A Memorial Day Ceremony was held at 10 a.m., Monday, at Veterans Memorial Park in Rolla, Mo. Command Sgt. Maj. Robert Wells, Maneuver Support Center of Excellence, Fort Leonard Wood, was invited to deliver the Memorial Day address. Wells thanked area Veterans who were in attendance for their service and for the honor of being in their company; he asked attendees to remember the sacrifice of current service members and their families; and he commented on the recent loss of Army Specialist Bradley Melton, formerly of Rolla, Mo. Specialist Melton died May 16, 2011 in Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using an improvised explosive device. Specialist Melton, age 29, was assigned to Brigade Troops Battalion, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Fort Wainwright, Alaska. This was Melton’s third deployment.
Wells commented that Specialist Melton’s name would be added to the Memorial Wall that was unveiled April 7, 2011, at Engineer Memorial Grove, Fort Leonard Wood. Wells quoted words of solace and resiliency from Gen. George Patton who once said, ‘Let me not mourn for the men who have died fighting, but rather let me be glad that such heroes have lived.’
Master of Ceremonies for the event was Bob Stoltz; opening remarks were given by Jerry Bumpus, past president of The Retired Enlisted Association; Veterans of Foreign Wars Post #2025 posted the colors and provided an honor guard rifle squad; Chris Foster, adult minister, provided the invocation and benediction; and John Slowensky, Rolla Public Schools band director performed ‘Taps’.
Several local organizations participated in the presentation of floral memorials to include: Veterans of Foreign Wars Post #2025 & Ladies Auxiliary; The Retired Enlisted Association; Daughters of the American Revolution; Korean War Veterans Association, Chapter #281; Loyal Order of the Moose Lodge 587, and Women of the Moose Chapter 1875 Rolla Phelps County; Rolla Elks Lodge 2461; American Legion Post 270 and Auxiliary; Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of America; Rolla Area Chamber of Commerce; Phelps for the Fort; Breakfast Rotary Club; City of Rolla; Rolla Lions Club, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; Optimist Club or Rolla and the Rolla Breakfast Kiwanis Club.
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