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Health & Fitness

Melrose Honors Memorial Day 2013

This year's Memorial Day events honors all veterans past and present with a special theme of honoring Vietnam Veterans on the 50th Anniversary of the start of the war.

WWII Combat Veteran Robert Fuller will serve as the 2013 Memorial Day keynote speaker at Wyoming Cemetery’s closing ceremonies at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, May 26th.

This year’s keynote speaker arrived in Normandy just days after the D-Day invasion and served under General George Patton as his Army unit moved across European battlefields. Fuller earned the Croix de Guerre for his efforts during the Battle of the Bulge.

Fuller served as the city’s first 2013 Veteran of the Quarter due to his unrelenting commitment to Melrose veterans.  In addition to a distinguished military career, Fuller serves as the chaplain of the Lt Norman Prince VFW post, sits on the post’s board of trustees and actively participates in city veteran events to include serving on this year’s Memorial Day Parade Committee.

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“Mr. Fuller represents everything a veteran should be – distinguished service in the military and then honorable service to the community after his service was over,” Director of Veteran Services Ryan McLane said.  “We are honored to have him as part of this year’s Memorial Day ceremonies and I look forward to hearing his unique perspective.”

This year’s parade places a special emphasis on the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War.  While the parade intends to honor all military sacrifice, Vietnam Veterans will serve as the parade’s Grand Marshalls and all Vietnam Era veterans are encouraged to join the marching ranks as guests of honor.

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The Melrose Vietnam Memorial honors the 11 men from Melrose who perished during the Vietnam War.  Students from Melrose Veterans Memorial Middle School researched each of the 11 names and remembered their lives at the National Vietnam War Memorial this May by etching their names and reading their history.  This project was part of the city’s Operation Thank You trip, an endeavor sending 13 Vietnam Era veterans to their memorial in Washington D.C., many for the first time. 

“We always try and honor all of our veterans past and present, but this year the Melrose Advisory Board and the Parade Committee wanted to place a special emphasis on the Vietnam generation for the 50th anniversary,” McLane said.  “We hope to have all of our city’s Vietnam veterans on hand to receive the thanks they deserve for serving their country honorably.”

Here is a shortened version of the students’ Vietnam research.  The students who comprised the Melrose Veterans Memorial Middle School Operation Thank You Group include: Taylor Norton, Rachel Fracasso, Maria Tramontozzi, Colleen Driscoll, Gianna Paladino, Teagan Ingalls, Daniella Furtado, Jenna Santos, Zelda Stewart and Ashley Buggy.

Lance Corporal Stephen Thomas Sullivan was born December 20, 1947.  As a junior in high school he knew that he wanted to join the armed forces and he enlisted early in the U.S. Marine Corps.  He died from small arms fire in Quang Nam Province, South Vietnam on May 28, 1968.

Lieutenant Carleton Pierce Miller Jr. was born on June 23, 1944 and raised in Melrose. He graduated from MHS and the University of Massachusetts, joining the Navy in 1968. On January 6, 1971, Miller (the navigator) and the pilot aboard an F-4 Phantom II attempted to land aboard the carrier USS Ranger in the South China Sea.  The aircraft missed the landing lines and fell off the side of the ship.  Miller’s body was never recovered and he is still officially listed as Missing In Action – Remains not recovered.

Major Gardner Brewer was born in Melrose on May 16, 1934. He served as a Forward Air Controller with the Air Force. He died when his plane crash while serving in Vietnam on September 14, 1967.  Brewer’s final resting place is one of honor in Arlington National Cemetery.

Private First Class David Andrew Bingham was born in Melrose on October 20, 1948. He graduated from Melrose High School in 1966. He was killed during the Tet offensive at Conthien, Quang Tri Province, during the battle at “Hill of Angels”. He served for one year and earned the Purple Heart, the National Defense Service medal, the Vietnam Service medal, and the Vietnam Campaign medal for his immense bravery.

First Lieutenant James G. Dunton was born on February 7, 1940, and grew up in Melrose. He graduated from Melrose High School in 1958 as the salutatorian and continued on to Harvard University. Dunton died on December 8, 1964, in South Vietnam from a surprise grenade bombing at his post.
   
Harold Herman Hirtle was born on December 21, 1930 and grew up in Melrose.  He graduated from Melrose High School and immediately enlisted in the Air Force in 1948.  He served with the 6250th Support Squadron, 7th Air Force.  He died of a heart attack at the age of 35 in Quang Nam, Vietnam.  His final resting place is one of honor at Arlington National Cemetery.

Scott Frederick Andresen was born on February 21, 1949, and grew up in Melrose.  He graduated from Melrose High School in 1967, and soon after was drafted into Army.  He served with the 2nd Battalion, 5th cavalry division, and had only been in-country 2 weeks when his unit was ambushed.  He was killed by small arms fire on May 13, 1969.

Kenneth Warren Ellis was born on January 21, 1948.  An Army combat engineer with the 326th Engineering Battalion, 101st Airborne Division, Ken served 4 tours in Vietnam.  His specialty was destroying enemy mines; he is credited with dispatching 147 mines, which earned him the Bronze Star with “V Device” for Valor.  It was also a mine that killed him on September 26, 1971.

Michael Allen DeProfio was born on October 1, 1945, and grew up in Melrose until his senior year in high school, when his family moved to Saugus.  Michael was a family man and known for his sense of humor before becoming a corporal in the Marine Corps.  At the age of 21, Michael DeProfio was killed in action in Quang Nam province on April 17, 1967.

Richard Louis Norton was born on February 12, 1948, and grew up on Clifford Street in Melrose.  He attended Melrose High School and enjoyed going to hockey games on the weekends.  After high school, he joined the Marines, and had only been in Vietnam for 2 months when he was killed in Quang Tri on December 15, 1967 from wounds suffered during a rocket explosion.

Thomas John Brennan was born on August 16, 1947.  After graduating from Melrose High School, he joined the Army.  He served as a helicopter repairer and door gunner.  On June 18, 1968, Brennan’s helicopter crashed on land in Lam Dong province, South Vietnam. 

Continuing the Vietnam theme, each monument in the city will display 11 flags honoring the men on the Melrose Vietnam Memorial.  The city also has a special Vietnam tribute at Ell Pond on Main Street to the Massachusetts and Melrose veterans who were killed in action.  The tribute holds 1331 flags, each honoring the life of fallen soldier.  The 11 center flags represent the Melrose fallen.  The 10 flags in front and back represent 10 years of war and each block of 13 rows and 50 flags represent two American flags flanking the city and state’s sacrifice. 

The following is the full 2013 Memorial Day schedule of events.  For more information please visit: http://www.cityofmelrose.org/MemorialDayParade.cfm. We ask that the public participate to the largest extent possible in one or all of these events in order to show support for our veterans past and present. 

We will never forget.

 

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