Memorial Day weekend sees all kinds of events honoring those who served and died in the nation’s defense.
One annual observance at the Eugene Masonic Cemetery drew several dozen people to a hilltop Sunday afternoon.
With American flags adorning veterans’ graves, 70-year-old trumpeter Barry Barreau played “Taps” as visitors paused and reflected on the greatest sacrifice made by many laid to rest here.
Barreau told KLCC that he’s played at military funerals and ceremonies for 56 years, beginning with a performance when he was in the 8th grade and living in Creswell. He was deemed physically unfit to serve in the Vietnam War, due to several leg surgeries in his youth.
“So being able to participate in memory of those who have served and are serving, means a lot to me.”
Barreau plays trumpet for between four to six ceremonies on Memorial Day alone, meaning he’s busily traveling with his instrument to various communities. But he feels it helps honor those who went on to fight for their country, including others in his family.
“I’m thankful for those who served, I try and get into that mentality as far as I'm not just performing,” said Barreau.
After “Taps”, visitors went on guided tours.
Catherine Kordesch, a board member with the Eugene Masonic Cemetery Association, said people enjoy walking through the site.
“It’s a natural area. We have a lot of native plants, we don’t mow the grasses like other cemeteries do, and we have lots of monuments that are really old.”
There are 141 veterans buried in the cemetery, and 11 more in Hope Abbey, an Egyptian Revival mausoleum. Kordesch says many served in the First and Second World Wars , but there are those who served in the Civil War here as well.
Other Memorial Day events were held across the region, including a Civil War style black powder rifle salute at the Pioneer Cemetery near the University of Oregon.
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