TREMONTON, Utah — "The highest tribute to the dead is not grief but gratitude," said President Thomas S. Monson, quoting Thornton Wilder. "Gratitude is our feeling today."
Following a Navy salute reflecting his service in that branch of the military, President Monson spoke briefly, then dedicated the North Box Elder County Veterans Memorial on Aug. 18.
President Monson, first counselor in the First Presidency, recounted how a few months earlier he had received from A. C. Christensen of the Elwood Ward, Tremonton Utah South Stake, a handwritten invitation to dedicate the Veterans Memorial. In the letter, Brother Christensen — who supervised the creation of the memorial — wrote of his three and a half years as a prisoner of war of Japan during World War II.
"Upon reading the invitation from this stalwart veteran, I would have walked here to dedicate this memorial if I'd had to," President Monson said. "I've enjoyed everything that's been said and done this morning."
Nearly 2,000 spectators sat on chairs or bleachers while drenched in the warm summer sun. Others milled around the beautifully landscaped square while enjoying a program of patriotic music and speeches.
The Veterans Memorial is part of Midland Square, a park created in downtown Tremonton where a historic hotel once stood. The building was destroyed in 1995 by an electrical fire. The park features a large bell tower at one end with a bubbling brook at the other.
The memorial consists of two parts and is situated near the center of the park. A large, block-shaped monument displays portraits of the four Borgstrom brothers who died within six months of each other in 1944 during World War II. They had been raised in nearby Thatcher, Utah. Jackie Allred Hunlow created the portraits.
Engraved on the other side of the monument are the names of the 79 servicemen from the area who perished during World War I, World War II, the Korean Conflict, the Vietnam War and Desert Storm. Above the names are the words: "All Gave Some . . . Some Gave All."
Overlooking the monument is a larger-than-life bronze statue of a soldier gazing at the four brothers. The statue stands 7-feet 7-inches tall and was sculpted by Val Lewis. Surrounding the memorial are five stainless steel boxes where the names of 3,000 local veterans are etched according to the wars in which they served.
"In the bloody battles of the South Pacific — for example, at Iwo Jima — two out of every three Americans who fought there were either killed or wounded," said President Monson. "A message in their memory has been chiseled in stone outside a cemetery in Iwo Jima: 'For your tomorrow, we gave our today.' "
President Monson reminisced about friends from the area and paid tribute to retired U.S. Air Force Col. Gail Halvorsen, reared in nearby Garland, Utah, who participated in the Berlin Airlift following World War II. While airlifting supplies to this war-torn city, he dropped small parachutes laden with candy for the children.
"He thought of the children," President Monson said. "I've seen the children of Berlin who had never tasted of candy. Someone else, centuries before, also thought of the children. We know Him as Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
"Few things bring tears to my eyes faster than the account of the Borgstrom brothers," said President Monson, referring to the four brothers who were killed during World War II. He recounted a conversation between Gen. Mark W. Clark and the mother of the boys which took place following services held in the Garland Stake Center for the four brothers when their remains were returned to their home.
With one son still serving in the service, the mother quietly asked Gen. Clark if their sixth and last son would also be taken by the military.
When Gen. Clark, commander of the 5th Army, offered his support to spare her youngest son, the father suddenly leaned forward and said: "Mother, I have overheard your conversation with the general about our youngest, and I want you both to know that I will make no deals about his service. When his country needs him, he will go."
"I could hardly contain my emotions," wrote Gen. Clark. "Here was a man with four sons lying dead from wounds received in battle, and he was ready to make the last sacrifice if his country required it."
President Monson then quoted Gen. Clark who said, "the Borgstrom mother and father, [were] the bravest and most inspiring Americans I ever met."
In his dedicatory prayer, President Monson expressed thanks for the opportunity to "ponder, to reflect and to open the floodgates of hallowed memories concerning those . . . who have served America in times of peace and in times of war."
He also expressed thanks "for those who served, who fought, who returned home to small towns with quaint names and moved forward with their lives."
The two-hour celebration also featured an address by Rep. Jim V. Hansen, (R-Utah) a veteran himself and a representative of the residents of the communities assembled.
E-mail: shaun@desnews.com