Fountain Hills Memorial Day commorative ceremony

Fountain Hills Veterans Service Organizations (VSO) will hold a Memorial Day Commemorative Ceremony at 9 a.m., on Monday, May 26, Memorial Day (observed) at the Fountain Hills Veterans Memorial on El Lago Blvd in Fountain Park. Each year the town’s VSOs (Veterans of Foreign Wars [VFW] Post 7507, American Legion Post 58, and Marine Corps League Detachment [MCLD] 1439) participate jointly in the annual commemorative ceremony with the lead rotating between the Posts. This year, the ceremony is led and organized by Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7507, Commanded by Navy Viet Nam war veteran Don Hervey. Chairs and shade are provided by VFW Post 7507. VFW Post 7507 Commander Don Hervey announces that the keynote speaker will be Colonel Patrick Garman, US Army retired. Don Hervey will be Master of Ceremony with members of the other VSOs having supporting roles. Col Garman served 29 years in the US Army before transitioning to a civilian career in 2020. Col(R) Dr. Patrick M. Garman, BS Pharm,Pharm D, MBA, MS, PhD currently serves as a Field Medical Senior Director, and Western Team Lead, Vaccines Medical Affairs, at Pfizer Pharmaceuticals. Some of his career highlights include Commanding a 101-bed full spectrum Army hospital and military health-system in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Commanding a Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosive (CBRNE) Medical Laboratory unit during a deployment to Liberia, Africa during the world’s largest Ebola outbreak. Dr. Garman directed the Department of Defense’s Military Vaccine Agency where heled the development, synchronization, and implementation of DoD immunization research, safety surveillance, and policy. He served as a U.S House of Representatives Congressional Staffer and was assigned as a Liaison Officer to the United Kingdom’s 2nd Medical Brigade, British Army, York, England. As a Major hedirected the distribution, storage, handling, and administration of the DoD’s bio-defense vaccine and anti-toxin programs. Included in his various military assignments and deployments was a 12-month combat tour in Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. COL Garman’s final military tour was as the Deputy Surgeon within the Office of the Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Pentagon, Washington DC. His military awards and badges include the Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit (1 Oak Leaf Cluster) Bronze Star, Parachutist badge, Air-Assault Badge, and the Expert Field Medical Badge. He currently serves as Chair of the Town's Strategic Planning Advisory Commission. He is a native of Ohio but resides with his family in Fountain Hills. He has four children and has been married to his wife Kim for over 32 years. The ceremony is open to the general public. Everyone is invited. The wearing of uniforms (partial or complete), organizational clothing, Red Shirt Friday shirts and/or patriotic attire is very appropriate, as is the wearing of Buddy Poppies. Boe James, VFW Post 7507’s Assistant Adjutant states that Memorial Day should not be confused with Veterans Day. Memorial Day honors those who lost their lives while in service to the United States during peace and war. Memorial Day is not a celebration but a solemn day to reflect on veterans and military personnel who are deceased. Veterans Day, on the other hand, is a day to honor the service of any man or woman who has served in or is serving in the U.S. military. Boe James states that wishing someone a Happy Memorial Day is actually inappropriate. Memorial Day is more than just the unofficial start of summer, please make it such. For those who cannot attend a formal Memorial Day Commemorative ceremony, the National Moment of Remembrance was created by President Clinton to observe a moment of silence to occur at 3:00 p.m. (local time) on each Memorial Day. This is to encourage Americans everywhere, to pause for one minute at 3:00 p.m. (local time) on Memorial Day, to remember and reflect on the sacrifices made by so many to provide freedom for all. In Fountain Hills, this can be accomplished by attending a brief ceremony starting at 2:45 which will feature the Fountain Hills Commuity Band combined with the Desert Winds Band playing patriotic music followed by a short narration about the meaning of Memorial Day and the playing of Taps at 3 pm. More details about that are elsewhere in this paper." James suggests that if you can’t attend either the 9 am ceremony or the 2:45 pm ceremony at the Veterans Memorial, please do take a moment out of your busy day to remember all those who have died to protect the many freedoms which we, as Americans, enjoy throughout our lives

Event Links

Website: https://go.evvnt.com/3042252-0

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