By LINDA CHION KENNEY
Solemn remembrances for fallen heroes are in view this weekend at Hillsborough’s Veterans Memorial Park and Rear Admiral LeRoy Collins Jr. Veterans Museum in Tampa, which, in turn, are set for additional attractions.
Scheduled to start at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 12, is the 20th annual Field of Honor Remembrance Ceremony, for “the brave soldiers, sailors, Marines, airman and Coast Guardsmen who have made the ultimate sacrifice in fighting the Global War on Terrorism,” according to the formal announcement for the event, at 3602 U.S. Highway 301 North.
The Fallen Heroes/Field of Honor Remembrance Ceremony is held twice a year, on the second Saturday of the month in April and October.
The entranceway to Hillsborough County Veterans Memorial Park, at 5603 North U.S. Highway 301
At these remembrances, the names of service members who lost their lives in the line of duty during the previous six months are read. Read as well are the names of fallen first responders and soldiers missing in action (MIA), whose remains recently have been recovered.
“A lot of these remains are being identified through DNA, and when they are identified, we want to remember and honor them as well, regardless of the conflict in which they lost their lives, whether it be Korea, Vietnam or some other war,” said Veteran Joe Eletto, who helped launch the military affairs committee for the Riverview Chamber of Commerce, now known as the Central Hillsborough County Chamber of Commerce.
Also recognized at the annual ceremonies are first responders killed in the line of duty, including firefighters and law enforcement officers.
For each name read by representatives from Veteran organizations, a small American flag is placed in a specially designed ceremonial receptacle, with assistance from event attendees.
Helping to place the flags many times over the years has been Eletto, who calls it “a very moving experience.”
“It’s very humbling to be able to place a flag on behalf of the person who gave the ultimate sacrifice,” said Eletto, a Vietnam-era Veteran. “I didn’t go to Vietnam, but I have a friend whom I went to school with in Orlando who did, and his name is on one of the helicopters in the Vietnam memorial at Veterans Memorial Park. It’s a sad thing to think about him losing his life at a very young age, so I always place wreaths there as well, to help keep his memory alive.”
On hand as well at Fallen Heroes/Field of Honor ceremonies are American Gold Star Family members. Event organizers say Gold Star members “stand as inspiration to us all as we share their loss of a loved one in military service to America.”
America’s Gold Star Families is a tax-exempt nonprofit for family members grieving a military loss through active-duty service, “representing all conflicts, all branches of service and all circumstances of death.” The slogan for the organization is “Honor, Hope, Healing.”
Coming soon is the placement and dedication of the Gold Star Family Memorial at Veterans Memorial Park. Noting the relevance of “Homeland,” “Family,” “Patriot” and “Sacrifice,” the memorial in four sections will include the inscription, “Remembrance is the Highest Form of Honor.”
“It’s a wonderful memorial that’s finally going to come to fruition,” Eletto said. “Military family members, they’re the ones who are left behind, and your heart goes out to them.”
Overall, the collection of park memorials includes remembrances for the Seminole Wars, Spanish-American War, Mexican-American War, Civil War, World War I, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, Gulf War, Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan).
Tributes also are for Prisoners of War (POW) and soldiers Missing in Action (MIA), Committed Forces, Medal of Honor recipients, Purple Heart recipients, Submariners, the Armory, Veterans Freedom, American Eagle and the more than 4,000 military dogs who prevented more than 10,000 casualties in Vietnam.
Set to open later this year near the Rear Admiral LeRoy Collins Jr. Veterans Museum is the Military Learning Center, which, in part, will host educational field trips for school-aged children.
Also upcoming and ongoing, for people with military ties, is the Woman Veterans’ Coffee Social, held the second Friday of the month, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at Veterans Memorial Park. The event is free and affords an opportunity to network and learn about resources for women Veterans.
Meanwhile, the nation’s Vietnam War Commemoration, launched under the Obama administration in 2012, is set to continue through Veterans Day, Nov. 11.
This year marks the end of the 13-year period designated for the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War, in which the nation was heavily involved in supporting South Vietnam against North Vietnam and the Viet Cong. The fall of Saigon in 1975 effectively ended the Vietnam War.
Flags planted in tribute to soldiers who paid the ultimate sacrifice are in view at Veterans Memorial Park in Hillsborough County.
President Trump signed into law the Vietnam War Veterans Recognition Act of 2017, which designates March 29 as National Vietnam War Veterans Day.
The Vietnam Veterans and War Dogs Remembrance Event, as part of the war’s 50th year commemoration, was held at Veterans Memorial Park on March 29.
That the park’s breadth and depth of historical remembrances is far-reaching is not lost on Eletto.
“Walk around and you will see someone remembering a grandfather who fought in World War II or a brother who died in Vietnam,” Eletto said. “It’s a park that’s designed to have people come out and picnic but also to walk around and witness history and to remember those who fought and paid the ultimate sacrifice.”