LAKE STEVENS – A flagpole that Cody Calavan used to pass every day at Lake Stevens High School now bears a plaque honoring his memory.
The U.S. Marine Corps machine gunner, a 2003 Lake Stevens graduate, was killed in an explosion in Iraq in May. More than 50 teachers, parents and friends came to honor Calavan at the high school on Wednesday.
“We all wish Cody could have lived to be an old veteran,” teacher Jeff Page said. “Instead, he lived to be 19 years old, and he gave all he had to his country and the world.”
Calavan, whose family lives in Stanwood, knew early in high school that he wanted to join the military.
“That’s all he ever talked about,” teacher Ruth Smethers said. “He had really high test scores and could have done anything, but he wanted to do that.”
The plaque will serve as a reminder to students of the value of service.
“It makes it hit home more,” said freshman Danica Esau, 14. “My family knew him. This makes (the war) feel more personal.”
Pam Calavan, Cody Calavan’s stepmother, said she was touched that the high school chose to remember him.
“It says that the teachers support their students and their country,” she said.
She and David Calavan, Cody Calavan’s father, and their family will come together on Sunday, which would have been his 20th birthday, to celebrate his life.
“We’re going to have dark chocolate cake with raspberry filling, and fried chicken,” Pam Calavan said. “That was Cody’s favorite food.”
Cody Calavan could have avoided the danger of serving in Iraq. His mother died of breast cancer in 1997 and his younger brother, Joey, 15, was killed by a drunken driver in August 2003.
Under military rules, Calavan, 19, could have turned down the Iraq assignment because he was the sole surviving son.
But Calavan, who had “Semper Fidelis” tattooed across his shoulders after graduating from boot camp, supported the war and wanted to go, his family said.
In addition to the plaque, the high school plans an essay contest honoring Cody Calavan, principal Pam Sturgeon said. Students will be asked to submit essays about service to others.
“We wanted to make that part of the way we remember Cody,” she said.
Sophomores who receive high scores on the reading part of the Washington Assessment of Student Learning will also be recognized in Cody Calavan’s memory, she said.
Reporter Katherine Schiffner: 425-339-3436 or schiffner@heraldnet.com.
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