Fallen Soldiers Not Forgotten

Memorial Day in Moreno Valley began with the rumble of thousands of motorcycles as the West Coast Thunder Bike Run arrived on Sunnymead Blvd. as scheduled. From classic touring bikes to choppers, they growled their way past spectators lining the boulevard. Sunnymead Blvd. was closed for nearly 45 minutes while the motorcyclists waved flags and paid their tribute to America's fallen soldiers; but it didn't end there. At 2 p.m. dignitaries and community leaders from the City of Moreno Valley gathered to honor not just the fallen, but their families also. The event began with music from the Moreno Valley Master Chorale and Moreno Valley Community Band Wall of Trumpets. A special tribute poem was read by Joshua and Gabriel Taylor and Joshua added his own charming voice to the music. Music was also provided by Northridge Elementary School Prime-Time Singers. They were small, but their sentiments were big, and their voices reached the hearts of the audience. As did the words of feature speaker, Colonel Russell A. Muncy, 452d Air Mobility Wing, March Air Reserve Base. Col. Muncy reminded the audience of the history of Memorial Day, also once known as Decoration Day, with a quote from an order first given in 1868 by General John A. Logan for his posts to decorate graves “with the choicest flowers of springtime” General Logan further urged: “We should guard their graves with sacred vigilance. ... Let pleasant paths invite the coming and going of reverent visitors and fond mourners. Let no neglect, no ravages of time, testify to the present or to the coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided republic. Col. Muncy then read the eleven names that mean so much to Moreno Valley, even while honoring the lives of all our fallen sons and daughters, Moreno Valley most deeply remembers and honors those eleven. The eleven names of the young men and women who gave their all and had called Moreno Valley home, Michael A. Dahl, Jr. U.S. Army, Michael P. Damon, U.S. Army, Clayton G. Dunn II, U.S. Army, Rhys Klasno, U.S. Army/National Guard, Edwin B. Kutz, U.S. Army, Adrienne L. Mitchell, U.S. Army, William "Dean" Richardson, U.S. Army, Omar G. Roebuck, U.S. Marine Crops, Anthony R. Servin, U.S. Marine Corps., Jason Andrew Tetrault, U.S. Marine Corps., Marcus Allen Tynes, U.S. Army. A duty now falls to all those present and hearing Moreno Valley's eleven names, to guard the memory of those soldiers with the same "sacred vigilance" Gen. Logan once commanded of his soldier's memories. In closing, Mayor Tom Owings, Moreno Valley council members, members of the Knights of Columbus of Moreno Valley, Hemet and Perris, and the A.F. Chelbana Assembly placed a wreath at the foot of a bronze statue solemnly named, "Fallen Soldier," created by artist Richard Rist and dedicated by Moreno Valley on June 14th, 2007. A reception followed graced by the artwork of Moreno Valley students.