt. James Labelle of Nellis Air Force Base, local American Legion Auxiliary President Linda Graham and Post 31 Cmdr. Wayne Curtis. It will also feature singing by soloist Norma Barth and a 21-gun salute.

About 100 people regularly attend the event at Boulder City Cemetery, Graham says.

“We have a good supportive group that’s us members of the legion and their families and a few residents that come out,” she says. “It’s a wonderful service to attend because it really honors the veterans.”

In comparison, about 700 people are expected to attend the ceremony at the veterans cemetery, cemetery Superintendant Chris Naylor says.

The ceremony began when the home opened in 1990, and has grown with the number of veterans buried there, Naylor says.

More than 31,000 people are buried at the veterans cemetery, Naylor says. At the end of April, 24,277 buried were veterans, and 7,188 were spouses or dependants of veterans.

The veterans cemetery event will be hosted by the Vietnam Veterans of America, according to Naylor.

It will feature two speakers, Kat Miller, deputy executive director of the Nevada veterans services office, and Charles Demos, a World War II Navy veteran and resident of the Nevada State Veterans home in Boulder City.

There will be musical performances by Boulder City musician Phil Esser, the Nevada Opera Theatre and singer Szylvia Toth. Carolyn Whaley will play taps.

U.S. Reps. Dina Titus and Steven Horsford are also confirmed to attend, and other politicians have been invited, Naylor says . But unlike previous years, no politicians will be speaking at the veterans cemetery.

“We changed our format just because we’re trying to shorten the program and not have it go on forever,” Naylor says.

The American Legion ceremony is an apolitical event, Taylor says.

“The American Legion does not allow any politics to interfere (with the ceremony),” she says.

Clayton Glenn, at 92 the Post 31’s oldest member, says Memorial Day festivities in Boulder City have changed a lot since the veterans home was “nothing but dirt.”

“It’s getting to be big. There’s a lot more people getting involved in it now than there used to be,” he says.

Don't miss the big stories. Like us on Facebook.
THE LATEST
Community pride on full display

A mixture of lime, paint and water was used to touch up the city landmark, which saw the B first painted in 1985 and two years later the C by BCHS students. It had been 10 years since the last time it was touched up. Event organizer Bret Runion said he was pleased with the turnout and hopes to see even more assist in future years.

It’s official: STRs banned in BC

For an issue that has caused so much local uproar for more than a year, the question of whether Boulder City should formalize the informal-but-still-binding ban on short-term rentals (STR) within city limits ended with more of a whimper than a bang Tuesday as the City Council voted 4-1 to adopt text changes to city code clarifying that the practice is illegal and establishing a system of civil fines for STR owners who continue to operate.

A busy Saturday in Boulder City

Saturday proved to be a very busy day in Boulder City as events included repainting of the BC on Radar Mountain (see page 2 for photos), as well as the city’s Easter Egg Hunt at Wilbur Square, Flowfest and the popular goat yoga class at Bicentennial Park and the Injured Police Officers Fund car show at Veterans’ Memorial Park.

To chip or not to chip?

In its second time at the plate, as it were, the proposal by Boulder City Councilmember Cokie Booth to require that pets within BC be microchipped ended up with a lot of people talking about maybe taking a swing at the ball but no one actually doing so.

Council candidate slate set

A total of seven candidates for city council and three candidates for justice of the peace of Boulder Township will face off in the primary election scheduled for June 11.

Ultrarunner to push himself to the limit

It’s not uncommon for friends or even family members to try and best one another whether that be athletics, academics or relationships.

Vets home hit with 18 citations

In a recent unannounced inspection, the Southern Nevada State Veterans’ Home was cited 18 times for issues ranging from verbal abuse of a patient to failing to provide meals at an appropriate temperature, to employees not having keys to locked gates, which would be needed in the case of an emergency evacuation.

BDCU looks back on past year at annual meeting

For more than eight decades, the Boulder Dam Credit Union has been the most popular place for Boulder City residents to do their banking, not to mention see friends and neighbors.

Top o’ the evening to ya

Photos by Ron Eland/Boulder City Review

BC repaint: Countdown is on

It’s almost time to don that old pair of jeans, the ratty tennis shoes in the back of your closet and a shirt you’re not worried about ruining.