Community honors, grieves for those who died in the line of duty

May 28, 2006

By DAWN DE BUSK

Frontiersman

PALMER - Friday was painful for Teresa Melson, but she appreciated the community's support for her son, a U.S. soldier killed this year in the line of duty.

Melson is the mother of Spc. Jacob Melson, who was killed when his Black Hawk helicopter crashed near Tal Afar, Iraq, on Jan. 7. She and other families of fallen soldiers attended a memorial assembly at Palmer Junior Middle School on Friday, accepting gold star flags to symbolize the sacrifice those soldiers made.

That January crash took the life of eight soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom, including Jacob Melson, 22, a Wasilla resident who was assigned to the Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 207th Aviation Regiment in Anchorage, according to the Arlington National Cemetery Web site.

On Memorial Day, this Monday, Teresa Melson will make an appearance at another ceremony in Anchorage, where a plaque bearing her son's name will be unveiled at the National Guard Armory.

Every time Melson's son is honored, she again experiences the sorrow of losing her child.

&#8220It feels like there's a lot of community support, but it's like ripping a Band-Aid off an old wound,” Melson said. &#8220I was OK when I got here, but then, I just broke down.”

Melson - along with her adult children, Joshua and Rachel, and her two grandchildren - gathered in the middle school gymnasium Friday afternoon as 29 students whose parents are deployed overseas or are active duty received blue-star flags, and three Alaska military families accepted gold-star flags. In addition, former Palmer Police officer Jim Rowland was honored. He died May 15, 1999, at the age of 30 after he was shot while on duty at Pioneer Square in Palmer.

About 200 out of about 650 PJMS students have relatives who are active military, according to teacher Debbie Niekamp, who coordinated the Memorial Assembly.

Another military mom, Sandy Bohling, stood before the crowd with her husband, Sgt. Charles Bohling, daughter, Sarah Tudor, and tiny grandchild, Veronica Rose, 5 weeks. They accepted a gold star for her son, Army Sgt. Matthew Charles Bohling.

&#8220It was very sad to get the gold star, and it was very honoring to get the gold star. He died fighting for freedom, and that was something he believed in,” Sandy Bohling said.

On Sept. 5, 2005, in Ramadi, Iraq, a roadside bomb killed her son, Matthew Bohling, a 22-year-old Eagle River resident who had been assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Benning, Ga., according to the Army Times Web site.

Bohling heard about the ceremony from Angela Berberich, the mother of Sgt. Kurtis Arcala, who died Sept. 11, 2005, from a roadside bomb during a convoy escort operation in Tikrit, Iraq, according to the Army Times Web sit, military.city.com. Arcala's family also took home a gold-star flag Friday.

Echoing the message of presenter Sen. Charlie Huggins, Mat-Su-R, Bohling said she hopes that, like her son, other young men and women will not be afraid to serve and to die for their country.

Huggins told students not only to honor their mothers and fathers, but to face the challenge of creating a better nation by becoming productive citizens.

&#8220Your country needs you because you are the future of our country,” Huggins said. &#8220These parents are loaning their sons, their daughters to their country. The blue star is a family legacy that is passed on from mom to son, or to daughter.”

Zachary Kondas, 14, and Marissa Kondas, 12, two students at PJMS and the offspring of Cpt. Joel Kondas, who has been in Iraq since September and is scheduled to return to Alaska in October, accepted a blue star for their father.

During the Gulf War, Holly Kondas was pregnant with Zachary while her husband was deployed. Now, the Kondas kids and their classmates have been immersed in supporting the military during the school year. Since the first week of May, the classes at the middle school put together almost 100 care packages to send to soldiers in Iraq.

&#8220I feel happy that they're giving them (the packages) to the Army and National Guard,” Marissa said.

She talked to her dad two weeks ago, and on Friday, she was dressed in camouflage pants and wore a red poppy to symbolize support for troops overseas.

Family members of the four fallen heroes released red, white, and blue balloons into the Palmer sky.

Following that patriotic act, Teresa Melson, who raised her kids in the Valley but now resides in Anchorage, stood on the lawn outside the school, the balloons microscopic dots above her. Copies of Jacob's military tags hung around her neck. Her daughter, Rachel, covered 14-month-old Amara with kisses. Melson's son, Joshua, prepared to load some of his mom's belongings in the car while he held his 4-month-old son.

&#8220We named him Tyler Jacob Melson after my brother,” Joshua said.

During the ceremony, Joshua briefly reached an arm behind his mother back as support when she started weeping.

Teresa Melson wasn't introduced to military service until she got married, and her husband still is with the National Guard. She like the idea of teaching young students about the military, especially with so many Alaskans deployed.

&#8220It's neat to teach kids respect of the flag and country and what it means,” Melson said.

When she heard she would be receiving the gold star, she started noticing gold- and blue-star flags hanging in the windows of homes around Anchorage.

The gold-star flag, a reminder of her son's dedication, will hang in her window, too.

Contact Dawn De Busk at

352-2252, or dawn.debusk@

frontiersman.com.