South Butte American Legion Post No. 210 members Raymond Whiteside, left, and Joshua Stiefel on Feb. 6 dedicate a Wall of Honor at Gridley Veterans Memorial Hall to remember fallen heroes from World War I to the Vietnam War. Photo by Susan Meeker

GRIDLEY, CA (MPG) - A permanent display honoring fallen service members now forms a Wall of Honor at the Gridley Veterans Memorial Hall.

The wall, dedicated Saturday, brings together the names of those who gave their lives in service to their country and the American ideals they defended.

At the center of the display is a photograph of Warren McCutcheon, the first U.S. service member killed in the attack on Pearl Harbor that drew the nation into World War II and the first Gridley resident to die in the conflict.

“Warren was just 17 years old,” American Legion Post 210 member Raymond Whiteside said. “He was serving on board the USS Maryland, and from what I have read online, he was killed in about the first 20 seconds of the Japanese attack in 1941.”

The local American Legion planned the Wall of Honor several years ago, but the project was delayed while the Veterans Memorial Hall underwent major repairs. The building recently reopened, allowing the post to complete the project under the leadership of South Butte Post Commander Owen Stiles, who was unable to attend Saturday’s dedication.

Post member Joshua Stiefel said the project came together through the combined efforts of the local American Legion, its Ladies Auxiliary, the Sons of the American Legion and the Legion Riders. He opened Saturday’s dedication and thanked the community for supporting the Legion’s effort to ensure those who made the ultimate sacrifice are remembered and that their stories remain part of the community’s history.

American Legion Post 210 member Joshua Stiefe presents Jill LaMalfa the plaque that now hangs in Veterans Memorial Hall in Gridley to honor her husband, the late U.S. Representative Doug LaMalfa, who died in office on Jan. 6. Photo by Susan Meeker

Two large plaques mounted directly below McCutcheon’s photograph carry the names of 47 Gridley-area service members killed in the line of duty from World War I to the Vietnam War. One of those names is Pvt. First Class Joseph Lewis Jr. of Gridley, a Marine who went missing in combat during the fighting at the Nevada Cities Complex in Korea on March 26, 1953. Lewis, missing in action and presumed dead, was not identified among remains recovered after the ceasefire. He is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific and on the Korean War Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C.

Also listed on the Wall of Honor is Lance Cpl. Stephen Bayles of Biggs, who enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1968 and arrived in Vietnam the following spring. On Nov. 10, 1969, while his unit was conducting search and clear operations in Quang Nam Province, a Marine tripped a wire attached to a booby-trapped M79 grenade. Two men were wounded and Bayles was killed in the explosion.

Across the room from the Wall of Honor is a new plaque recognizing U.S. Rep. Doug LaMalfa, who died in office last month. The plaque was presented to his wife, Jill, at Saturday’s dedication before being hung in a place of honor. A photograph selected by the LaMalfa family will be added later. The tribute carries added significance in Gridley, where LaMalfa is laid to rest.

“Doug was a person of the community and a man of the community,” Whiteside said. “We appreciate everything he has done, and we are sad to see him go. But I also know he’s in a better place.”

While not a large public gathering, post members, the Ladies Auxiliary, the Sons of the American Legion, the Legion Riders and members of the community attended Saturday’s dedication, many with long ties to the organization.

Among them was Auxiliary member Jenn Cavanaugh of Biggs, who joined last fall following the death of her father, Norris Anderson, who remained active in the post throughout his life. Anderson enlisted in the Air Force in 1967 and served two tours in Vietnam and a third in Korea.

“Dad met me when I was three months old,” Cavanaugh said, recalling how ham radio operators relayed news of her birth across the Pacific.

Stiefel, a U.S. Navy veteran, said Post 210 and its affiliated groups remain active in the community, hosting weekly bingo, the annual Warren McCutcheon Poker Run, Christmas toy drives and the annual Memorial Day ceremony at the Gridley-Biggs Cemetery.

As the post continues its work, members said additional names for the Wall of Honor may still be uncovered, and they encourage families to come forward so every fallen service member from the Gridley area can be properly remembered.