Once again, time stopped Monday in Friday Harbor.

The noise of downtown life yielded to the sounds of marching feet, the barks of the sergeant’s commands, the flutter of the colors in the breeze.

At Memorial Park, islanders and visitors gathered at the monument engraved with the names of San Juan County’s World War I dead.

And once again, as generations before have done every year since 1921, the island remembered and gave thanks to America’s veterans — particularly those who gave what President Lincoln called “the last full measure of devotion.”

The uniqueness of this day was not lost on those in attendance. This Memorial Day took place during the town’s centennial. It is also the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the joint military occupation of the island by U.S. and British troops. In 13 years, no shot was fired in hostility. The period remains an example that nations can settle disputes peacefully.

However, during four years of that peaceful standoff, the United States itself was divided in a bloody, four-year civil war. That conflict gave birth to the observance that ultimately became Memorial Day.

American Legion Post 163 Commander Shannon Plummer, dressed in a uniform similar to those worn during the joint military occupation of the island, called the last full measure of devotion of our war dead a precious gift, “the fiber of the word freedom … We honor that sacrifice today.”

Plummer reminded the crowd that 1,500 World War II veterans die each day, and he pointed out some of the members of the Greatest Generation in attendance that day: Roy Matsumoto, a member of the U.S. Army Ranger Hall of Fame; Noble Starr, who received a Purple Heart at the Battle of the Bulge; Sam Buck, Frank Miner, Al Nash, Marty Percich.

Looking on, standing in formation with the Legion Color Guard, was National Guard Spc. David Tobon, a naturalized American citizen whose unit just returned from Iraq. His son, David Jr., 15 months, toddled nearby in a special-made set of fatigues.

Abby Kitchen, once described as San Juan Island’s Charlotte Church, sang the National Anthem without flaw.

Town Councilwoman Carrie Brooks added forceful eloquence to the day, calling our veterans the “keepers of our basic freedoms.”

She said, “It was the veteran, not the preacher, who gave us freedom of religion. It was the veteran, not the reporter, who gave us freedom of the press. It was the veteran, not the poet, who gave us freedom of speech.

“It was the veteran, not the organizer, who gave us the freedom to assemble. It was the veteran, not the lawyer, who gave us the right to a fair trial. It was the veteran, not the politician, who gave us the right to vote.”

Author and historian Mike Vouri told of visiting the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., and running his fingers over the name of his Air Force pilot, Frank Birchak, who died in action over Vietnam on Jan. 11, 1969.

He then read a poem by Mary Frye: “Do not stand at my grave and weep, I am not there, I do not sleep. I am in a thousand winds that blow, I am the softly falling snow. I am the gentle showers of rain, I am the fields of ripening grain ….

“I am in the birds that sing, I am in each lovely thing. Do not stand at my grave and cry, I am not there. I did not die.”

Ary Hobbel of Cape San Juan, a citizen of The Netherlands and legal resident of the U.S., told of the liberation of his hometown by U.S. troops during World War II.

“I am a grateful first-person beneficiary of their sacrifices. I owe them. For me, too, this is Memorial Day.”

He added, “Freedom is not free, and it never comes at a discount.”

Sister and brother Meghan and Max McCormick read “In Flanders Fields” and the response, “We Shall Keep the Faith,” by Moina Michael, then read the names of the war dead on the monument.

The Elliott Bay Pipe Band played “Amazing Grace” — always stirring on bagpipes. Two girls dropped flowers into the harbor to remember the nation’s war dead.

Kitchen sang “God Bless America.” The American Legion Color Guard fired a salute. A cannon shocked the morning silence.

Trumpeters David Eden and Paul Dossett played “Taps.” Then, the crowd dispersed.

People left to decorate veterans’ graves at the island’s cemeteries and visit veterans in the island’s assisted living facilities. Battery D and the pipe band left to perform a ceremony at Roche Harbor.

The event and its participants melded into the fabric of the town’s history.