Virginia National Guard Soldiers, Airmen remembered at Public Safety Memorial
Thirty-two Virginia National Guard Soldiers and Airmen were remembered along with 870 Virginia public safety officers who died in the line of duty at the dedication of the Commonwealth Public Safety Memorial Dec. 6, 2014, at the memorial site at Capitol Square in Richmond, Va. The memorial acknowledges each public safety officer with an engraving of their name, ensuring that their memory is never forgotten and providing a place where their families and colleagues can gather to remember them. The memorial is located in a 150 foot by 40 foot area in front of the Patrick Henry Building. The memorial recognizes Virginia Guard Soldiers and Airmen who died while in a state duty status. Ten Virginia National Guard Soldiers in a federal duty status have been killed by hostile enemy fire since Sept. 11, 2001, and they are remembered on the Wall of Honor at the Virginia War Memorial in Richmond. The full list of fallen Soldiers is available at: vaguard.dodlive.mil/remember_the_fallen/. Governor Terry McAuliffe and Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security Brian Moran provided remarks during the ceremony. Former Secretaries of Public Safety Marla Graff Decker and Bryan Rhode and Brig. Gen. Timothy P. Williams, the Adjutant General of Virginia, were among the group of public safety leaders who read the names on the memorial. Soldiers from the 29th Division Band provided ceremonial music and Soldiers from the Virginia National Guard Funeral Honors Program provided a rifle salute. Read more about the memorial and the complete list of names at go.usa.gov/68BY. (Photo by Cotton Puryear, Virginia National Guard Public Affairs)
Virginia National Guard Soldiers, Airmen remembered at Public Safety Memorial
Thirty-two Virginia National Guard Soldiers and Airmen were remembered along with 870 Virginia public safety officers who died in the line of duty at the dedication of the Commonwealth Public Safety Memorial Dec. 6, 2014, at the memorial site at Capitol Square in Richmond, Va. The memorial acknowledges each public safety officer with an engraving of their name, ensuring that their memory is never forgotten and providing a place where their families and colleagues can gather to remember them. The memorial is located in a 150 foot by 40 foot area in front of the Patrick Henry Building. The memorial recognizes Virginia Guard Soldiers and Airmen who died while in a state duty status. Ten Virginia National Guard Soldiers in a federal duty status have been killed by hostile enemy fire since Sept. 11, 2001, and they are remembered on the Wall of Honor at the Virginia War Memorial in Richmond. The full list of fallen Soldiers is available at: vaguard.dodlive.mil/remember_the_fallen/. Governor Terry McAuliffe and Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security Brian Moran provided remarks during the ceremony. Former Secretaries of Public Safety Marla Graff Decker and Bryan Rhode and Brig. Gen. Timothy P. Williams, the Adjutant General of Virginia, were among the group of public safety leaders who read the names on the memorial. Soldiers from the 29th Division Band provided ceremonial music and Soldiers from the Virginia National Guard Funeral Honors Program provided a rifle salute. Read more about the memorial and the complete list of names at go.usa.gov/68BY. (Photo by Cotton Puryear, Virginia National Guard Public Affairs)