thedrifter
05-27-07, 07:40 AM
Honors and tears for our war dead
By Kim Bell
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Sunday, May. 27 2007
SOUTH st. louis COUNTY — Marine Maj. Jason Frei lost his right hand to an Iraqi
rocket-propelled grenade in 2003.
The metal hook that takes the place of his hand caught the attention Saturday
of the crowd at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery.
But Frei, of St. Charles County, was not at the cemetery to talk about his own
Marine mission. Instead, he spoke about a massacre 63 years ago and hoped
modern-day Marines would listen up.
"It was certainly a big event, and it's important people remember," he said.
Frei spoke at a Memorial Day remembrance ceremony Saturday at Jefferson
Barracks, highlighting the gruesome ending for 139 American prisoners of war on
Palawan Island in 1944.
Japanese soldiers herded 150 American POWs into air raid shelters, then set the
building on fire. Most of the victims, 123 of them, were buried at Jefferson
Barracks, the third-largest national cemetery, in 1952.
It's the biggest mass grave site at the cemetery.
After Saturday's ceremony, Frei greeted two fresh-faced Marines in the crowd
and encouraged them to see the 2005 movie "The Great Raid," which opens with
the Palawan massacre. Seeing it would be a way for the young to connect, he
said.
"These are real people, not just names on a piece of granite," Frei said.
Frei was among the 100 or so people who came to the cemetery in south St. Louis
County to pay tribute to every American sailor, soldier, airman or Marine who
has died in battle.
Row after row of white marble crosses lined the rolling hills, and two buglers
echoed taps.
Those who spoke mentioned deaths recent and long ago. They not only honored the
123 Palawan massacre victims buried at Jefferson Barracks, but they also put a
wreath on a nearby mass grave of 71 Americans who died as prisoners of war held
aboard ships by the Japanese.
They also read the names of 13 St. Louis area members of the military who have
died in Iraq or Afghanistan since Memorial Day 2006.
"Most people think of Memorial Days as being for grandpas, but there's still
young men and women fighting and being killed as we speak," Frei said.
Frei, 35, got his hand blown off in 2003 when a grenade hit his Humvee in an
ambush in An Nazaria, in southern Iraq. He was the only Marine injured in the
attack. He is now retired from the Marines and working for Boeing.
Relatives of two fallen Marines — Cpl. Riley E. Baker, 22, of Pacific and Lance
Cpl. Matthew Pathenos, 21, of Ballwin — put a wreath on the Palawan grave.
Jackie Curran of Eureka, a friend of Baker's family, got emotional when she saw
a military helmet and rifle marking the mass grave.
When the ceremony ended, Curran was heading across the hillside to Baker's own
grave. Baker, a friend and mentor to Curran's son, was buried there last
summer, beneath a sturdy oak tree. His grave is marked by deer antlers (hunting
was his passion) and Baker's drink of choice.
"There's always a bottle of Wild Turkey there, and you're requested to take a
shot with Riley," she said. "I miss him every day. It's a shame we have to be
here."
Saturday's service at Jefferson Barracks was sponsored by the VFW Post 3944
Overland-St. Ann, the St. Louis chapters of the U.S. Naval Academy Alumni
Association, the Air Force Academy Association of Graduates and the West Point
Society of Graduates.
Jefferson Barracks, at 2900 Sheridan Road, will be the scene of other Memorial
Day events this weekend. Boy Scouts will be putting a flag on each grave,
starting at noon Sunday. And the annual Memorial Day service is scheduled for
10 a.m. Monday at the cemetery's Old Flag Circle.
kbell@post-dispatch.com | 314-340-8115
Ellie
By Kim Bell
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Sunday, May. 27 2007
SOUTH st. louis COUNTY — Marine Maj. Jason Frei lost his right hand to an Iraqi
rocket-propelled grenade in 2003.
The metal hook that takes the place of his hand caught the attention Saturday
of the crowd at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery.
But Frei, of St. Charles County, was not at the cemetery to talk about his own
Marine mission. Instead, he spoke about a massacre 63 years ago and hoped
modern-day Marines would listen up.
"It was certainly a big event, and it's important people remember," he said.
Frei spoke at a Memorial Day remembrance ceremony Saturday at Jefferson
Barracks, highlighting the gruesome ending for 139 American prisoners of war on
Palawan Island in 1944.
Japanese soldiers herded 150 American POWs into air raid shelters, then set the
building on fire. Most of the victims, 123 of them, were buried at Jefferson
Barracks, the third-largest national cemetery, in 1952.
It's the biggest mass grave site at the cemetery.
After Saturday's ceremony, Frei greeted two fresh-faced Marines in the crowd
and encouraged them to see the 2005 movie "The Great Raid," which opens with
the Palawan massacre. Seeing it would be a way for the young to connect, he
said.
"These are real people, not just names on a piece of granite," Frei said.
Frei was among the 100 or so people who came to the cemetery in south St. Louis
County to pay tribute to every American sailor, soldier, airman or Marine who
has died in battle.
Row after row of white marble crosses lined the rolling hills, and two buglers
echoed taps.
Those who spoke mentioned deaths recent and long ago. They not only honored the
123 Palawan massacre victims buried at Jefferson Barracks, but they also put a
wreath on a nearby mass grave of 71 Americans who died as prisoners of war held
aboard ships by the Japanese.
They also read the names of 13 St. Louis area members of the military who have
died in Iraq or Afghanistan since Memorial Day 2006.
"Most people think of Memorial Days as being for grandpas, but there's still
young men and women fighting and being killed as we speak," Frei said.
Frei, 35, got his hand blown off in 2003 when a grenade hit his Humvee in an
ambush in An Nazaria, in southern Iraq. He was the only Marine injured in the
attack. He is now retired from the Marines and working for Boeing.
Relatives of two fallen Marines — Cpl. Riley E. Baker, 22, of Pacific and Lance
Cpl. Matthew Pathenos, 21, of Ballwin — put a wreath on the Palawan grave.
Jackie Curran of Eureka, a friend of Baker's family, got emotional when she saw
a military helmet and rifle marking the mass grave.
When the ceremony ended, Curran was heading across the hillside to Baker's own
grave. Baker, a friend and mentor to Curran's son, was buried there last
summer, beneath a sturdy oak tree. His grave is marked by deer antlers (hunting
was his passion) and Baker's drink of choice.
"There's always a bottle of Wild Turkey there, and you're requested to take a
shot with Riley," she said. "I miss him every day. It's a shame we have to be
here."
Saturday's service at Jefferson Barracks was sponsored by the VFW Post 3944
Overland-St. Ann, the St. Louis chapters of the U.S. Naval Academy Alumni
Association, the Air Force Academy Association of Graduates and the West Point
Society of Graduates.
Jefferson Barracks, at 2900 Sheridan Road, will be the scene of other Memorial
Day events this weekend. Boy Scouts will be putting a flag on each grave,
starting at noon Sunday. And the annual Memorial Day service is scheduled for
10 a.m. Monday at the cemetery's Old Flag Circle.
kbell@post-dispatch.com | 314-340-8115
Ellie