May 26 is Memorial Day, marked every year on the last Monday in May, when Americans are asked to remember all soldiers who have died in wars. The holiday began in 1868 as Decoration Day, when the graves of Civil War soldiers were decorated.
The sacrifice remembered today might be honored by the way we courageously live out such a legacy of service before self. - Guard Chaplin Michael Medas
Before the Memorial Day weekend, the Vermont National Guard held a ceremony Thursday for those Guard members who died in Iraq and Afghanistan, and for their families. Uniformed Guard members and civilian family members gathered at Camp Johnson, the Vermont National Guard’s headquarters in Colchester, and listened as Adjutant General Steve Cray read the names of these Guard members who were killed in deployments:
- Sergeant William Normandy
- Sergeant Kevin Sheehan
- Specialist Alan Bean
- Staff Sergeant Jamie Gray
- Master Sergeant Chris Chapin
- First Lieutenant Mark Dooley
- Sergeant Scott McLaughlin
- Second Lieutenant Mark Procopio
- Sergeant Joshua Johnson
- Specialist Christopher Merchant
- Master Sergeant John Thomas Stone
- Specialist Ryan Grady
- Sergeant Tristan Southworth
- Sergeant Steven Delusio
During the ceremony, Major General Cray, Sergeant Major Neil Roberts, Major Michael Medas and Governor Peter Shumlin spoke to the Guard members and Gold Star families of soldiers, and the Guard’s 40th Army Band played the national anthem.
