CITY SHOWS PRIDE FOR VETS

Dear Malden Residents:

As I approach my second year in office, the one thing that has become abundantly clear is that Malden cares about Veterans.

From dedicating chairs of honor to Prisoners of War and those Missing in Action in the City Council chamber and the Jenkins Auditorium to the Annual Flag Day Celebration to be held this Friday at Bell Rock Memorial Park to the upcoming rededications of memorials honoring our Korean and Vietnam Veterans and the Tartikoff family from the first World War, the Malden community remains forever grateful to the brave men and women who kept us free.

Malden’s pride and respect for those that served our country was most evident this past weekend when our City hosted The Moving Wall. Not since the dedication of the World War II Memorial at Bell Rock Memorial Park has there been such an outpouring of community spirit. It is estimated that there were nearly 3,000 visitors to Forest Dale Cemetery during the three day event and it was not without a lot of reflection for the 58,000 Patriots whose names adorn the Wall, including 19 from Malden.

This feeling of community gratitude permeates down to the next generation as we are proud of Malden High School graduate Lisa DeLacey who will be attending West Point in the fall. In her heartfelt remarks during the Memorial Day Assembly, she explained how she wants to give back to the country that has given her so much. I am certain that Lisa will continue to make us proud as she prepares for the military academy.

Many of these projects require annual funding and, the one thing the City Council and I always agree on is remembering the sacrifices made by our Veterans. For the second straight year, we will be increasing city funding to our Veterans Services Department by nearly 5 percent.

The backbone of Malden’s ongoing support and dedication to our Veterans’ issues is Kevin Jarvis, Veterans Services Director. Kevin himself fought for his country on more than one occasion and he could have stopped there, but here he is 20 years later working day in and day out to make sure Veterans receive everything they deserve. Thank you, Kevin and thank you to our Veterans for defending our land of the free and home of the brave.

Sincerely,

GARY CHRISTENSON

Mayor, City of Malden