Saguache County Veterans Service Officer Tom Blunt and Korean War veteran and former Marine and Colorado legislator Lewis Entz were on hand for the dedication ceremony of the latest Saguache County veteran's memorial in La Garita.

LA GARITA — Area residents gathered at La Garita Cemetery Sunday to participate in the dedication of one of several veterans memorials erected in the county.

Monuments also have been dedicated at Villa Grove Cemetery and Hillside and Chicago Cemeteries near Saguache. A marker will be dedicated at the Crestone cemetery in September.

Members of the Ft. Garland Memorial Regiment, Company K, 4th U.S. Cavalry, (re-enactment) sat in formation on horseback during the ceremony, representing Civil War veterans. The Ladies of the Garrison (re-enactors) also attended the dedication in costume.

The dedication ceremony followed the barbecue lunch at noon held during La Garita Day. Commander and veterans’ service officer Tom Blunt, flanked by members of the American Legion, also Veterans of Foreign Wars, gave the address.

He spoke to those gathered at the cemetery briefly, emphasizing that the men buried there, “are worthy of far greater recognition than mere words and this marker. Their sacrifices and those of their families built the foundation for our democracy.”

Blunt thanked Saguache County Commissioners for making erection of the memorials possible by providing the necessary grants. Former Marine and state legislator Lewis Entz also thanked Blunt’s office and commissioners for commemorating veterans.

Veterans honored during the dedication who are buried in La Garita include: Ben John Archuleta, Joe Ted Archuleta, Jose Benito Archuleta, Frank Armenta, Alfonse A. Arellano, Felipe A. Arellano, Jose Daniel Bernard, Rafael Cortez, Eddie A. Espinosa, J. Julian Espinosa, Sam Luis Jaramillo, Lauriano Lovato, Joe B. Martinez, Jose Patricio Martinez, Eloy Bellarmino O’Cana, Joe R. Olguin, Carlos Valencia, Jose S. Vigil and Charlie White. Other names will be added to the marker as more graves are identified as those of veterans.

The grey marble monument was provided by John Glass at Valley Monument.

“The original idea and concept for the whole thing began with Doug Freel’s family from the Mosca-Hooper area,” Blunt said. It was the Freel family and Mosca-Hooper residents who first gathered funds to erect a veteran’s memorial at the Rio Alto Cemetery where Freel is buried.

Rita Freel told those attending the dedication at Rio Alto that during her husband Doug Freel’s last illness, she spent a great deal of time at the Veteran’s Regional Medical Center in Denver. While there, “I heard a lot of veterans tell their stories,” she said. “If you have never sat down and listened to their stories you’re really missing something.”