A group of Veterans took to the streets on Dec. 8 as a way to honor Andrew Yoder and Travis Corbet, two Marine Corps veterans who died during a Seattle crane collapse last spring. Yoder, 31, was a North Bend resident.

The gathering was organized by Marine Corps veteran Jim “Gunner” Curtis and began at 9 a.m. at North Bend City Hall. It ended at about 10:45 a.m. outside the Calvary Mount Si Church in Snoqualmie. The march covered about 2.5 miles and had six veteran participants, Curtis said.

Outside of North Bend City Hall the group constructed a makeshift memorial to honor the two veterans. Four cement construction blocks were stacked, holding up a Marine Corps flag and pole. In front of the flag were two stones, to represent Yoder and Corbet. It was built Sunday morning before the march, and by Tuesday someone had removed the structure.

The march was meant to honor not only the two veterans, but also to honor all Marines and sailors killed in the Pearl Harbor attack of Dec. 7, 1941. Some 2,335 military personnel were killed in the attack, according to visitpearlharbor.org.

Before the march, Curtis read two of his poems, “Move Over John Wayne” and “So I am told.” The first touches on WWII veterans and the second spoke of Marines during the Korean War.

Curtis hopes to make the march an annual tradition.

A makeshift memorial sits outside North Bend City Hall during a memorial march held in memory of veterans Andrew Yoder and Travis Corbet. They were killed last spring when a crane collapsed in Seattle. photo courtesy of Jim Curtis