Meredith McMackin is familiar with the pangs of grief. As an art therapist and mental health counselor of more than five years, she spends her Monday afternoons co-leading a grief and loss support gro
People gathered at Fort Vancouver on Monday to honor our fallen service members. Meredith McMackin, a Gold Star mother, lost her 21-year-old son, Julian, in Iraq 14 years ago. She said May is a hard month for her. “The last time I spoke to my son Julian was on Mother's Day. He told me he stood in line for two hours to call me from Iraq,” McMackin said. “Less than three weeks later we got a knock on the door late at night. " Julian died about 10.
Clark County pays its respects on Memorial Day By Taylor Balkom for The Columbian
Published: May 31, 2021, 5:44pm
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5 Photos Gold Star mother Meredith McMackin, right, and Vancouver Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle walk toward the Clark County Veterans War Memorial during a wreath laying ceremony as part of a Memorial Day observance at the Fort Vancouver Artillery Barracks. (Taylor Balkom for The Columbian) Photo Gallery
Sunny skies and warm weather greeted a respectful crowd that gathered at the Fort Vancouver Artillery Barracks on Memorial Day to remember family, friends and community members who died in military service.
The event put on by the Community Military Appreciation Committee, or CMAC featured a slew of speakers ranging from Vancouver Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle to Gold Star mother Meredith McMackin. There was also a wreath-laying ceremony at the nearby Clark County Veterans War Memorial.