Conejo Valley pays tribute to fallen Marine
By Nancy Needham nancy@theacorn.com

FINAL FAREWELL--Chief Petty Officer Michael Douglas salutes the casket that holds his nephew, Lance Cpl. Anthony Melia, as military ceremonies near completion at Pierce Bros. Valley Oaks Memorial Park. Melia is the first Thousand Oaks casualty of the war in Iraq. Commemorative dog tags (below) were distributed. See more photographs in Community section. BILL SPARKES/Acorn Newspapers

Tears flowed down thousands of faces on Monday as the Conejo Valley joined the family of Lance Cpl. Anthony Charles Melia in celebrating his life. The 20-year-old Marine was shot to death last month in Iraq.

Children held the hands of their parents. Elderly decorated veterans stood at attention. The Thousand Oaks High School Lancers held a sign that read: "Lost But Never Forgotten."

Restaurant workers came outside in white aprons. Businessmen wore suits and ties and joggers stopped and waited on street corners.

Staffers waited in front of city hall, postal workers outside the post office and firefighters in full dress uniform beside firetrucks.

Roads were lined with hundreds of residents wearing black, reverently holding flags and putting their hands over their hearts as the hearse carrying Melia brought him one last time through the town he grew up in. His carriage was preceded by a large motorcade of deputies and followed by his family inside five limousines. Trees were decorated with red, white and blue ribbons.

"It was incredibly overwhelming to see the community pull together. It meant the world to us," Anthony's cousin Joseph Melia of Ventura said of those who stood on the sidewalk as the processional went by.

"I'm here standing because he is an absolute hero who went to serve us and ended up paying the ultimate price of freedom," said Thousand Oaks resident Henry Wolf, 63, who watched the procession on Moorpark Road.

Nearby was 17-year-old Marine Spencer Press, a senior at Newbury Park High School who said he'd enlisted in the Marines and will go to boot camp in August, one month before he turns 18. With him were friends Cody Herrick, 17, who plans to go into politics, and Greg Peters, 17, a future firefighter. All held large American flags.

"He died for what he believed in and I'm going to go and fight for what I believe in--the Iraqi people deserve to have freedom the same as we have freedom," said Spencer.

The procession ended at Calvary Community Church, where soloists sang "The Impossible Dream" and "Ave Maria." A video of Melia was shown--the bright, smiling boy growing up surrounded by a loving family. In the clips he was playing sports, sitting on the couch eating pizza, and often had his arms around those he loved. Scriptures were read and prayers were spoken.

About 2,000 people gathered in the auditorium. Eyes were filled with tears and sobbing could be heard as the young man was remembered. Photos of Melia and sprays of flowers surrounded his flag-covered casket.

Melia's cousin Frank Melia Jr. said Anthony had told his family that, if he were to die in Iraq, "God had bigger and better plans for me."

He spoke of the pain he felt and the love the family had received since his cousin's death. He characterized Anthony as a fierce warrior and a man of love, compassion and faithfulness who will be missed, but never forgotten.

Melia's high school English teacher Teri Sanders remembered him as a popular student who struggled through "Huckleberry Finn" but learned to respect the character Jim, a slave, for the way Jim showed his love through his actions. She said Melia also showed his love through his actions and was forever a hero.

Melia was more than someone who wore a football or a military uniform--he was a person who brought light into a sometimes dark world, Senior Pastor Brad Johnson said.

His girlfriend, Jamie Chunko, 18, spoke of her love for Anthony. His grandfather, Charles Melia, asked the crowd to give his grandson a standing ovation for a job well done, and everyone stood up and replied with thunderous applause. Melia's grandmother Joann Melia spoke about how much her grandson loved Jesus Christ and how that knowledge brings comfort and hope to her.

During the service Marines spoke of Melia and presented a Purple Heart, a medal awarded in the name of the president of the United States to those wounded or killed in military action, to the Marine's mother.

At the graveside service at Pierce Bros. Valley Oaks in Westlake Village, military honors included a 21-gun salute and folded flags presented by Marines to Melia's 22-year-old sister, Nicole; 17-year-old brother, Daniel; his parents, Vicki and Mike; and grandparents, June Sojpack and Joann and Charles Melia.