After Adam and Lindsey Malson received their diplomas in May 2003, the MSU graduates walked to Demonstration Hall and were sworn into the U.S. Army.
Almost two years after 1st Lt. Adam Malson entered the military, his family is coping with the loss of their son, brother and husband. The Rochester Hills native was killed Saturday by a suicide bomber while serving in Baghdad, Iraq.
"Anybody that crossed his path knew he was a stand-up guy," said Adam Malson's father, Ben Malson.
Adam Malson was assisting a wounded Iraqi woman on her way to a mosque, when the blast came from behind him, the military told the family.
Malson, 23, is the 42nd U.S armed forces member with known Michigan ties killed while serving in Iraq. At least 1,480 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the war in Iraq in March 2003, according to The Associated Press.
Malson was expected to return home from Iraq in June.
The soldier will be buried in Rochester Hills, but funeral arrangements have not yet been set because his body has not been flown home, his father said.
Malson served in the 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, based at Fort Drum, N.Y. His wife, Lindsey, 24, whom he met in the MSU Army ROTC, also was stationed in Fort Drum as a military police officer.
Ben Malson said his son and Lindsey were not only entirely committed to the military, but to each other. They were married almost three years.
"She's trying to be strong, but she's a widow at 24," he said. "They loved each other so much."
Family members said Lindsey Malson was in New York and not available for comment.
Adam Malson graduated from MSU with a 3.97 grade-point average in interdisciplinary studies in social science, with a specialization in public policy. His father described Malson as an intelligent, straightforward man.
"He was a Rush Limbaugh Jr. - which didn't mix real well with the rest of the students up there," Ben Malson said. "It kind of made him stand out in the crowd."
"Bubba," as Malson's father called him, dressed up like GI Joe every Halloween and even memorized George Patton's speech from the movie "Patton."
"He always had an inkling to be part of the military," Ben Malson said.
After completing officer training in the summer of 2003, Malson went to ranger school and graduated in the same class as Pat Tillman, a former NFL player who was killed in Afghanistan last year.
Officers in the MSU ROTC program said Malson, the top cadet in his class, was an established athlete and leader.
Retired Lt. Col. Jim Rhoads, an MSU assistant professor of military science, recruited Malson as a freshman and swore him into the Army before infantry training.
"In a chaotic situation, he could sit there with a twinkle in his eye and a chuckle," Rhoads said. "He was an absolute natural to lead soldiers in combat, and that's what he did."
Ben Malson last spoke to his son at 8 p.m. Thursday. He said he always told his son to be safe, watch his "six," or back in military speech, and he loved him.
"That was my final words to my son," Ben Malson said. "And he said, 'I love you Dad. Don't worry about me.'"
Randall Bittner, a political science and pre-law senior and a cadet captain in MSU's ROTC, said Malson encouraged him from Iraq.
"Even though he was in a more strenuous situation ... he would always be more worried about everyone but himself," he said.
Amy Malson, a 2001 MSU graduate, said her brother excelled in everything he did and fully committed himself to the military. Malson also is survived by his younger brother, David.
"Anything mediocre wouldn't stand for him," his sister said. "He always had to go above and beyond."
One who has lived
never truly dies,
but crosses a bridge
into the next life
where all is beautiful
and peaceful,
and the breeze
always whispers
of lasting love.
May it ease
our sadness a bit
to know
that our precious memories
will always be a bridge
between this world
and the next,
between Heaven and Earth!
