Saluting the military

June 3, 2005

CASEY RESSLER/Frontiersman Valley Life editor

As 14-month-old Kayleigh Moore gurgled and laughed during the Wasilla Chamber of Commerce's Salute to the Military Tuesday afternoon, U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski said the toddler is a perfect sign of why America is great.

Kayleigh is the daughter of Spc. Brandon Moore, a member of the Alaska Army National Guard's 411th Engineer Battalion, which recently returned from a 16-month deployment to Iraq.

"To serve us as your little girl is going through so many changes, growing up, you need to know how important that is to all of us," Murkowski said. "This is what America, and Alaska, is all about. You are all patriots, representing the best of Alaska."

The chamber's annual Salute to the Military is one of the biggest events it puts on throughout the year. Tuesday, more than 200 people filled Best Western Lake Lucille Inn to honor men and women, representing all branches of the military, including the new U.S. Coast Guard Arctic Guardian unit based in Anchorage. In addition to Murkowski, Gen. Craig Campbell of the Alaska National Guard was at the event. He commended the chamber for honoring the military with such a positive event.

"Up here in Wasilla, you put on the best party for the military than any other place in the state," Campbell joked.

On a more serious note, Campbell pointed out how important the Alaska National Guard has been during the last several years.

"We are busier now than we've been since World War II. Right now, we have between 250 and 300 of our guardsmen deployed in harm's way," Campbell said. "Forty-eight percent of our soldiers and airmen in Iraq come from the National Guard or are reservists. They are doing a tremendous job."

Every member of the military in uniform was personally introduced during the Salute to the Military. Three members of the 411th, including Moore, were present. They've been back approximately one month.

"I had 20 days of R&R, and now I'm due to get back to work on the Slope for Halliburton," Moore said.

Moore's wife, Brandy, said being a first-time mother with a husband in Iraq can be summed up in two words - "It sucked," she said. "Just not knowing anything that was going on was hard."

As Wasilla Mayor Dianne Keller pointed out during her proclamation, every person in uniform at the salute was wearing it voluntarily - putting their lives on the line for others.

"And we shouldn't forget that," Keller said.

The Salute to the Military wrapped up two weeks of Military Appreciation Week in the city of Wasilla.