HERE’S TO HEROES

WASILLA — “I don’t know how they do it.”

It was a simple enough observation, made from a journalist to his wife. In the context of battle, however, those words become a testament to the sacrifices U.S. military personnel make every day. On Memorial Day, hundreds gathered in the Valley to honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in service to their country.

The journalist was embedded with a Marine Corps unit this past February during a major assault into southern Afghanistan, said Maj. William Allen, a 17-year Marine and a commander at Elmendorf Air Force Base. The journalist’s story was part of Allen’s keynote address Monday at the annual Memorial Day service at the Veterans’ Wall of Honor.

“There were reporters embedded with the Marines,” he said. “One reporter shared his experiences with his wife nightly via e-mails. He had been with the Marines for a couple of weeks and for several nights preceding the assault he would sit and chat with some of the Marines.”

What the journalist learned, as he told his wife, is that, “I’m not so different from these guys. We talk about cars, we talk about motorcycles, we talk about playing ball and we talk about the mystery of women. I am not so different from these Marines.”

It is because of men and women like those in southern Afghanistan that day that the United States remains a beacon of freedom, said Allen, who counts a Purple Heart and two Navy Commendation Medals (including one with valor in combat) among his decorations.

But Memorial Day is for those who didn’t make it back to tell their stories, he said.

“As we remember those who most recently gave their lives serving their country, we must also remember the hundreds of thousands who have gone before them,” he said.

Joe and Maryann Lisenby were among the more than 450 to gather at the Veterans’ Wall of Honor for the Memorial Day service. Both are Air Force and Vietnam veterans, and for Joe, Monday’s ceremony was emotional and personal as he remembered his brother, who is still missing in action in Korea.

Remembering those who served “is very important,” he said, adding that some youth today aren’t growing up with a strong sense of patriotism.

That would not be the case for Shane Artz, a 21-year-old bugler who has been playing “Taps” at veterans ceremonies since the he was in middle school. Along with Air Force veteran Hank Hartman, the pair ended the ceremony with the traditional playing of the song.

“It’s a privilege, definitely,” Hartman said about playing “Taps.” “I have to kind of pull myself away from the whole ceremony and concentrate on what I have to do, because it’s an emotional thing.”

Hartman also said having a live bugler on hand for veterans functions is important.

“I like to see the younger people doing this, like Shane here,” he said. “I don’t ever want us to have to do this with an electronic bugle or a recording.”

Continuing with his story, Allen said it wasn’t until the journalist’s camp was attacked that the man realized the difference.

While the Marines were grabbing their guns and gear and running out to the battle, the journalist “stopped and he dropped down behind a wall,” Allen said. “He told his wife there was nothing he could do to empower his legs to go forward into the blaze of battle. He said to his wife, ‘I don’t now how they do it.’”

Contact Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.