Valley residents, officials gather at Veterans Wall of Honor in recognition of Veterans Day

WASILLA — On the 101st anniversary of Armistice Day ending World War 1, hundreds of Mat-Su Valley veterans and residents gathered at the Veterans Wall of Honor to celebrate Veterans Day and thank service men and women.

“There comes a time when it’s better for veterans to get together and it eases their minds and kind of puts their hearts at ease as well knowing that there are others out there that feel the same way they do,” Clinton Hiler said.

Hiler is a third-generation veteran of the United States Army. Hiler’s grandfather served in the Army from 1949 to 1951 and his father served from 1968 to 1969. Hiler enlisted in 1992 and was injured during service. Hiler said that it’s important for all generations to gather and remember the cost of freedom.

“Seeing a lot of these veterans from different eras, World War II, some from Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm, it sends a chill up your spine just knowing that they would give up everything that they held dear to protect what they hold dear,” Hiler said.

The Veterans Wall is owned by the Mat-Su Veterans Association of five separate Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion and American’s Veterans organizations. The inaugural Veterans Day Celebration at the new location in 2018 was cold and windy. Wasilla Mayor Bert Cottle, instrumental in the relocation of the Veterans Wall, joked that Monday’s ceremony felt like a heat wave compared to last year.

The Veterans Wall of Honor is not a memorial wall, so living veterans can have their names etched onto the Wall of Honor. This summer, six new panels were installed around the existing panels allowing for 2,000 more names to be put up. Within the next two months, the insignia of each branch of military will be added to the Wall.

“These great men and women should be recognized for their selfless sacrifice. Today we honor them through this community wide celebration,” Mat-Su Borough Mayor Vern Halter said. “I promised that the Mat-Su Borough would help fund this beautiful memorial and I’m very proud of that and I want to thank the Assembly who did fund 150,000 additional dollars to make this memorial what it is today.”

Diana and Jerry Christiansen attended the ceremony with their grandson, 15-year-old MacAiden. Diana’s daughter Amanda married Justin Gallegos and eventually enlisted herself before Staff Sergeant Justin Gallegos was killed in Afghanistan on October 3, 2009.

“It’s important today to remember the veterans that served and are serving and it’s good to take time to remember that,” Jerry Christiansen said.

Gallegos was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross in December of last year. Boy Scout Troops 359 and 2359 raised the United States, Alaska and Prisoners of War Flags prior to the ceremony and the American Legion Post 35 honor guard provided a 21-gun-salute.

Proclamations from elected officials were read to give the history of what was formerly Armistice Day and educate the residents in attendance. President Donald Trump’s proclamation boasted the largest funding bill for Veterans Affairs in history, and the President has directed the Department of Education to discharge Federal student loans from totally and permanently disabled veterans. Gerri Sumpter read a proclamation from Sen Lisa Murkowski.

“While words are never enough to express our gratitude to those who have served, I encourage all of us to take a moment to thank the veterans within our community for their courage and willingness to stand for the ideals of freedom we all hold dear,” Murkowski wrote.

Sen. Dan Sullivan served as a Marine and was proud of Alaska’s patriotism in particular.

“Our state proudly claims the most veterans per capita than any other state in America. Because of these veterans and the hundreds of thousands of Alaskans across our state who support them, I am able to proudly claim that Alaska is the most patriotic state in the country,” Sullivan wrote. “I see this everywhere I go across states, veterans helping veterans, reflecting the values that make our nation great.”