Memorial Day ceremonies continued across the Yampa Valley Monday. At the Steamboat Springs Cemetery, snowy and cold weather didn’t keep the VFW and American Legion from honoring and remembering the sacrifices made by local veterans in the service of our country.
One of those Steamboat veterans honored was Robert Grippa who served with the Marine Corps in Vietnam. Grippa will be 81 years old in July.
“And I want everybody that is younger than us to understand what this is and what this service means to all the military people. It means that whatever I went through for that year, it was worth it.”
Michael McCuistion is 85 years old and was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Air Force. The part-time Steamboat resident was also a POW in Vietnam.
“It’s nice that people care. You want to think you did something that counted.”
This was the 100th year of the Memorial Day tradition at the cemetery in Steamboat Springs where 304 veterans are buried. Local Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts also participated along with cadets from the Civil Air Patrol Squadron.
