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VETERANS DAY CEREMONY HONORS GWINNETT’S MILITARY HEROES

By on November 5, 2009

Gwinnett County will host the annual Veterans Day ceremony on Wednesday, Nov. 11 at 11 a.m. at the Gwinnett Fallen Heroes Memorial in Lawrenceville. The observance will pay tribute to the county’s military veterans and honor two servicemen who were killed in the line of duty this year.

The public is invited to attend this event to thank the men and women who have served honorably in the military, during wartime or peacetime, and to memorialize the fallen heroes who have sacrificed their lives to protect our nation. Board Chairman Charles Bannister and County Administrator Glenn Stephens will lead this year’s ceremony. Honor guard units from the Gwinnett County Police, Fire and Emergency Services, Corrections and Sheriff’s Departments and the Lawrenceville Police Department will also take part in the event. The keynote address will be given by Col. Aubrey Garner, Chief of Operations for the Third Army, based at Fort McPherson.

Two names will be added to the memorial under the Global War on Terrorism heading –1st Sgt. John David Blair and Staff Sgt. Alex French IV. Blair and French were both assigned to the Army National Guard unit in Lawrenceville and were sheriff’s deputies in their respective counties, Gordon and Bibb. Blair was the gunner on an armored vehicle that was attacked by a rocket-propelled grenade in Mado Zayi, Afghanistan, which resulted in his death on June 20. Blair was credited for saving a fellow soldier’s life during the attack. French was killed on Sept. 30 in Kwhost, Afghanistan, when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised-explosive device, or IED.

The Veterans Day Ceremony will be televised at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 11 on TVgwinnett, channel 23 or 25 depending on the cable provider. TVgwinnett programming is also available streaming and on demand at www.tvgwinnett.com.

The Gwinnett Fallen Heroes Memorial, located on the grounds of the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center, 75 Langley Drive in Lawrenceville, honors all Gwinnett residents who died in the line of duty in military or public service. The memorial opened in 2003 and was built with funds from private donations and Gwinnett County government. For additional information about the memorial, visit www.gwinnettfallenheroes.com.

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