It was another rainy Friday to kick off Memorial Day weekend, and – like clockwork – Vietnam veteran Larrey Lattin was out at the Boulder Cemetery, placing flags on the graves of those who also served their country.
“They left home, they left family,” he said. “It’s tough.”
There are so many who have made the ultimate sacrifice, and all of them should be recognized, Lattin said.
“This guy was a World War I veteran,” he said, referring to the grave he’d just decorated with a flag. “There are so many. The very first grave by the big fir tree is one of Walter Cuchine, who was killed in the Pacific on April 14, 1942. A Basin native. All gave some, some gave all, and he gave it all.”
There are so many stories of veterans in Jefferson County, and Lattin wants them to be known and celebrated.
“So many here have history, whether they were wartime veterans or now,” Lattin said. “A veteran is a veteran. It doesn’t matter if they were in a foreign war or not.”
Lattin has his own story. He joined the Army in 1965, just two years after graduating from Jefferson High.
“I’d ever even heard of Vietnam,” he said, “and suddenly I was right in the middle of it. They’d jerked me off my honeymoon. And my wife was pregnant with our first daughter. I was bitching about it at basic training, but that was shut down right away.”
The drill sergeant asked for Lattin’s serial number, which had the prefix, “RA,” or “Regular Army,” meaning Lattin had enrolled in the military voluntarily. He was not a draftee.
“He reminded me I asked to be here,” Lattin said. “He had me.”
Making this sacrifice was hard enough, Lattin said, but it was even harder when so many who served in Vietnam were treated poorly upon returning home.
That’s why Lattin is out at the Boulder Cemetery every Memorial Day weekend. It’s why he continues to participate in the American Legion. It’s why he helps post the names of local veterans on the streetlights up and down Main Street.
“I try to right the wrongs with these civic, patriotic actions,” said Lattin, a member of the American Legion and VFW since 1970. “And it’s been good.”
But Lattin is concerned when he’s no longer around – he’ll be 78 next month – no one’s going to step up. There are some who assist, as he wasn’t alone on Friday when putting up the flags. Cory Sena, Bob Smiley, Jim Richardson and others also assisted with lettering on the north face of the memorial at Veterans Park. It’s encouraging, Lattin said, but more veterans need to get involved. The American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars meet the third Tuesday of every month at City Hall at 7 p.m. Lattin said they are lucky if they get a quorum.
“We need young guys,” he said. “All of us Vietnam guys are getting old. We’re graying out. And we’re the main membership right now. We need some of these Afghan and Iraq veterans to step up.”
Lattin said this isn’t a new issue, but it’s become increasingly concerning. It’s a struggle to even get three veterans to volunteer to represent the color guard in the Clancy Day parade. And, last year, only one person showed up to hear “Taps” at Veterans Park in Boulder on Memorial Day.
Those interested in getting involved can contact Lattin at (406) 431-9730or attend a meeting.
Those who know veterans in the area are also encouraged to inform them about Lattin and the opportunities available for them.
“I try to ask every veteran,” Lattin said, “but I don’t know them all. I need help.”
