Valley Memorial Day service draws hundreds

May 30, 2006

By JOEL DAVIDSON

Frontiersman

MAT-SU - On Monday afternoon, Jim Grizzell stood at attention, his 84-year-old hands gripping an American flag. As he pulled the strings hanging from the flagpole, Old Glory rose above a Memorial Day crowd at the Veterans' Wall of Honor.

Grizzell's eyes flooded with tears and his mind with memories.

It was 65 years ago when he served on the USS Lexington CV-2 during World War II, but the memories of war and death remain raw and unreconciled. Grizzell pointed to the memorial wall where the names of fallen soldiers are etched in stone.

&#8220The names of lots of my friends are there,” he whispered.

Those names should not be forgotten nor the graves neglected, said Jeffrey Mellinger, Command Sergeant Major of the Multi-National Force in Iraq.

&#8220Some Americans have forgotten the meaning and traditions of Memorial Day, but certainly nobody in this assembly has,” he told an estimated crowd of about 600. &#8220At cemeteries across the land, the graves of the fallen are often ignored and neglected.”

White hair and gray beards dominated the assembly, while traffic roared down the Parks Highway and lakeside parks filled with weekend recreators.

&#8220Where are those (Memorial Day) parades of years gone by?” Mellinger asked. &#8220Is it too easy to forget those that have given so much?”

Dressed in full uniform, Mellinger praised those who took time to remember their freedom comes with a price. After his speech, he shook hands with a couple of star-struck Boy Scouts who presented an honorary wreath for the occasion.

&#8220Somewhere you had an adult that told those boys that this is something important,” Mellinger said. &#8220Part of the Scouting program is about citizenship, and the difference between being a citizen and being a resident is what you contribute to the society you live in. If all you ever do is take and you never give back, you're just a resident. This country is full of residents - there aren't too many citizens.”

Citizens, though, come in all stripes, Mellinger explained. From those who volunteer to clean trash to those who help beautify a city, the opportunities to enhance social life are endless.

&#8220You don't have to serve in uniform to contribute,” he added.

At week's end, Mellinger is flying back to Baghdad to serve another eight to nine months.

He came to Alaska specifically to speak at Monday's gathering.

&#8220If you want kids to grow up and learn the value of what we're doing here today, you start them young and take them to these things so they understand when they grow older that this is important.”

Boy Scout leader Chuck Kaucic is attempting to do just that.

Dressed in Scouting uniforms, members of pack 325 listened to the speakers and soaked in what they could.

Kaucic said he takes his pack to local cemeteries in Palmer and the Butte during Memorial Day, where they post crosses, poppies and decorative flags on the graves of fallen veterans.

&#8220I teach my kids that when you profess something, you mean it and you know what you're talking about,” he explained. &#8220Memorial Day is not a recreational holiday - it is a day where we commemorate our war dead.”

Ultimately, though, Mellinger acknowledged people have a choice as to how to spend their holiday. That freedom, however, is born of a sacrifice, he added.

&#8220If you want to come to these events, come,” he said. &#8220If you don't - that's your choice.”

Contact Joel Davidson at

352-2266 or joel.davidson@

frontiersman.com.