A Brief History of the Military Veterans' Court of Honor
The concept of a memorial at the Gridley-Biggs Cemetery to honor all veterans was realized on Memorial Day, May 27, 1996, when the McCutcheon Monument was dedicated. Based on the research of a local attorney, it was determined that Warren McCutcheon, for whom the local VFW Post is named, could very well have been the first to fall at Pearl Harbor at the age of 17. A group of local citizens representing the VFW, the American Legion and the Gridley-Biggs Cemetery formed a committee to raise funds for a memorial to honor veterans of foreign wars and overseas action as well as those who have served in peace time. The bricks, bearing the names of veterans placed on the large brick wall and benches on the podium serve as the funding mechanism for this memorial. At the time of the dedication, this memorial was the only place other than Saipan to fly all the flags of the various branches of service. This Military Court of Honor is an on-going project with many plans for future additions. Each Memorial Day Monday at 10:00AM, a community service is held at the Military Veterans' Court of Honor.
"It Is The Soldier"
It is the Soldier, not the minister
Who has given us freedom of religion.
It is the Soldier, not the reporter
Who has given us freedom of the press.
It is the Soldier, not the poet
Who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the Soldier, not the campus organizer
Who has given us freedom to protest.
It is the Soldier, not the lawyer
Who has given us the right to a fair trial.
It is the Soldier, not the politician
Who has given us the right to vote.
It is the Soldier who salutes the flag,
Who serves beneath the flag,
And whose coffin is draped by the flag,
Who allows the protester to burn the flag.
Charles Michael Province, U.S. Army, Copyright Charles M. Province, 1970, 2005, All rights reserved.