Fort Rosecrans readied for a day of mourning

By Jeanette Steele, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

Monday, May 31, 2010 at 12:04 a.m.

At a place where the Stars and Stripes almost always flies at half staff, the groundskeepers of Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery are girding for their biggest day of the year.

For foreman Charlie Kahler, Memorial Day is similar to Mother’s Day for florists and Tax Day for mail carriers — busy. Kahler has 70,000 miniature American flags and 2,000 folding chairs ready to go today.

Kahler just hopes the loudspeakers don’t break. They did once and the Marine general speaking wasn’t pleased. The general’s staff made sure the equipment worked properly the next time around. The 57-year-old foreman grins a little at that memory.

Working at the cemetery for 16 years, surrounded daily by the fresh grief of mourning families, Kahler, a retired Navy chief gunner’s mate, has developed a sense of stoicism and humor because Fort Rosecrans groundskeepers see unusual things.

On Father’s Day, people often leave a brewski instead of begonias on a father’s grave.

Once, a family deposited cremated remains in front of a headstone. Apparently, they wanted the person buried in the cemetery, but the rules didn’t allow it.

Another time, Kahler hid behind trees to catch a woman who liked to use the headstones for her step aerobics routine.

But cemetery workers also witness moments that melt the heart, such as the woman who came out every day with a folding chair to sit with her deceased loved one.

One of the first American casualties from the war in Iraq, a Marine helicopter pilot, was buried at the Point Loma cemetery. Kahler remembers that ceremony. The Marine’s young children kept asking where Daddy was.

“That’s when you just have to walk away because you’re crying,” said Kahler, a father of four grown children who once waited at home during his deployments.

Officially, the cemetery has been closed to new grave burials since 1966. These days, they dig about five or 10 graves a month, mostly for spouses or children of those already at rest in a plot.

But the foreman will go to great lengths, literally moving the earth, to find a grave site for someone killed in action in today’s wars.

“We’ll rip out a tree for a KIA,” Kahler said.

He’ll also fudge suggested “buffer zones” between the street and existing headstones to squeeze in a high-priority grave. He calls it “getting creative.”

Fort Rosecrans is one of 131 national cemeteries and among the oldest with its first burial in 1879.

Now 47,000 nearly identical white marble markers stand in rows overlooking the Pacific on one side of Point Loma and San Diego Bay on the other. An additional 41,000 columbarium niches house cremated remains.

To address the demand, the Department of Veterans Affairs plans to open a federal cemetery at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station. Called Miramar National Cemetery, the site on the western end of the base is slated to have its first burials in September.

While Rosecrans’ foreman has seen plenty, its newest employee is learning the special demands of the job.

Nick Horn started working there last month, just in time to experience Memorial Day.

Horn, 27, a former Marine who saw action in Fallujah, Iraq, said he is honored to have the job. His duties include placing the ashes in the correct niche after a memorial service. He waits in a cemetery van for the ceremony to finish, then quickly shuttles the remains to their resting place.

“I try to honor the vet. I don’t want him waiting on a shelf for too long,” said Horn, who ran a bulldozer in Iraq and now runs a backhoe in Point Loma whenever a grave needs digging.

The work sometimes touches his heart, especially when taps and the “Marines’ Hymn” are played at services.

But he is learning stoicism, too. Horn, who speaks with the soft drawl of his native Tennessee, said he enjoys telling people at parties that he’s a gravedigger.

His wife, on the other hand, wants him to say he’s an equipment operator.

In the Kahler household, the foreman’s wife sometimes reminds her husband that once he said he enjoyed his job so much, he’d work for free.

“I must have been having one of those moments,” Kahler said, chuckling. Then, he melts a little. “Oh, I love it out here. There’s nothing like it in the world.”

MEMORIAL DAY EVENTS

Here is a list of today’s Memorial Day events that are open to the public and pay tribute to our fallen troops.

Balboa Park: A remembrance ceremony at 7:30 a.m. features guest speakers, the national anthem, the Pledge of Allegiance, retiring the colors and taps. The Veterans Museum and Memorial Center, 2115 Park Blvd. The museum is open from noon to 6 p.m.; admission fees required. (619) 239-5977.

Bonita: A flyover by vintage planes precedes a memorial at 11 a.m. at the Chapel of Roses. Glen Abbey Memorial Park & Mortuary, 3838 Bonita Road, Bonita. (619) 498-4600.

Chula Vista: A Veterans Memorial will be dedicated at 11 a.m. at Mater Dei Catholic High School. 1615 Mater Dei Drive. The dedication honors those Marian/Mater Dei Catholic Alumni who have served their community and country and in memory of two alumni who where killed in action in Vietnam. (619) 423-2121, ext. 117.

Del Mar: The Del Mar Community Memorial Day Service will be held at 11 a.m.; Marine Capt. Brian C. Schexnayder will be the guest speaker. At the end of the service, deceased military members will be remembered during the Memorial Roll Call, which concludes with the playing of taps. St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 334 14th St., Del Mar. (858) 279-5458.

Coronado: A 10 a.m. service hosted by the Coronado VFW will be staged at Star Park, one block off Orange Avenue at Star Park Circle and Loma Avenue. (619) 865-4809.

Coronado: A concert from 1 to 3 p.m. features the Coronado Big Band at the Coronado Ferry Landing, 1201 First St. (619) 435-8895.

Escondido: American Legion Post 149 will host a ceremony at 10 a.m. at Oak Hill Memorial Park, 2640 Glenridge Road. (760) 745-1159.

Julian: An observance from 11 a.m. to noon will be at the Julian Pioneer Cemetery, A Street at Farmer Road. A potluck follows at American Legion Post 468, 2503 Washington St. (760) 765-0126.

La Jolla: The will be a program from 2 to 3:15 p.m. at Mount Soledad Veterans Memorial, 6905 La Jolla Scenic Drive S. Plaque presentation will honor Col. Bob Howard, a recipient of the Medal of Honor. (858) 459-2314 or soledadmemorial.com.

Lakeside : An 11 a.m. ceremony will be at the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Carter-Smith Post 5867, 12650 Lindo Lane. Special guests include Rep. Duncan Hunter , R-Lakeside; county Supervisor Dianne Jacob; Assemblyman Joel Anderson; Maj. Gen. T.L. Conant; and Nick Popaditch. A Navy helicopter display, a Marine band performance and refreshments are included. (619) 443-0556.

Oceanside: An indoor Mass at 8 a.m. will be celebrated at Mission San Luis Rey Parish, 4070 Mission Ave. An all-you-can-eat, $1.99 pancake breakfast follows from 9 to 11 a.m. in the dining room, and the Mission San Luis Rey Cemetery, 4050 Mission Ave., will be open from 8 to 11 a.m. for visitation and tours. (760) 757-3651.

Point Loma: The annual Memorial Day Service and Day of Remembrance ceremony will start at 8:45 a.m. at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, 1800 Cabrillo Memorial Drive. Guest speaker will be Brig. Gen. Ron Bailey, commanding general of the Marine Corps Recruit Depot’s Western Recruiting Region. (619) 553-2084, ext. 4000.

Ramona: The VFW will host a ceremony and a service with speaker Bob Dobson at 10 a.m. Nuevo Memory Gardens, 532 Ash St. (760) 789-7888.

Rancho Bernardo: A 10:45 a.m. presentation hosted by Rancho Bernardo Veterans Memorial Association includes a flag ceremony, the Camp Pendleton honor guard and the Rancho Bernardo High School choir. The guest speaker will be Marine Maj. Gen. Anthony L. Jackson. Webb Park, on Avena Place off Bernardo Center Drive. (858) 674-1711.

San Marcos: The VFW Post 3795 will host a service at 11 a.m. at San Marcos Cemetery, 1021 Mulberry Drive. Hot dogs and hamburgers will be served afterward at the VFW post, 212 W. Mission Road. (760) 744-3795.

Solana Beach: The city and VFW Post 5431 will host a ceremony from 11 a.m. to noon at the Veterans Memorial in La Colonia Community Park, 715 Valley Ave. Highlights include a performance by the Santa Fe Christian School Band, Camp Pendleton Young Marines, the Col. Frank Brezina Venture Scout Crew No. 42 Color Guard and a special guest speaker, retired Air Force Col. Susan Thompson. Light refreshments will be served. (858) 720-2400.

San Diego: An annual Memorial Day observance will begin at 1 p.m. at El Camino Memorial Park, 5600 Carroll Canyon Road. (800) 352-2646.

San Diego: A Memorial Day service at 11 a.m. will be at Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery, 4470 Hilltop Drive. (619) 264-3127.

San Diego : San Diego Veterans For Peace, Hugh Thompson Memorial Chapter, will host an Arlington West Memorial at the USS Midway Museum Lawn at Broadway and Harbor Drive. Veterans of a services will participate from 8 a.m. to dusk. The public is invited to assist with the placement of religious symbols and candles. Names of the fallen in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars will be read. (858) 342-1964.

San Diego: An introduction by Rod Melendez will begin a ceremony that includes an invocation by Chaplain Darcy Povich, numerous speakers and the playing of taps from 7:30 to 10 a.m. at Veterans Memorial, 2115 Park Blvd. (619) 239-2300.