Around 5 a.m., men and women load up into a white van and drive off to take a hill. Old minds are reminded of a time when a 5 a.m. SP meant trouble.
This time, there’s no pre-combat check. Those days are long gone, but not forgotten. Despite this, the vets share the same sense of mission from the past.
It won’t go away for them.
Bikers with leather vests trail the vans, with each rider repping a patch from a different veteran biker association.
The group ventures higher towards a picturesque, velvet-blue sky. The backdrop sets a spiritual tone for visitors.
The vets are followed by Gold Star families and loved ones here to remember their fallen. Piestewa Peak is in the background, and hills surround the families as indigenous elders give spiritual recognition and perform ceremonies to remember the fallen husbands, brothers, sons and daughters.
Here, at the 22nd Piestewa Fallen Heroes Memorial Sunrise Service, all faiths are welcome, but the ceremony is uniquely indigenous. It’s a nod to Lori Piestewa, the first Native American woman to die in combat and the peak’s namesake.
Lori’s mother, Percy Piestewa, took the time to pray for everyone and to honor Lori.
“Please bow your heads and pray with me in your own way,” she said. “Lord, for 22 years, we have gathered here on this sacred ground to honor Lori and all the veterans past and present. We come here together as a family. We come together to remember our heroes, our Gold Star Families, the ex-POWs of war, and you. Teach us to give thanks for what we have by sharing it with those in need. Keep our eyes open to the wonders of creation and to honor the cares of the earth. Help us to honor those who died protecting the freedoms that we so often take for granted and for protecting each and every one of us. We ask this in your Son’s name, our Lord, Jesus Christ, amen.”
