Never forgetting those who paid ultimate price

There are few places in Newport-Mesa that are a more appropriate site

for Memorial Day celebrations than the American Legion Hall on the Balboa

Peninsula.

With its historical photos and placards, the hall everyday invokes

memories of past wars and those who fought in them.

Dennis P. Lahey has one month left as commander of the legion, though

he has no plans to stop his consistent volunteer work and community

service. Lahey sat down with Pilot City Editor S.J. Cahn to talk about

the meaning of Memorial Day and the role of the American Legion in

Newport-Mesa.

Why is it important to celebrate Memorial Day?

It is a long tradition in our republic to honor those who have paid

the ultimate price to preserve that republic. In 1858, the commander of

the Army proclaimed May 30 as a day to honor those who died in the

defense of their country.

Lincoln’s famous Gettysburg Address was not given at a political

fund-raiser and written by some spin-doctor. It was delivered on the

battlefield to honor those who died on that very spot. It was written by

his own hand. Unfortunately, we have continued to lose people to wars

ever since then. They deserve to be remembered.

What differences do you see in how people who served in the

military or lived through times of war celebrate as opposed to younger

people who don’t have that immediate experience?

We knew people by name that fell in battle. I recognized so many names

on the Vietnam Wall that I could not continue more than halfway. That

means that on Memorial Day, when we remember those who died, we see real

faces of our friends and not just a composite image of a soldier.

On Memorial Day, we tend to stand a little straighter and sing the

national anthem a little louder in their memory. The younger people have

their own friends who are at risk in Bosnia or, as we saw, over the China

Sea. We will be at Newport Harbor High School [last Friday] to dedicate a

plaque to those from the high school that died. All of the students there

have been exceedingly respectful during the past ceremonies. I am very

proud of those younger people.

Do you think people that don’t have that experience of war

understand, or can understand, what Memorial Day means to veterans?

Unless they have experienced it first hand, people can never really

understand. We all hope they never have that experience. That is why the

veterans fought, so that others would not have to. But the people I have

talked to seem to understand what Memorial Day means to veterans. As a

trivial example, unless you have actually played organized football you

cannot understand the pain and effort involved. However, you can

appreciate the dedication of the players, and you do appreciate their

efforts. I have noticed that people appreciate what the veterans have

done even if they would never want to do it themselves. But, of course,

most veterans did not have to go through it either.

What does the American Legion do, both around this day and

throughout the year, to foster remembrances of veterans and past wars?

In addition to Memorial Day, we honor Veterans Day on Nov. 11 and Flag

Day on June 14. Poppy Day, which our Ladies Auxiliary sponsors, is going

on now and remembers the veterans. When we publicize any of our community

service events, we show that proceeds will be benefiting the veterans in

Long Beach Veterans Hospital, our primary charity. Many of the veterans

in the hospital continue to suffer from the physical and mental wounds

they received. My brother was wounded by shrapnel in the Battle of the

Bulge, was in pain most of his life and died on the operating table when

they tried to fix the problem. He never showed up as a casualty of war,

but I know he was. The veterans in the hospital are the continuing

casualties of war.

What else does the American Legion do throughout the year?

We do many things as a community service organization. We provide a

place for other community and charity organizations to meet by making our

meeting rooms available to them. Through our affiliate, the American

Legion Yacht Club, we sponsor events like the Sail for the Visually

Impaired along with the co-sponsor, the Women’s Ocean Racing Assn. We

provide fingerprinting for children. We send teachers to a week studying

history on-site at Valley Forge. We sponsor many high school juniors to

study government through our Boys State and Girls State programs. We

sponsor oratorical contests on patriotic subjects. We provide a rifle

squad and flag bearers for veterans funerals. We sponsor the Law and

Order Dinner to honor those involved in public safety. The Sons of the

American Legion is a major sponsor of Child Welfare. The list just goes

on.

What role does the American Legion play, or should it play, in

Newport-Mesa?

Each month before our meeting, we all pledge ourselves to serve our

country and our community. Newport Beach and Costa Mesa are our

community. Last year we were able to contribute $2,000 to the Newport

Beach Firefighters Assn. for their burn unit. We sponsored a parade for

Olympic swimming hopeful Aaron Piersol and were able to contribute a

little financially to his effort. We put on the annual Fourth of July Old

Glory Boat Parade for the benefit of the community. In addition to the

things I mentioned above, we encourage our members to contribute through

activities with other charity organizations like the Rotary. Our role is

to help our community in any way we can. With over 2,000 members, we try

to be a powerful force for good in our community.

BIO BOX:

Name: Dennis P. Lahey

Age: 59

Family: Wife, Britt; daughter, Shannon

Education: Graduate from the University of Wisconsin.

Community Involvement: Commander of the American Legion, the oldest

community service organization in Newport Beach.