On the right side of our top photo is the newly installed Peace Pole outside American Legion Post 160 in The Triangle, installed and dedicated during a Veterans Day commemoration this afternoon. It’s the eighth one installed around this area by the Rotary Club of West Seattle – and Post 160 Commander Keith Hughes says it’s the first of three that will help transform the Post’s front lawn into a Peace Park. The Rotary’s Kjersti Stroup said it’s one of more than 300,000 installed worldwide as a “symbol of the continuing quest for lasting peace.”

A short song expressed the sentiment embodied by the pole, which is decorated with messages of peace in eight languages: -:

Before the pole was dedicated and placed, those gathered inside Post 160 – which also serves as the West Seattle Veteran Center and Westside Neighbors Shelter – paid tribute to veterans, Scouts from Troop/Pack 282 presented the colors:

Commander Hughes gave a short speech he credited to Legion headquarters, telling the story of Korean War veteran and former POW Hiroshi Miyamura, who died last year.

His voice broke as he recounted the story of Miyamura rescuing a fallen fellow soldier. He reminded everyone that veterans’ service to the country deserves respect and gratitude every day of the year, not just this one holiday. The American Legion exists, he noted, because “warriors need advocates.”