Washington, D.C. – Juan M. Garcia III, Assistant
Secretary of the Navy (Manpower and Reserve Affairs), will pay tribute
to the men and women who have fallen in service to their country during
the annual Memorial Day Observance at The Wall on Monday, May 30, at 1
p.m., said Jan C. Scruggs, founder and president of the Vietnam Veterans
Memorial Fund, which co-hosts the ceremony with the National Park
Service.
Garcia was a naval aviator who served in Patrol Squadron 47 out of NAS
Barber’s Point, Hawaii, and completed deployments to the Persian Gulf
and Western Pacific. He also served overseas as flag aide to the deputy
commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe in London, England, deploying as
part of Operation Allied Force during hostilities in Kosovo.
“Assistant Secretary Garcia has served his country for many years, in
the Navy, in the Texas legislature and now in the Navy Department,” said
Scruggs. “As a second-generation naval aviator, he and his family
illustrate the multigenerational legacy of service that is the backbone
of America’s military.”
He will be introduced by Ram Chavez, a retired
educator and Vietnam veteran from Corpus Christi, Texas. Chavez served
in Vietnam from 1967-68 as a medic, earning the Bronze Star with V and
the Silver Star. He is active in veterans and civic affairs and is a key
member of the grassroots campaign in Texas to build the Education
Center at The Wall in Washington, D.C.
Barbara Lilly will also be a featured speaker at the
Memorial Day ceremony. Lilly served with the American Red Cross as a
recreation worker during the Vietnam War. Currently she supervises
volunteers at the Denver VA Medical Center. She will be introduced by Diane Carlson Evans, founder and president of the Vietnam Women’s Memorial Foundation. Carolyn Richards,
Chief of Interpretation and Education, National Mall and Memorial
Parks, will give a welcome on behalf of the National Park Service. Jan Scruggs, founder and president of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, will serve as master of ceremonies.
The national anthem will be performed by singer-songwriter Tenley Westbrook. Near the end of the ceremony, “Amazing Grace” will be played by bagpiper Chris Jackson.
The names of five servicemen that were added to The Wall in early May
will be read aloud for the first time by their family members on
Memorial Day. They include:
• Sgt. Henry L. Aderholt, USA, Birmingham, Ala., Panel 12W, Row 83
• ETR2 Richard Lewis Daniels, USN, Washougal, Wash., Panel 4W, Row 108
• BT3 Peter Otto Holcomb, USN, Grandy, Minn., Panel 15E, Row 60
• SPC Charles J. Sabatier, USA, Galveston, Texas, Panel 40E, Line 72
• SPC Charles Robert Vest, USA, Lynchburg, Ohio, Panel 24E, Line 30
The addition of these names will bring the total number of names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial to 58,272.
The annual Memorial Day ceremony is hosted yearly by VVMF and the
National Park Service to pay tribute to members of America’s armed
forces who have made the ultimate sacrifice in Vietnam and in all
conflicts. The event is free and open to the public. VVMF will provide a
live satellite uplink for media organizations wishing to broadcast the
event.
Established in 1979, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is
dedicated to preserving the legacy of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in
Washington, D.C., promoting healing and educating about the impact of
the Vietnam War. Authorized by Congress, its most recent initiative is
building the Education Center at The Wall, an underground facility near
the Memorial that is designed to add faces to all the names on The Wall
and tell their stories. Other Memorial Fund initiatives include
educational programs for students and teachers, a traveling Wall replica
that honors our nation's veterans and six events held each year at The
Wall to honor and remember those we lost during the Vietnam War.
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