“He was always in the fitness room, as dingy as it was,” Ben Malson said of his son.

Seven years later, Ben Malson stood in the same building, watching as the revamped fitness center was dedicated to his son in a Tuesday ROTC ceremony.

First Lt. Adam Malson was killed by a bomber in Iraq in February 2005 while saving a woman from a burning car.

In that same second-floor room Adam and his dad stood in years ago were new treadmills, stationary bikes and TVs running slideshows of Adam’s graduation, military service and childhood snapshots.

Ben Malson smiled as he cut the pink ribbon that hung from the door frame.

“I think Adam would be very proud,” he said. “He was very mentally and physically fit and always wanted to stay in top condition to prepare for the long, hard challenge ahead of him.”

Childhood snapshots

As she watched the slideshow playing across one of the TV screens Tuesday, Debra Malson stopped to point out a photo.

In the picture, Adam was dressed as a soldier, holding a toy gun and pumpkin bucket. Debra Malson said she always knew her son wanted to be in the Army.

“He would dress up like that at Halloween,” she said.

Adam grew up to be extremely competitive, Ben Malson said. Even in a card game, he hated to lose.

He was relentless in adding up minigolf scores, his father recalled.

“He was like the official of miniature golf,” Ben Malson said. “He had to make sure he won.”

Those qualities shone through during his time at MSU. He joined the Olympic weightlifting team his freshman year, eventually lifting more than 500 pounds, and graduated with a 3.97 grade-point average.

But his competitive streak never let him get in the way of having a good time.

On New Year’s Eve in 2000, during the Y2K scare, the Malsons had a party with neighbors and friends mingling upstairs, while Adam and his friends were in the basement. When the clock struck midnight, the house went black.

“He shut the electrical box on at the exact countdown, right when it hit midnight,” Ben Malson said, laughing. “We were all saying ‘Oh my gosh, it’s true,’ and all we could hear is laughter from the basement.”

Born leader

David Malson, Adam’s younger brother by three years, said his big brother was always in the stands at his wrestling meets, watching for any signs he was slacking off.
Adam quickly taught him the importance of hard work and dedication, especially in sports.

“I was always the younger brother and I pretty much tried to do everything Adam always did, but it was a tough act to follow,” David Malson said, remembering Adam’s days as a football player in high school and a weightlifter in college.

“He was just always at the top. Within a year, he was just the best at whatever he did.”

People naturally followed Adam, David Malson said. He took a stand in what he believed in, even leading a protest during their time at Rochester High School to have the Pledge of Allegiance spoken every morning.

David wasn’t surprised when Adam joined the military. The pair couldn’t talk on the phone much when Adam was deployed overseas because David was studying abroad in Germany, but they e-mailed when they could. Adam said it was rough, but he didn’t show fear.

He believed in what he was doing.

“I think that really helped our family out, too,” David Malson said. “He would not have wanted to go any other way.”

The family has a history of military honors, with Adam’s grandfather serving in World War II and others in World War I, Ben Malson said.

“We supported him 100 percent, as with anything our children did in their life,” Ben Malson said. “As long as it was legal, we tried to encourage them the best we could.”

‘Just doing my job’

David Malson and Kurt Lawrence, one of Adam’s best friends, drove through a snowstorm to visit Adam in New York before his deployment. Adam gave them a tour of the base and then they walked through town, had a few beers and kicked back to watch some movies — like old times.

“It kind of felt like it was back in the day,” Lawrence said. “It was good to have that last memory like that with him.”

When Adam was sent to Iraq, Lawrence did his best to keep in touch with him, though the e-mails sometimes came months apart.

“I would ask him a lot of questions about what was going on over there and he always told me he liked all the questions I asked because he liked to explain the truth to people,” Lawrence said. “There were a lot of things you don’t get to hear in the newspaper.”

Ben Malson conversed with his son regularly, with Adam describing the terrain as a “hell hole.” But his pride in his platoon always was evident, especially when his sector didn’t suffer any casualties during the first Iraqi elections.

“Pretty much, he couldn’t talk about what his missions were because of security and all,” Ben Malson said. “He would say, ‘Hey Dad, I’m just doing my job.’ He said that a lot­ — ‘Hey Dad, I’m just doing my job.’”

‘A little box’

Master Sgt. Richard Stiver was stationed in the same unit as Malson — nicknamed “The Polar Bears” — during his time in Iraq. It was a fast-paced unit. Soldiers had to be knowledgeable and on their toes at all times. Temperatures rose to more than 120 degrees during the day.

But for the most part, it was calm.

Malson was the only soldier lost in the unit in the 12 months the two served together.

When the battalion returned from Iraq, they tried to get their headquarters in Fort Drum, N.Y., named the Malson Building, Stiver said.

“His men respected him for his knowledge and his ability to lead his platoon,” Stiver said. “He was a very good leader and he was firm and fair.”

The day Ben Malson heard the news that his son had been killed is a day that sticks with him.

“You try to put it in a little box and forget about it, but it sneaks up on you sometimes,” he said.

Lawrence and David Malson got tattoos in Adam’s honor after his death. Lawrence’s takes up his entire upper back, with a gun, boots and helmet and a ribbon stretching around it with Adam’s name and rank. It had only been two days since Lawrence had last spoken to him. Adam had been talking about hanging out when he got back in June.
“There was a lot of shock on top of the sadness,” Lawrence said.

Ben and Debra Malson set up awards through the MSU ROTC program, given to the most athletically, physically and mentally fit cadets.

Cadet Richard Thompson, who had been with Adam during his time at MSU, said Adam was always his nemesis because he couldn’t be outdone during training. He still thinks of his dedication when he gives out team assignments.

“When I heard the news my first thought was, ‘Now who am I going to compare myself to?’” Thompson told Debra Malson after Tuesday’s ceremony.

A new space

The area for the fitness facility in Demonstration Hall used to be comprised of a stack of books lining the walls, along with a couch and a black and white TV that never got a signal, Thompson said. Lt. Col. Jim Rouse, chair of the department of military science, said it was an eyesore; a collection of junk.

“We thought we could use this space better, since the program’s getting bigger,” Rouse said. “Now we can have a bigger plaque for Adam.”

The new facility is three times the size and most of the work to fix it up was done by cadets during the past eight months, he said.

When Ben Malson cut the ribbon, he dedicated the room in honor of “all of our troops.” Adam always wanted to be in the military, he said.

“We miss him dearly; we all do,” Ben Malson said. “However … he felt he was doing the right thing.”

Ben and Debra Malson were honored when they heard of the ROTC’s plans to dedicate the facility to Adam.

“He gave the ultimate sacrifice for his country,” Ben Malson said. “That just shows what type of guy he was.”