Aurora veteran has attended every Memorial Day cemetery visit since 1950
Ken Olson kept his “unwavering commitment” to honoring fellow veterans on Memorial Day for the 68th consecutive year.
The 91-year-old Navy veteran from Aurora, who was stationed on a minesweeper in World War II, has attended every Roosevelt Aurora American Legion Post 84 Memorial Day cemetery visit since 1950.
Starting at 8 a.m. on Memorial Day each year, members of Post 84 visit four cemeteries — Lincoln Memorial, Annunciation and St. Michael in Aurora, and River Hills Memorial Park in Batavia.
“I just felt it was my duty to honor fellas who had been in service. My service really started during World War II, but it ended in August of 1946 so my activity was not as great as some,” Olson said this week at his Aurora home. “But I did see some wounded veterans, and my heart really went out to them and their families.”
Olson jokingly says Memorial Day was one day his wife never checked in on him.
“She always said she was never worried about me on Memorial Day because she knew exactly where I was,” he said.
The ceremony always features the American Legion color guard, prayers from the chaplain, words from the acting commander, a 21-gun salute and a bugler's rendition of taps.
“Each year we have to recognize the significance of a holiday dedicated to giving honor to those who have given their lives for our freedoms,” said Cmdr. Mike Eckburg, a Navy corpsman in the Vietnam War. “This unwavering ceremony has been attended by many Legionnaires throughout the years, and Ken Olson is the only member who has never missed one.”
“It's just been instilled in me to pay respects to these honored dead,” Olson said. “I saw returnees from the Okinawa invasion when I was in the hospital at Great Lakes (Naval Station). They were young fellas and they had their arms and legs gone. I just remembered that, and in my small way, all I can do is attend and take part in the ceremonies.”
In the coming years, however, Olson, who turns 92 in August, said he may be participating from the air-conditioned comfort of his car.
“I almost think my career in doing this has come to an end,” he said. ‘I can no longer keep in step for the marches, and that's important. I'll still go but I'll probably stay in the car from now on.”
Olson said he realizes not everyone can dedicate the time he has, but there's a simpler way to show your patriotism.
“I fly my flag every day,” he said. “That's something easy that everyone can do.”
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