Community Corner

Lake Elsinore Remembers And Honors

Hundreds turned out for the emotional Memorial Day service at Elsinore Valley Cemetery.

“Look at the stars … and don’t forget to smile.”

Those words were written by Pfc. Jesse Givens in a letter to his wife and their two children – a letter opened after he was killed in Iraq at the age of 34 in 2003.

This excerpt and other letters to loved ones from fallen soldiers were read aloud by special guest speaker Lt. Commander Nico Melendez, U.S. Navy Reserve, during an emotional Memorial Day service at Elsinore Valley Cemetery.

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Hundreds turned out for the service that saw military families, veterans from conflicts dating back to WWII, friends, city and county leaders, ROTC cadets and others who came to pay their respects.

Melendez, the husband of Lake Elsinore City Councilwoman Melissa Melendez, said the annual service honors those who have served and those family members who have lost loved ones.

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“So many of them, too many of them, are lost forever,” he said. This is our “chance to remember the little girls who never got a chance to meet their daddies.”

As the Lt. Commander addressed the audience that was sprawled out across the historic cemetery grounds, emotions ran high.

When you see veterans, he told the audience, “ask about their service. It’s branded in their hearts.”

Paul Close, 86, related to those words. He served in the Navy during WWII. Seated in a wheelchair and breathing with the assistance of oxygen, Close said his military career lasted 20 years, from 1942 to 1962.

He said he served on an old WWI destroyer that helped the Marines with 21 landings during WWII.

While Close wanted to talk about his experiences, others were overcome with sadness Monday.

A Vietnam veteran and member of the Grand Fathers Motorcycle Club was speechless. When asked about his service, his voice cracked, his eyes got teary, and he offered, “Maybe later. I can’t right now. I’m too emotional. … I’m sorry.”

The somber mood of Monday’s service was highlighted with brief interludes of pomp and circumstance including a “Missing Missing Man” flyover provided by the T-34 Heritage Foundation; the flying in of a wreath via helicopter by Wings and Rotors (the wreath was placed on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier); and skydivers dropping in from above.

Several motorcycle clubs  joined in procession along a paved path through the cemetery. The Rough Riders Motorcycle Club donated a POW/MIA flag that will fly all year over the historic burial site, weather permitting.

Even as Robert Broski -- costumed as Abraham Lincoln -- delivered the Gettysburg Address, he managed to move the audience.

“What do you tell a mother to ease the pain of a son not coming home?” he asked the crowd. “How do you relate that it was for the right reasons?”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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