Annual Memorial Day ceremony held at Chestnut Grove Cemetery.
Town council member and American Legion Commander Dave Kirby speaks at the annual Herndon Memorial Day ceremony Monday, May 27. Photo by Alex McVeigh.
Herndon — Herndon residents gathered at Chestnut Grove Cemetery Monday, May 27 to commemorate Memorial Day. The annual ceremony featured members of the American Legion, Herndon High School Naval JROTC and guest speaker Dr. Duane C. Young, a retired Army major.
From left, Dr. Duane C. Young, a retired Army major and Dave Kirby, a Herndon Town Council member and commander of the local American Legion, lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Confederate Unknowns at Chestnut Grove Cemetery Monday, May 27.
Kirby read from a letter composed by Marine Sgt. William Stacey. Stacey was killed in an IED explosion in Afghanistan in January 2012. Stacey, 23, was on his fourth deployment to the area.
Young, a native of Connecticut, was commissioned in 1974. He served for 20 years as a tank platoon leader, executive officer and commander, in Germany and in the United Stated. He was also an intelligence officer, and was a senior intelligence staff officer at Fort Irwin, Calif.
Young recalled his experiences on Memorial Day in 1976. While stationed in Germany, he and a fellow officer pooled their money together for a trip to visit the grave of Gen. George S. Patton in Luxembourg.
Members of the Herndon Naval Junior ROTC helped prepare the annual Avenue of Flags in the cemetery. The major road was lined with 57 American flags, casket flags on loan from families of deceased veterans.