THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, August 18, 2023 ~ Malden Musings ~ Page 3 “John Jarvis” ed, our fi rst stop was Malden Square: Gold Coin at the corner of Main and Charles. Gold Coin was the go-to place in Malden for Chinese food. Think All-Seasons’ Table of Old Malden! The best! We pull up on the Charles Street side; my dad gets out of the cab and enters the back alley; it’s early morning, so there is nobody in the restaurant. My father has the key. Standard procedure in those days was to rap on the back door as loudly and as long as possible to disperse any rodents that may be lurkMUSINGS| SEE PAGE 18 John Jarvis C ity of Malden Veterans’ Services Offi cer Kevin Jarvis, for the most part, fl ies under the radar. His contributions to Malden and Malden’s veterans are immeasurable. I just wanted to take a moment to thank him for all he does – usually going the extra mile every single time he’s called up to bat! For those with short memories, here is a brief synopsis on Kevin’s dad, John, one of the Greatest Generation: “In October 1942, John Jarvis’ engineer battalion sailed for the Pacific. In November 1942, aboard ship enroute to Guadalcanal he was promoted to Sergeant and then participated in the occupation and the defense of Guadalcanal from January 1943 to July 1944. On February 1, 1943, he was promoted to Staff Sergeant and then participated in the consolidation of the Southern Solomon Islands and was promoted to Supply (Gunny) Sergeant on December 1, 1943. “John Jarvis fought on Iwo Jima as the Acting Battalion Quartermaster with the 2nd Separate Engineer Battalion attached to the 5th Amphibious Corps Troops. On Iwo Jima his battalion repaired the Motoyama #1 airfi eld. “The battalion spent the next 36 days fighting on Iwo Jima and trying to complete their assigned duties. They repaired Motoyama Airstrip #1, built roads and structures such as Corps HQ Command Post, defused bombs, booby traps and destroyed countless tons of U.S. and Japanese unexploded ordinance and landmines. “John Jarvis served with his battalion on Iwo Jima until the end of the battle. On March 27, 1945, they departed the island and sailed back to Guam. In May 1999, John Jarvis died and is buried at the Forestdale Cemetery.” How ’bout that – ordinary men doing extraordinary things! More on John Jarvis will follow. As Peter Falk’s iconic TV character Columbo would say, “Just one more thing, sir” – it’s déjà vu all over again. With a “long national nightmare” in the foreseeable future, I’d like to bring to you a “long national nightmare” from yesteryear via Malden. I remember the morning as if were yesterday – “Richard Nixon Resigns!” It’s the summer after my junior year, soon to be BMOC at MHS. August 8, 1974, was an unusually warm Thursday morning and I am matriculating at Malden High, working hard towards graduating in the top 715. I succeeded, by the way (top 715, Ma!). I am reluctantly working the summer with my father at Agar Supply as his sidekick on his truck. You remember those Agar trucks, right!? They were ubiquitous way back in Agar’s heyday. Big blue box trucks with a pig painted on the side? We listen to WMEX all day and hear “The Night Chicago Died” by Paper Lace, “Sideshow” by Blue Magic and “Tell Me Something Good” by Rufus at least 10 times a day (with news of the day sprinkled in every half hour). So, this particular ordinary morning started on Clinton Street in Boston where Agar was located at the time. After the truck was load
4 Publizr Home