At the western end of the Newport Avenue Bridge on Monday morning, a group of around 50 people gathered together as the sun was rising in the Central Oregon sky to remember U.S. soldiers who died in the line of service. 

The event was led by U.S. Army veteran and pilot Dick Tobiason, who spoke about those who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country and their family members who carry on their memory.

Tobiason displayed maps of Oregon and the United States, highlighting the highways that are now dedicated to veterans of each war going back to WWI. The years-long effort to dedicate the highways — spearheaded by Tobiason — includes the designation of US Highway 20 as the National Medal of Honor Highway. 

A wreath-laying ceremony, led by Gold Star families, then honored fallen service members. Boy Scouts were also on hand to lead a pledge of allegiance before placing hundreds of flags across the bridge and into downtown Bend. Many of those flags included the embroidered name of a fallen veteran. 

Atticus Zmach, 16, is working on becoming an eagle scout and was one of those young scouts helping to display the flags. He said the flag ceremony has been a part of his life since 2019. 

“It’s really important to remember what these people fought for,” said Zmach. “Taking one day off is important for us to honor them.”

For many in Bend, Memorial Day is an opportunity to barbecue, go for a bike ride, toss a frisbee or just enjoy the day off. But for those gathered near the bridge at the Bend Heroes Memorial, the morning was an opportunity for personal reflection. 

“We are reflecting on 1.1 million Americans who lost their lives in service to our country, since the start of World War I to the present, and the 112 Bend residents who made the ultimate sacrifice from World War I to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Tobiason said.

Tobiason is usually looking after war veterans who live in Central Oregon but he took a moment to reflect on his own experience as an Army pilot. 

While in Vietnam, he helped repatriate 27 American prisoners of war, leading a group of five “Huey” helicopters that flew to the Vietnam-Cambodia border to retrieve the soldiers. 

But he also remembers the low points and horrors of war.

“I had eight airplanes, eight pilots. We all survived but our air field was overrun by the North Vietnamese,” Tobiason said.  “We were all wounded with a hand grenade. That was the saddest moment. I could have been killed. I could have been a prisoner of war. But I am fortunate that I lived and received good medical care.”   

Eric Russell, a Navy veteran and a member of the Band of Brothers, is an assistant scout leader for Troop 25. His father also served as a combat medic in the 1950s. 

At the memorial on Monday, Russell said it was important to remember fallen soldiers from different wars and gather with other Americans to reflect on where the nation has been and where it’s going.

“We have lost a lot of people over the years and it’s really sad because family lines have disappeared because so many men were killed, especially in WWII and Vietnam,” Russell said. “Guys went over there and never came back so you have to take time to reflect on that.”

The message he passes along to scouts is simple.

“Think about having your freedom and how lucky you are. These guys before you answered the call to service and defended our freedom and they made the ultimate sacrifice.”

Among those who made the ultimate sacrifice were Randy Newman, a U.S. Marine who was killed by a roadside bomb in Rawah, Iraq on Aug. 20, 2006. He was 21 years old and working as a gunner on a striker vehicle when the explosion occurred.  

Randy Newman’s parents, Jerry and Ramona, were at the event Monday to reflect on their son, a day after what would have been his 40th birthday.

“It has been a little rougher than some,” Jerry Newman said. 

Jerry Newman had spoken with his son about 10 hours before he was killed. Randy was in good spirits. 

“He was talking about coming home and going on his next deployment already, like it was a done deal. Processing that was hard,” the elder Newman said.

Randy — a graduate of Mountain View High School and an avid outdoorsman and wrestler — loved Bend and was proud of his work in Iraq, his father said. 

“He was a professional soldier, he believed in the work and worked hard at it.”

As a kid in high school, Randy was deeply impacted by the attack on New York City and Washington D.C. on Sept. 11, 2001. He joined ROTC and wanted to become a Marine. His father convinced him to wait a year but after that time was up he left for the military. 

“That month (he arrived in Iraq) the civil war started. They blew up the Golden Mosque. Of course we didn’t know what that meant. The internal fighting turned everything on its head and he was right in the middle of it. His first firefight was two weeks after he got there.”

Jerry best likes to reflect on the time he spent with his son hunting and fishing in the mountains of Oregon and Idaho. He was the oldest of three sons and part of a large extended family in Bend. 

“He was hard working and had a fierce personality about him. He was a loyal friend.”

As a few joggers passed by Brooks Park and the ceremony wound down, Randy’s mom Ramona also thought about her son. 

“Randy loved his family. He loved his country. He loved his horses. He was our cowboy. He loved his dog. A lot of people said we were great parents but he made us look good, as parents.”

Another Gold Star family at the Memorial Day event was Peter and Lynn Ostrovsky, whose son Jack-Ryan Ostrovsky, a Marine, died when his amphibious assault vehicle sank off the Southern California coast on July 30, 2020. The tragedy killed nine service members.

Jack-Ryan, who went to Central Oregon Community College for a year, participated in a joint army ROTC program with Oregon State University. He then enlisted in the Marine Corps where he was a Marine rifleman. He was part of a unit nicknamed the China Marines because decades earlier — before WWII — the unit had been stationed in Shanghai. 

“Our son was very patriotic. He wanted to serve his county and he was blazing his own path,” said Peter Ostrovsky, Jack-Ryan’s father. 

Before shipping off to boot camp, the younger Ostrovsky hiked up Pilot Butte with ammo cans filled with sand and a heavy vest, done to honor fallen soldiers.

“Many people have found that online,” said Peter Ostrovsky. “Unbeknownst to us, there had been a family who for the past four years came from Clackamas County to do a memorial hike in honor of Jack at Pilot Butte. So he has made an impression on people in different communities.” 

“We were very proud that he became a marine and he loved being a Marine. We loved that he loved being a Marine because he found something that he had a passion for,” Jack-Ryan’s father said.

Peter’s parents said their son loved snowboarding on Mt. Bachelor and was a cross country runner in high school. He also loved cats and he had a passion for Japanese culture.

“He was a great kid. Pursuing his interests and creating his own path, which was wonderful,” Peter Ostovsky said. 

Jack-Ryan, who has a twin brother Sam, is now buried in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. 

Memorial Day events in Bend did not end with the ceremony by Newport Avenue Bridge. Flag placing events were held in cemeteries around Central Oregon. At Troy Field in downtown Bend, a reading of names of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan began at 8 a.m. and was expected to continue until around 11 p.m. A drum beat followed each name. Two beats were made for Oregon residents and three beats for Central Oregon residents. The reading of names was carried on a livestream, viewable at weareremembering.com.