White Center and Triangle Park, the tiny piece of real estate at the joining of Delridge Way, 16th s.w. and Roxbury Street was the scene for the ceremony that rededicated the space as a memorial to military veterans on Sunday, Sept. 18. A

On hand for the event were the owner of Mac's Triangle Pub, Geoffrey "Mac" McElroy, Mark Ufkes, White Center Chamber of Commerce President, members of Boy Scout Troop 375, Jeff Fahey (who sang the national anthem) and an active duty color guard from the U.S. Air Force stationed at Joint Base Lewis McChord near Tacoma.

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McElroy spoke at the event and just prior said, "This is a way that we used to remember people. If you go to Washington D.C. we've some of the most incredible memorials to past accomplishments of our countrymen. This is a smaller scale of that. It means to me that my grandfathers who both served in the Pacific Theater during WWII are going to be remembered. It means to me that the people coming home from Aghanistan and Iraq will have a symbol of community support, appreciation and acknowledgement for their sacrifices."

It was last December when the flag pole was finally outfitted with an electrical outlet, after an effort by Ufkes and McElroy to make that happen. When McElroy bought the pub five years prior he noted that the flag was not lit at night, and the flag itself was tattered. It had been the responsibility of the Glendale VFW but that outpost became defunct and no one had adopted the flag.

As a Navy veteran of six tours in the Gulf War and with a family history of service he felt it was his duty to get the situation taken care of. As he said then “I’m very proud of my service and I’m proud of the fact that we have a World War II memorial right outside my door,” he said. “It’s because of those people that fought and died that we are able to have a multicultural symbol, the Baskets of Prosperity, out there.”

Ufkes said, "My father was in U.S. Navy, in the Seabees in WWII. He was going to be in the third wave on the main island of Japan. They estimated a 70% casualty rate in the third wave and they dropped the bomb. They said they might not have to invade which I've always felt was why I'm here. My father went into nuclear engineering as a result of that and spent his career at Hanford because he felt, 'look at what this did, it stopped war.' It was terrible yes, but we had to use it to stop war."

The Boy Scout troop took down the previous flag, folding it carefully, and the Color Guard presented the new flag which was attached and flown by scout Hank Ufkes, Mark's son.

The plaque created for the park (paid for with money raised by community donations) reads:

Re-Dedication
Triangle Veterans Park
to all who have served
our American Flag

September 18, 2011