STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK

Higher Ground’s new CEO spent 20 years as a combat leader and aviator for the U.S. Navy and Air Force. And that, he told those at Hailey’s Memorial Service, gave him “a deep and permanent awareness of what could be asked of you and the people standing beside you.

“The fact that my daughter has chosen to follow behind me makes it all the more profound,” he said. “Most come home, but not all. And it’s for those who don’t, for those who give everything, that we need to continue to pay tribute.”

Shaughnessy met his wife Tricia while in Sun Valley while stationed at Mountain Home Air Force Base. Their daughter Ella, a graduate of Wood River High School is now a sophomore at the Naval Academy.

Mike Shaughnessy, Higher Ground’s new CEO, told the crowd that their presence mattered—to those now in uniform, to those who have sacrificed family or friends and to those who will serve in the future.

Armed with an MBA from Dartmouth College, Shaughnessy worked on Wall Street and for Balsam Brands, an artificial Christmas tree company based in Boise, following service. He will assume his new role with Higher Ground on June 9.

“Their mission is amazing. Helping veterans and outdoor recreation is something I care a lot about,” said Shaughnessy, who has coached the Wood River High School Mountain Bike Team, in addition to serving on the board of the Wood River Trails Coalition.

Shaughnessy told those attending Monday’s ceremony how he had recently visited Arlington National Cemetery.

“Walking those grounds past the rows of white headstones stretching across the hillside, thousands of them perfectly aligned, something shifts inside you. Every marker is a name. Every name is a story. A family. A life that was full, and then wasn’t. Seeing those graves leaves a mark.”

Charlotte Costigan and Opal Gersch were among the Girl Scouts passing out poppies in honor of veterans.

He noted that Memorial Day has its roots in the Civil War—the bloodiest chapter of American history.

“After it claimed more than 600,000 lives—more Americans than any conflict before or since--communities across the country began doing something quietly beautiful. They went to the graves of the fallen and placed flowers on them. They called it ‘Decoration Day.’

Earlier, he added, President Abraham Lincoln had stood on the fields of Gettysburg and called on Americans to take up “increased devotion to that cause for which America’s soldiers had given the last full measure.”

“The last full measure. These were not people who gave a little. They gave everything. Every future birthday. Every morning with their family. Every ordinary Tuesday that most of us take for granted.”

The Honor Guard passes an American flag that would be raised from half-mast at the conclusion of the ceremony.

Shaughnessy challenged those present to honor those who had given the last full measure not just by placing flowers on a grave but by the way they choose to live, including the way they treat one another and the way they show up for neighbors and community.

“The fact that on a battlefield far away, on the open sea miles from home…someone gave all for the freedom you enjoy. Maybe you didn’t know them. But somewhere there is a family that does…Honor them not just with your words today but with who you choose be tomorrow.”

After Shaughnessy issued his challenge, Joan Davies recited “In Flanders Field” as she told the story of a ceramic poppy gifted to the Hailey Cemetery that was one of more than 880,000 created to cascade down the Tower of London in honor of Britain soldiers killed in World War I.

Silver Sage Girl Scouts offered attendees paper poppies, the official flower of the American Legion, and residents of Men’s Second Chance Living carried the Battlefield Cross, a wooden sculpture boasting a helmet, rifle and combat boots carved by Bellevue artist Glenn Carter.

Dean Comley, a member of the Wood River Orchestra, played “Taps.”

“It’s an honor really,” said Nick of Men’s Second Chance Living. “I Like serving the community,” added Meyo

“It’s been fun selling poppies,” said Girl Scout Opal Gersch. “Everyone is so kind.”

“Today’s the day to honor veterans,” added Charlotte Costigan. “Like my great-grandfather who drove a tank against the Japanese during World War II.”

The Caritas Chorale harmonized on “America the Beautiful” and other patriotic tunes, while John Primrose sang “The Star-Spangled Banner.” And Dean Comley, who played in the Third Infantry Band in Wurzburg, Germany, played “Taps”—the real deal, not an electronic bugle.

Geegee Lowe, who organized the ceremony, challenged the audience to honor the 432-plus veterans interred at the Hailey Cemetery in some way, even through such programs as Higher Ground.

“Their wounds are there, although they may be hidden,” she said.

AT THE KETCHUM CEMETERY

Blaine County Sheriff Morgan Ballis delivered the Memorial Day message at the Ketchum Cemetery, while members of Wood River High School’s Colla Voce provided the music.

The 11 Colla Voce members performed two end-of-the-school-year concerts over the weekend at The Liberty Theater in Hailey, with the second delayed by more than a half-hour after the building’s fire alarm went off five minutes before showtime.

Finally, someone was found who knew the straightforward code to turn it off and the show did go on with an a cappella version of The Beatles’ “In My Life” and a special appearance of the Wood River High School Dixie Band playing “The Girl from Ipanema.”

Graduating seniors Isabel Rossellini, Cookie Cook, Gimena Lopez and Lizzie Loving, a Sun Valley Community School senior, delivered stunning adaptations of Elton John’s “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,” “Misty,” the haunting “Can’t Catch Me Now” from “The Hunger Games and “Corre!” Then the foursome gathered together for a final sendoff, singing choir director John Mauldin’s arrangement of John Denver’s poignant “Leaving on a Jet Plane.”

The elite choir won Gold at the Heritage Festival in Anaheim this year, singing “Wings,” “Womankind” and “Meadowlark.” And they received an adjudicators award for the high scores awarded them by each judge.