For Hawthorne residents, it’s all in the military family

Hundreds of bunkers line distant desert like a master-planned prairie dog town of boggling proportions. Located on U.S. Highway 95 near the shore of Walker Lake about 310 miles north of Las Vegas, Hawthorne has roots reaching back to 1880, but today it is known best as the home of the Hawthorne Army Depot.

Signs dedicated to veterans from World War I to the ongoing war on terror are part of the community’s Veterans Memorial Highway, which leads you to a town that proudly calls itself “America’s Patriotic Home.”

It is all that and more.

It was an explosion in 1926 in a New Jersey military ammunition stockpile that put Hawthorne on the military map as a safer place to store a massive munitions depot.

Another deadly blast just a week ago vaulted the town back into the news. Seven members of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force died when a mortar shell accidentally exploded in its firing tube during a training exercise. Another seven were injured in the explosion on March 18.

It was a Monday full of misery for Hawthorne residents. Around here, the Armed Forces Day Celebration in May is even bigger than the Fourth of July barbecue.

This year’s 63rd annual event’s theme is “United in Strength,” and they are just that in Hawthorne.

At American Legion Post No. 19, representatives of every branch of the military greet you just inside the door. They’re barbecuing big burgers on a grill in the parking lot and preparing to apply a new coat of paint to the building, but last week still weighs heavily on their minds. Around Hawthorne, almost everyone has worn the uniform of their country.

“There’s a huge sense of loss in the community, not to mention a lot of shock that this kind of thing could happen,” Marine “Gunny” Jim Utterback says. “If you go to Veterans’ Park, Mineral County certainly has its share of names on the (memorial) rock, but this was just something that doesn’t usually happen here.”

In true small-town military fashion, residents began to assemble not long after the explosion echoed across the valley and the first sirens sounded. Emergency responders turned out, and by the end of the day, locals found themselves standing shoulder to shoulder at the memorial park holding a candlelight vigil and prayer service. Nearly 300 people came and shed many tears.

The Marines killed and injured weren’t from Hawthorne, but they were part of the family.

At the American Legion post, Bud and Marge Lemmond fondly recall entertaining troops in their home back during the Vietnam era. Bud is a Navy man, and Marge worked at the munitions depot.

Air Force veteran Dave Wilson adds, “Many of us here are retired military. We kind of understand this stuff. It hurts. It’s sad, but accidents happen. Things happen. We like to call ourselves ‘America’s Patriotic Home,’ and we mean it.”

The fundraisers began the first day. Hawthorne isn’t a wealthy community by a long stretch, but locals do what they can.

Outside the Macedonia Baptist Church, which calls itself “a going church for a coming Christ,” lifelong resident Vicki Conklin says, “It’s a very dangerous duty, and that’s why we honor them so much. We honor them every year with an Armed Forces Day parade. That’s the biggest day of the year, Armed Forces Day.”

And, lately, they’ve prayed for the military every night.

“We appreciate all of our troops because they keep us free to worship how we’d like,” she says. “They secure our freedom.”

Last week’s tragedy made national news, but it didn’t define this town or deter its residents. It served to illustrate the strength of the character of the people who call Hawthorne home.

John L. Smith’s column appears Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. Email him at jsmith@reviewjournal.com or call 702-383-0295.