Commons remembered as smiling kid who gave his all

Tuesday, March 12, 2002 | 9:12 a.m.

BOULDER CITY -- Former Boulder City High School Principal Bill Garis Monday night remembered Army Ranger Matthew Commons as a student who was always smiling.

Mayor Pro Tem Joe Hardy said he kept seeing Commons' high school photo with a big grin, "but he had the heart of a patriot."

Commons, 21, an honor student who graduated in 1999, was an "all-out" soccer player, Garis said after a memorial service in Bicentennial Park, attended by about 50 people who lit candles in remembrance of the Sept. 11 attacks.

"No matter what he did, he gave it everything," Garis said.

Commons was one of seven Americans killed March 4 and the second Nevadan to die in Afghanistan this year. More than two weeks ago, Army Spc. Jason A. Disney, 20, of Fallon, was killed in an accident at Bagram Air Base near Kabul.

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., remembered both men.

"Matthew died while helping rescue another American serviceman from behind enemy lines in Afghanistan," Reid said. "Matthew and Jason were our neighbors, and our friends -- their sacrifice is humbling and is an example for us all."

James Parsons, state Veterans of Foreign Wars commander, said the new Boulder City VFW post has been renamed in Commons' honor. It is now known as the Matthew Commons Memorial Post No. 36.

"It is our motto to honor the dead to help the living never let our citizens forget what they have done," Parsons said of all veterans at the event. "America has lost another of our heroes."

Boulder City Mayor Bob Ferraro said a memorial scholarship in Commons' name has been set up by St. Andrew Catholic Church. And the Lady Bug Nursery has donated a tree to be planted in Commons' memory at the new soccer fields, the mayor said.

Future memorial services will be held for Commons when his mother, Patricia Marek, can attend, he said. She attended services at Arlington Monday.

Boulder City had already planned a memorial service for Monday to mark six months since the Sept. 11 terrorist attack. State Sen. Jon Porter suggested putting permanent American flags on the city's 1-million-gallon water tower on a hill overlooking the city.

As the Boulder City Hometown Fiddlers played "The Star-Spangled Banner" and "America the Beautiful," director Adam Schultheis stepped up to the microphone.

"I want to say the band and all of us feel sorrow and remember the sacrifice that he gave to our country," Schultheis said.