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Monument honors Melrose veterans

Courtesy photo The Memorial Wall lists 225 veterans from the village of Melrose.

The Melrose Veterans Committee has a new venue for its Memorial Day service.

Melrose Veterans Committee Chairman James Townson said today’s Memorial Day service will be held at Baxter Park, where a Memorial Wall listing 225 veterans from Melrose is located.

He said the service is usually held at the Melrose Cemetery.

The Memorial Wall, which contains names of veterans of wars from the Iraq War to the Civil War, was completed in March.

Townson said the wall has been a long-awaited monument to honor the village’s veterans.

“It’s a special way to show our patriotism and honor our great veterans that served us,” Melrose Mayor Lance Pyle said.

Townson said the committee started gathering names for the Memorial Wall in 2006.

The committee received names for the wall from family members and classmates of veterans

“A lot of them were gathered through people that went to school with a lot of the ones that went to war,” he said.

The Memorial Wall cost about $25,000 and was funded with donations and grants from state legislators.

Townson said Sen. Stuart Ingle and Rep. Joe Campos helped lobby the funds for the monument.

Meanwhile in Portales, 27th Special Operations Wing Commander Col. Tim Leahy will give a Memorial Day address at a Memorial Day Program.