Honoring the man, over lunch

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Amanda Callahan
  • 319th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
GRAND FORKS AFB, N.D. --  "We must combine the toughness of the serpent and the softness of the dove, a tough mind and a tender heart." Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., 1963

Grand Forks Air Force Base honored the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Jan 16 at a luncheon held in the Northern Lights Club. About 80 members of the base community, including Brig. Gen. Frederick Roggero, Deputy Director of Operations, Headquarters Air Mobility Command, celebrated the civil rights leader's teachings of equality.

In addition to a guest speaker, attendees were entertained by Twining Elementary School's 5th grade choir, led by Mr. Josh Dahl.

The luncheon was narrated by Senior Master Sgt. Rita Green, 319th Maintenance Operations Squadron, who quoted a 1998 article from Time Magazine "about how great his movement for equality impacted us all," inviting the audience back to the 1960s: to America's civil rights movement.

Mrs. Merle E.O. Freije, an instructor at Lake Region State College, recalled her feelings of the time.

"Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.; I see him as a prophetic voice...I think of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as a wind that blew in with a message...," she began. "He challenged us to live in the wind; and those of you who have lived in North Dakota for a bit, you realize that when you live in the wind, there's messages that are going past you all day long, ruffling your hair...making life just, let's say...more interesting."

Her speech was an ongoing metaphor about being inspired.

"He helped us to celebrate the uplifting of the wind...and I use that metaphorically, because I am the volume that I am so that I don't have to worry about the wind literally lifting me off the planet in North Dakota," she added, while the audience laughed.

"Wind is an ancient reference to the spirit of God, and that is what you and I, those before us and those after us, felt as we were introduced to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. the spirit of God."

In addition to the metaphorical wind, Mrs. Freije brought up possibly the most famous of Dr. King's speeches.

"I have a dream is another thing about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., because don't we all have dreams? That's what America was about, that's why my grandparents came here," she said. "I have a dream...that speech of his makes me thankful for you in that uniform. I'm bull headed, brassy, argumentative, love to debate, change sides each day, question everything I think should be questioned, and believe I have the right to do that and you wear that uniform so that I can dream the same things that Martin did for my children, my grandchildren, etc..."

Just as Dr. King kept the nation in awe with his eloquent speaking, Mrs. Freije did the same; seamlessly bringing each of Dr. King's famous speeches into her own.

"The mountaintop experience that he talks about...we all need to do that on our own...," she said. "To go to the mountaintop, I have to go on the journey...It means I have to be open for those unexpected mentors along the way. I'll also learn the value of walking hand and hand with some other person. When I come back down from the mountaintop, that even though I have that new light in my eye because I have seen, that not everyone else will... and I need to be prepared that it will probably be a lonely journey to tell my story about my experiences. So today you can see that I can talk about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and what impact he's had on me, particularly through his speeches, through his writings."

In the end, Mrs. Freiji asked of her audience to listen to the wind and be encouraged. She referred to Dr. King through religiosity and endearment; and included all who have inspired.

"So the wind, the spirit of God and the prolific voice of God in the form of Martin Luther King Jr. and those that we have studied...or even walked with...those are the ones we are here celebrating today."

Airman 1st Class Latasha Cooper, 319th Services Squadron, followed Mrs. Freije with a poem in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, written by Jamie McKenzie.

"But this King, even in death, even today, stands strong, stands proud, stands tall.
And we remember," she finished.

Following the poem, Chief Master Sgt. LaMarr Conley, acting 319 ARW command chief, made closing comments.

"Today we celebrate the birth, the life and the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King," he said. "The events that took place in and around his life were earth shattering for they represented an America which was hostile and quite different from the America as we see it today... Above all, America needed a Martin Luther King. The significant qualities of this special man can not be underestimated, nor taken for granted. Dr. King was able to expound, expose and extricate America from many wrongs.

"We honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. today because he showed us the way to mend those broken fences and to move on in building this land, rather than destroying it," he said as he closed.