Perfect weather greets 2022 observance of Memorial Day

by Dan McClelland

Bright sunshine and warm temperatures were at center stage Monday morning during the Tupper Lake observance of Memorial Day 2022, as was American Legion Commander Mark Moeller, the master of ceremonies.

The retired businessman and U.S. Army veteran also delivered opening and closing prayers, all the introductions as well as reading the guest speaker's message in her absence.

The scheduled speaker was Valerie Ainsworth, executive director of Homeward Bound Adirondacks, which offers weekend retreats in the Adirondacks for veterans dealing with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Unfortunately, as Mr. Moeller explained, Valerie couldn't attend at the last minute as she needed to be by her husband's side, who is a Vietnam War-era veteran and suffers from some ailments common to his service over there.

“We welcome you all here today,” Mr. Moeller began when the observance began at the Veterans Park on Park Street, where Veterans' Days and Memorial Days are always held here. Monday's event was sponsored by the five local veterans groups here- American Legion Post 220, VFW Post 3120, AmVets Post 710, the Adirondack Leathernecks Marine Corp League and the Tupper Lake Honor Guard

He thanked the more than 100 assembled in front of the park on the closed-off state highway “for gathering with us, for taking the time to honor those family members, neighbors, friends, classmates and fellow citizens who answered our nation's call and who served in harm's way and who are no longer with us.”

“We honor their patriotism and their sacrifice. We honor their selfless service to others. They led the way and defined honor and courage for the generations that followed them!”

He delivered the opening prayer- recognizing the veterans of this great nation.

He introduced the Tupper Lake High School band, under the direction of Laura Davison, who performed the national anthem, “The Star Spangled Banner,” in rousing yet moving fashion.

Meanwhile the Tupper Lake Honor Guard members- Commander Mike Larabie, Ray Bigrow, Tracy Luton and Joe LeBlanc- presented arms and stood stiffly at attention.

In the absence of any local boy scouts, three members of the Tupper Lake Girl Scout troop came forward at Mr. Moeller's urging at the last minute to lead the attendees that morning in the “Pledge of Allegiance.”

In the absence of the guest speaker Mr. Moeller read from her notes.

Ms. Ainsworth is a licensed clinical social worker who is the director of the mental health association in Essex County, he told the group. She is also the executive director of Homeward Bound Adirondacks and it was about that facility she was going to address the Tupper Lake audience that day.

Mr. Moeller serves on the board of that organization with her.

He said she also has a private practice where she specializes in treatment of veterans and law enforcement officers with PTSD and complex trauma. Valerie, he continued, also works as a contract mental health provider for the Wounded Warrior project, which is nationwide, and so she travels around the country to its retreats helping veterans.

“She's a very talented and caring professional...a social worker with a very kind spirit.”

Valerie has helped veterans come to the forests of New York and in doing so has helped improve their lives through retreats here in the Adirondacks.”

He said 100 years ago the Adirondacks was a place to take the cure for tuberculosis. “Now we are using these same Adirondack mountains to help folks deal with PTSD!”

“Valerie has taught them they are not alone, they are not forgotten and that seeking help is not a sign of weakness.”

“So how is this tied to Memorial Day? Sadly we are experiencing in this nation an epidemic of veteran suicides. Many of our heroes take their own lives every day!”

He said the weekend retreats that Homeward Bound provides offers “coping mechanisms” for those veterans suffering from PTSD.

Homeward Bound was established in 2010 as a not-for-profit. It provides transportation to veterans in a van it owns, taking them to medical appointments and such. The organization also offers “a crisis outreach” program for veterans.”

He said Valerie had two telephone calls this past weekend from veterans “who were having a hard time as this Memorial Day weekend approached and as they thought about the friends and fellow soldiers they had lost.”

“We also offer emergency grants for soldiers dealing with homelessness, fuel assistance, broken pipes- those kinds of emergencies.”

He said Homeward Bound receives no direct public funding. “All of its funds come from grants written on the organization's behalf and from the generosity of donors like yourselves -And Tupper Lake has been very generous in support of Homeward Bound.”

He said the last two years of COVID have been very challenging for everyone, including soldiers and veterans who may be alone. “Veterans are a tough bunch. They don't want to ask for or accept help. Many joke they are experts in being locked down anyway, so COVID was nothing different for them.”

Mr. Moeller said a primary consequence of COVID, however, is that veterans do feel more isolated, more depressed and more subject to suicidal tendencies.

Homeward Bound hosted several retreats in the area during COVID- but they were smaller than normal attended by fewer veterans than is customary.

“Several of the participants told Valerie that these were life-saving events for them!”

June is PTSD awareness month and one of Homeward Bound's initiatives is “to reduce the stigma associated with asking for help, raise the awareness of the high risk of veteran suicides and educate veterans, their families and their employers about the value of getting help when things become too much,” he told the crowd.

“PTSD is a very natural response to a very unnatural experience...the brain stores that trauma in different parts of it along with other memories. This keeps the dangerous situations just under the surface with ready access. So certain memories are triggered by different sights, smells, sounds and they can flash up at any moment.” The results can become debilitating and extremely difficult to deal with, he stressed.

“Homeward Bound also helps veterans access services in the community. It works closely with VA clinics, local mental health agencies, substance abuse organizations like St. Joe's and the United Way.

“What we have witnessed in the last eight years is that the wilderness of the Adirondacks is a great healer. It's a wonderful equalizer that promotes bonding as veterans come with their families. Vets help vets!”

“Veterans who have suffered from PTSD and have learned coping mechanisms can help teach those mechanisms to other veterans- and particularly younger ones!”

He said it is the peer to peer counseling that proves to be the most effective.

“-And doing this in the wilderness here in the Adirondacks is priceless!”

Mr. Moeller said effective too are the conversations late at night around a camp fire. “That's where real and powerful discussions happen as veterans open up to other veterans about their experiences!”

He said for the last eight years the organization has been renting places around the North Country to conduct these retreats. “But last year we purchased 105 acres near Lake Titus and that will soon become the Sgt. Carlton Clark Veterans Center. It will be named after the Vermont engineer with the 101st Airborne who was killed in Iraq in 2006. A member of his family has been a regular and very generous donor to the work of Homeward Bound Adirondacks.

He said in coming years built there will be four sleeping cabins, a utility building with a bath house and a large lodge on site with commercial kitchen and meeting area where these important conversations will continue.

Mr. Moeller said on June 14 Stars and Stripes will be raised on a 40-foot tall flag pole at the retreat site that will mark the official start of the process. Around the flag pole will be built a memorial garden with four foot high walls, comprised of bricks that will bear the names of veterans and their years of service. The Homeward Bound web site explains the process of making those donations to special veterans.

“-And lastly Homeward Bound wants to thank the town and village of Tupper Lake for their ongoing support and will keep the local communities updated regularly on the progress to come,” he said ending Valerie's address.

The high school band then played its medley of service anthems- an especially enjoyed piece of every Veterans Day and Memorial Day observance here. The band again this year did a great job with it.

Wreaths lined the walkway before the memorial that morning, ready for placement at the war memorial. There were wreathes prepared for the Tupper Lake boy scouts and girl scouts, Woodmen Lodge by John Ellis and Phil Wagschal, the Red Hat Society, Knights of Columbus 2177 by officers Bob Guiney and Kevin Keeler, the Tupper Lake School District, the Tupper Lake Volunteer Fire Department and its ladies auxiliary, placed by Mike Russell and his daughter Christine, the Village of Tupper Lake, laid by Mayor Paul Maroun, the Town of Tupper Lake, American Legion Post 220 by Bill “Stevie” Stevenson, Tupper Lake Honor Guard by Commander Larabie, Adirondack Leathernecks Marine Corp. League placed by Wesley Hoyt and Terry Tubridy, AmVets Post 710 by Bruce Cook, and VFW Post 3120 placed by Craig Bowman.

The Tupper Lake Honor Guard then fired three volleys of shots. It was followed by a performance of “Taps” by a high school senior and band member, Lowden Pratt.

The high school band members put a nice finish to the observance with a sterling performance of “America, the Beautiful” and “Stars and Stripes Forever.”

After they finished, MC Moeller asked for a second round of applause for the young musicians and the crowd responded vigorously. “These students and their director come to every ceremony of Veterans Day and Memorial Day and they come in rain or shine. “It could be too hot or too cold or raining cats and dogs but they always come and they always perform their lively patriotic gifts that always add to our ceremonies! We are so grateful they do so!”

Mr. Moeller also acknowledged Brent Cook and Mary Kay Kucipeck who tend to the landscaping of the veterans park and care for its plants. “They keep it clean and neat and in doing so it it helps honor our veterans,” he told the crowd, before offering the closing prayer.

During the ceremony miniature flags were distributed by members of the Woodmen Lodge, and before closing Mr. Moeller asked the many in attendance with the tiny flags in their hands to wave them proudly, which everyone there that morning did.

It marked an appropriate close to an excellent Memorial Day observance here.