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  • A Day To Remember: Crowds Gather At Ceremonies Across The Region To

    A DAY TO REMEMBER: CROWDS GATHER AT CEREMONIES ACROSS THE REGION TO HONOR FALLEN TROOPS
    Christopher Cadelago

    Glendale News Press
    http://www.glendalenewspress.com/news/gnp-memorial060110,0,3842238.story
    June 1 2010
    CA

    Nine months have passed since Lance Cpl. Pedro Barboza Flores, of
    Glendale, was killed when a roadside bomb exploded near his vehicle
    in southwestern Afghanistan.

    For the hundreds of people who gathered at Memorial Day ceremonies
    across Glendale, Burbank and Montrose, Barboza Flores' life was
    celebrated among the names of fallen service members, bagpipes,
    benedictions, patriotic hymns and roses.

    Barboza Flores, 27, a recipient of the National Defense Service
    Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, was less than
    two months into his first tour with the Marines when the improvised
    explosive device detonated near his vehicle.

    "This year has been especially hard for our family," said his sister,
    Aurora Alamillo. "He missed his first Christmas, his first Mother's
    Day. Even though he was already in his mid-20s when he joined, he
    was still my little brother."

    Born in Zacatecas, Mexico, his family moved to the United States when
    he was 1. A student at Glendale High School and Glendale Community
    College, "Pete" joined the Marine Corps in March 2008, was promoted to
    lance corporal in December and was crewman in a light-armored vehicle.

    He was deployed in June to Afghanistan for Operation Enduring
    Freedom, and died July 11 alongside Master Sgt. Jerome D. Hatfield,
    36, of Axton, Va. Barboza Flores was stationed at Camp Lejeune
    in North Carolina, where he was assigned to the 2nd Light Armored
    Reconnaissance Battalion in the 2nd Marine Division for the II Marine
    Expeditionary Force.

    His bereaved family joined hundreds of people Monday at Isabel Street
    and East Broadway in Glendale. Master of Ceremonies Larry Zarian,
    noting the historically large crowd, recognized a large contingent
    of veterans on hand before turning his attention to families who lost
    loved ones.

    "I cannot begin to tell you how thankful I am, how appreciative I am,
    on behalf of our committee and on behalf of the veterans that are
    here today," Zarian said. "There are veterans out in the audience that
    are injured from their time in the service. And there are those that
    would rather be here today, but they're not, and their names are on
    the walls instead."

    Mayor Ara Najarian followed the color guard, flag salute and
    prisoner-of-war/missing-in-action memorial, presented by retired Lt.

    Col. Dave Worley, of the U.S. Air Force, with a special note to a
    group of veterans whose uniforms had an unusual look.

    "These are Armenian veterans who fought in World War II with the Soviet
    Union," Najarian said. "Now for those of you who are not up to date on
    the history, we were allies with the Soviet Union during World War II,
    and these soldiers had a valiant fight on the Eastern Front fighting
    the Nazis. They lost many, many men, and paid dearly with their lives."

    The men said they attended the memorial to commemorate the lives of
    American troops -- not who gave their lives, but whose lives were
    taken from them too soon.

    A veteran, as Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich told
    residents of La Crescenta and La CaƱada Flintridge at the Vietnam
    War Memorial in Montrose, is someone who wrote a blank check made
    payable to the United States of America for an amount up to and
    including their life.

    The Crescenta Valley High School Charismatics struck up several
    patriotic renditions as members of the high school's Air Force Jr.

    ROTC program took part in the laying of the roses.

    At Forest Lawn-Glendale, the 95th annual Memorial Day March began at
    the Little Church of the Flowers and proceeded to the burial site of
    a soldier who served in the Civil War.

    Burbank's annual exercise in remembrance was an opportunity to reflect
    on the lives of those who never returned from World War I, World War
    II, Korea, Vietnam and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. To date, more
    than 5,400 U.S. troops have died while serving in the two countries,
    584 of them from California, according to records kept by the Los
    Angeles Times.

    Hundreds of residents joined troops and elected officials at
    McCambridge Park for the city's official ceremony, where members
    of the Veterans Commemorative Committee read the names of nearly
    300 local troops who died serving in World War II, Korea, Vietnam,
    Afghanistan and Iraq.

    Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank), after visiting injured troops in Germany
    on a recent trip to the Middle East, spoke of the struggles many go
    through when being away from home. He referenced a soldier who was
    abroad when his 3-year-old child drowned. And state Sen. Carol Liu
    implored visitors to observe a national moment of silence at 3 p.m.

    Boy Scouts placed roses atop memorials, and a musical prelude gave
    way to a flyover by the Condor Squadron.

    For many, including chairman of the Veterans Commemorative Committee
    Mickey DePalo, the renaming of Pacific Park in honor of Marine Cpl.

    Larry L. Maxam spoke plainly to the city's commitment to its fallen
    sons. Maxam was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor by President
    Nixon for "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his
    life above and beyond the call of duty" in the Vietnam War.

    Army Sgt. Kevin Christoffersen, one of a handful of young veterans
    honored by the city, returned last year after 13 months in Iraq. He
    spoke of his heroes, reading a poem about Memorial Day.

    Among Mark Ehrhardt's military heroes is his father, Elmer, 95.

    Elmer Ehrhardt, of Cincinnati, served in the U.S. Army railway
    transportation battalion in Iran during World War II. He was among
    a group of about 50,000 servicemen in Iran who supported America's
    lend-lease program with the Soviet Union, helping to move goods
    through the Persian Gulf.

    "After 9/11 I felt it was important to attend these ceremonies and
    publicly announce my support of the men and women in our military,
    especially when you start to take note of their tremendous sacrifice,"
    Mark Ehrhardt said. "We should never take that for granted."




    From: A. Papazian
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