Tribal drummers sing and play a drum as a color guard enters the Nix'ya'wii Warriors Memorial on Wednesday during a Veterans' Day ceremony in Mission.<br><i>Staff photos by E.J. Harris</i>
Col. Thomas O'Donovan (right) helps raise the CTUIR flag over the U.S. Ary Corps of Engineers headquarters in Kabul, Afghanistan. tear drop banner flags
Photo of Col. Thomas O'Donovan
Tribal drummers sing and play a drum as a color guard enters the Nix'ya'wii Warriors Memorial on Wednesday during a Veterans' Day ceremony in Mission.<br><i>Staff photos by E.J. Harris</i>
Col. Thomas O'Donovan (right) helps raise the CTUIR flag over the U.S. Ary Corps of Engineers headquarters in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Photo of Col. Thomas O'Donovan
The distinctive red flag waving in front of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers headquarters in Kabul was unfamiliar to most who viewed it high atop the pole.
The new commander, Col. Thomas O'Donovan, had hand-carried the flag to Afghanistan last summer after receiving it from the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. On Wednesday, during a tribal Veteran's Day ceremony, O'Donovan gave the flag back, along with an eagle feather entrusted to him during the time of his deployment.
The flag, in actuality, was not the same flag that graced O'Donovan's office wall for almost 13 months. That flag was stolen at the Dubai airport when his luggage disappeared. O'Donovan, sickened by the theft, ordered a new flag from the manufacturer and hoped tribal people would focus on the honor of having their banner fly in Afghanistan instead of the loss.
O'Donovan, who worked with the Tribes on Celilo Village and other projects, was presented with the eagle feather during the closing powwow of a cultural training session this spring. He received the flag at a change of command ceremony when he relinquished command of the Army Corps of Engineers' Portland district.
The day O'Donovan started as commander of the Army Corps' headquarters in Kabul, an early-morning blast rocked the neighborhood after a car full of explosives rammed into the Indian Embassy gate and killed more than 40 people. The violence didn't keep Donovan from being installed as new commander that afternoon. The CTUIR banner was hoisted up the flag pole in a separate and smaller ceremony.
Eventually, O'Donovan moved the flag into his office to keep it out of the weather. The banner drew plenty of questions from curious visitors during his year in Afghanistan.
"People would ask, 'Whose colors are those?'" O'Donovan said.
O'Donovan said that question gave him an opportunity to talk about the CTUIR and its people.
At Wednesday's ceremony, O'Donovan first walked with tribal veterans into the circular Nix'Ya'Wii Warriors Memorial next to Nixyaawii Community School. They stood near engraved names of hundreds of fallen warriors, their deaths dating from the Indian Wars to the present day. As rain fell lightly, a circle of drummers beat out a hard-driving rhythm and sang in honor of the veterans and the dead. After prayers, "Taps" and spoken remarks, the ceremony moved inside the longhouse for the flag presentation.
O'Donovan greeted the crowd in Dari.
"Salaam alaykum," he said. "Peace be with you."
In taking the flag and eagle feather, O'Donovan said, he had several responsibilities. With the eagle feather, he was charged to care for and honor the eagle feather and ensure its safety, which involved carefully laying it in a cedar box and stowing it in a secure place in Oregon.
"It is illegal under the law of our land to take an eagle feather outside of our borders - the spirit of the eagle feather took care of us in Afghanistan," he said.
Before O'Donovan returned the flag, tribal leader Antone Minthorn spoke of warriors leaving for and coming home from battle. O'Donovan, a self-described Army brat from New England, listened as he stood next to Sam Spino, a local Native American veteran who recently returned from Iraq.
"A long time ago, when our men would get ready for war, they would circle the camp on horses singing a song," he said. "When they returned home from battle, they would circle the camp again singing the same song - many times there would be empty horses."
In a more modern version of this practice, O'Donovan and Spino slowly circled around the interior of the longhouse to the beat of the drum and the rise and fall of voices singing that same song.
After the first lap, veterans in the crowd joined the men, including Thomas O'Donovan Sr., who served two tours in Vietnam and lives in Vermont.
O'Donovan placed the flag on a pole and passed it over to tribal members. He presented a photo of the original flag flying over Afghanistan to Armand Minthorn, chairman of the Tribe's natural resources committee.
O'Donovan, who officially retired Tuesday, quoted an Indian chief he considers one of this country's greatest combat leaders as he described leaving his military role.
"In the words of Chief Joseph," O'Donovan said, "From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever."
Your comment has been submitted.
There was a problem reporting this.
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.
Sign up to receive news directly to your desktop. Click the bell icon in the nav bar, at any time to change your settings.
View detailed reports of major stock indexes and look up specific symbols.
Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks. We recommend switching to one of the following browsers:
Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device.
Account processing issue - the email address may already exist
When critical news happens, we bring it straight to you to keep you informed.
Digital Delivery of East Oregonian eEdition
Discover hidden treasures, unique finds, and unbeatable bargains with your weekly scoop on area garage sales.
A weekly note from our editor about the inner workings of the newsroom.
Would you like to receive our EO Parent Magazine Newsletter?
Find out what's happening with the latest events in our community.
Start every day with all the essential news in Eastern Oregon.
Daily obituaries from Eastern Oregon.
Get the best independent source of news and analysis of Oregon state government delivered to your inbox once a week.
Get the latest sports highlights in your inbox.
Best trending stories from the week.
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Invalid password or account does not exist
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
Secure transaction. Secure transaction. Cancel anytime.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
nylon flag A receipt was sent to your email.