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60 °F Forecast | Road Cams Sunday, April 24, 2005 Today's News | Shop Our Valley | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery | Contact Us SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend April 24, 2005 Tony Guillory of Grants Pass stands at attention while �Taps� plays following the honor detail�s ceremonial firing at Eagle Point National Cemetery. Mail Tribune / Jim Craven An honor to serve The Dress Blues muster themselves and their pride as they pay tribute to their fellow soldiers By Paul Fattig Mail Tribune Like a Marine Corps drill sergeant putting his recruits through their paces, John Woods barks out commands in proper bulldog fashion. "Ready. Aim. Fire!" The six former Marines before him fire blanks in unison with their M1 Garands as they conduct a ceremony saluting veterans buried at the Eagle Point National Cemetery. "Detail, ten-hut! Order arms!" Woods commands. "Present arms!" Advertisement They stand tombstone-still while Taps drifts out of the sound system over the knoll overlooking the scenic cemetery. Woods, a 74-year-old Grants Pass resident, was a sergeant in the Corps who served in the Korean War, and now is the commanding officer of the Rogue Valley Detachment of the Marine Corps League. Volunteers from the unit muster to become members of Dress Blues, a group of former Marines stepping forward to provide ceremonial details at the cemetery. "We do this for all those veterans that were buried without family or ceremony," explains Herb Robb, 76, of Medford, discharged from the Corps as a sergeant in 1959. "If we don’t do it for them, there won’t be anyone there to do it for us," he added. "It’s an honor and privilege to serve our fallen brothers, to provide them with a ceremony." In addition to conducting ceremonies for fallen veterans at the cemetery, the Dress Blues also participate in local parades and other events. "We want to instill a little spirit into the community," he said. "We want people to know we are veterans who respect ourselves. We hope they will respect us." The Dress Blues conduct the service every third month, rotating with honor guard details from the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars. The volunteers are mostly Korean or World War II era veterans. All have white or graying hair; some are fighting a domestic battle of the bulge. At one point, while waiting at parade rest for a funeral to be completed before resuming their ceremony, one member of the Dress Blues steps out of line when his old knees begin to buckle. Woods steps into line to take his place until he returns. To a man, they’ve retained the fierce pride they bore in their uniformed youth. The point is not about supporting war but supporting those who served their country in uniform, explains Ashland resident Jeff Schlecht who, at 54, is the youngest member of the group present. The Ashland High School principal was a first lieutenant when he got out of the Corps in 1977. "It’s my small way of saying ‘thank you,’ " he says. "It’s an opportunity in a tangible way to demonstrate to the veteran’s family that their veteran’s service was genuinely appreciated." He observes that World War II veterans are now dying at more than 1,000 a day. His father, now 81, is a former Marine who served in the South Pacific theater during WWII. "I’m hoping there will be an honor guard for him," he adds. One of the oldest in the unit is Medford resident Gareth Krake, a Marine Corps veteran of the bloody Iwo Jima battle during World War II. He is in his early 80s. Grants Pass resident Jim Hale, 66, got out of the Corps in 1976 as a first lieutenant. He was what was known as a "mustang," having risen through the enlisted ranks during his 20 years in the Corps. "In the Corps, we’re always faithful," Hale says. "If you look around, most are older than I am. "They are trying to get us younger fellas involved," he adds with a grin as his comment receives a few friendly jeers from fellow former Marines. The bottom line, says Tony Guillory, 64, of Grants Pass, a retired police officer and former Marine corporal discharged in 1962, is that the Dress Blues is there to honor others. "It’s become very difficult for families of military veterans who passed away to get a ceremonial firing detail from a regular military unit," he says, referring to regular units whose ranks are currently stretched thin. "We do this because we feel the veterans have earned it — they deserve no less," he says. Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. 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