An earnest tribute to veterans at Theon

THEON, Wash. — At the precise moment that a huge American flag was being lowered to half-staff in honor of fallen soldiers, three World War II-era fighter planes ripped through the sky in unison, wowing the crowd below.

Katie Rigby, of Lewiston, sang the national anthem in a rich, alto voice. Smaller flags fluttered in the wind, one saying: “All gave some, some gave all.” Other musicians played military hymns of the different branches on bagpipes, a guitar and a player piano.

And then the trio of fighter planes circled back and roared overhead again, each one doing a 180 in the sky before disappearing into the clouds.

“Well, that was cool,” said one woman on the ground.

It was the eighth annual Theon military flag raising ceremony at this former townsite about 15 miles south of Asotin just off State Route 129. The flat, nondescript plain was filled with hundreds of people who came to pay their respects to military heroes, both past and present. Dignitaries included the Nez Perce County Mounted Sheriff’s Posse, the Lewis Clark Saddle Club and local rodeo royalty.

The event was hosted by Travis Polek and his girlfriend, Letha Brown, at the entrance to their property. Free hot dogs and side dishes were offered and live and silent auctions were held to benefit the Idaho Veterans Assistance League.

“Well, it’s a great celebration,” said Arlene Mullins, of Anatone. “We’ve been doing this for several years and Travis has made it into a great celebration and it’s a big community get-together.”

Tom Polek, who is the father of Travis Polek, was presented with a red, white and blue afghan in appreciation for his military service in the 101st U.S. Army Airborne and for his help getting the Theon event started eight years ago.

Tom Polek said he gave his son a 42-foot flagpole as a gift and then a small group of neighboring farmers got together, mounted it in the ground and hoisted a flag.

“After it was done and all of them talked and they said, ‘You know, we should have this every year,’” Polek said. “So from there on it’s just blossomed and grew and grew and grew.”

Polek said last year there were hundreds of people at the gathering but because of the blustery weather Saturday, he thought the crowd might be a little smaller.

A van from the Idaho State Veterans Home in Lewiston brought a group of veterans, most of them seated in wheelchairs, to watch the flag raising.

Bruce Bedell, originally from New York City, served in the U.S. Army “all the way,” he said — regular Army, Reserves and National Guard. He worked as a combat medic stationed in Japan, Okinawa, Thailand and Vietnam.

Bedell said he was ecstatic to be part of the ceremony Saturday.

“It’s fantastic,” he said. “I didn’t know there’d be as many people here as there is. I’ve never been here before.”

Following the event, Travis Polek said he thought it was a huge success and estimated about 300 people attended Saturday.

“It’s to give back to the veterans is why we do it,” Polek said. “We give back to the veterans for what they’ve done to honor our country.”

Polek said he plans to keep the tradition going and thanked all the people who helped out to make the event successful.

“It’s a huge community effort to pull this off,” he said. “I think a lot of people don’t realize how the community bends over backwards to help out. It’s the whole Lewiston-Clarkston Valley and it’s a huge asset for them to be willing to step up to donate so much time to give back to the Idaho state veterans.”

Hedberg may be contacted at khedberg@lmtribune.com.