A/V: Dayton Remembers their Sacrifices

Rows of headstones, featuring freshly planted flags to honor America's veterans and war dead, at the Dayton National Cemetery on Memorial Day.

A standing-room only crowd of over 300 members of the greater Dayton community turned out last Monday for the annual Memorial Day ceremony at the Dayton National Cemetery.  Malcolm Maddox, former weekend anchor for local ABC/Fox affiliates WKEF/WRGT and current weekend morning anchor for Detroit's ABC station WXYZ, served as the master of ceremonies for the event with Glenn Costie, director fo the Dayton VA Medical Center as the guest speaker.  Charles S. Cooper III, a retired Air National Guard major general and current secretary of the Air Force Museum Foundation, provided the Memorial Day address.  Bernard Blizzard, director of the Dayton National Cemetery, gave the welcome and closing remarks while Father John Butler, chaplain of the Dayton VA Medical Center, offered the invocation and benediction.  Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 657 from  Riverside, Ohio performed the rifle salute while Wright-Patterson Air Force Base's Band of Flight and Honor Guard provided prelude music, played taps and conducted posting and retiring of the colors honors.  Four members of the US Armed Forces along with a representative of the Gold Star Wives of America organization laid two remembrance wreaths at the base of the Dayton Soldiers' Monument.

 

Members of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base's Band of Flight performing at the Memorial Day ceremony at the Dayton National Cemetery.

 Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Honor Guard members post the colors at the start of the Memorial Day ceremony at the Dayton National Cemetery.

Father John Butler, chaplain of the Dayton VA Medical Center, offers an invocation at the start of the Memorial Day ceremony at the Dayton National Cemetery.  Standing behind Butler is Malcom Maddox, master of ceremonies for the event.

Malcolm Maddox, former US Marine and WKEF weekend anchor, offers his comments as master of ceremonies for the Memorial Day ceremony at the Dayton National Cemetery.

Glenn A. Costie, director of the Dayton VA Medical Center, address the gathering as guest speaker for the Memorial Day ceremony at the Dayton National Cemetery.

Retired Major General Charles S. Cooper III, secretary of the Air Force Museum Foundation, gives the Memorial Day address at the Dayton National Cemetery.

A view of the standing-room only crowd at the Memorial Day ceremony at the Dayton National Cemetery.

Representatives of the US Armed Forces and the Gold Star Wives of America proceed to place wreaths at the base of the Dayton Soldiers' Monument during the Memorial Day ceremony at the Dayton National Cemetery.

Members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 657 from Riverside, Ohio provide a rifle salute during the Memorial Day ceremony at the Dayton National Cemetery.

A member of the Air Force Band of Flight plays 'Taps' during the Memorial Day ceremony at the Dayton National Cemetery.

Members of the Dayton community display their patriotism and support for fellow veterans at the Memorial Day ceremony at the Dayton National Cemetery.

Bob Potts, in World War II-era clothing, stands next to his 1942 Packard Custom Super Clipper car that he modified to look like a general's staff car at the Memorial Day ceremony at the Dayton National Cemetery.

Edgar Mormon, a 93-year old World War II veteran, sits next to one of the remembrance wreaths at the Memorial Day ceremony at the Dayton National Cemetery.

A close-up view of the two remembrance wreaths at the base of the Dayton Soldiers' Monument at the Dayton National Cemetery after the annual Memorial Day ceremony.

The Dayton Soldiers' Monument, completed in 1877, sits atop a mound near the center of the Dayton National Cemetery.

A cameraman from WKEF/WRGT, one of the few members of the local television media in attendance to cover the Memorial Day ceremony at the Dayton National Cemetery.

Veterans' headstones stand in what appears to be multiple lines on the manicured grounds at the Dayton National Cemetery.

Just one row of the more than 42,000 headstones and markers that adorn the Dayton National Cemetery.

A personal floral arrangement for one of the many veterans who are buried at the Dayton National Cemetery.

The Dayton National Cemetery, situated on the city's west side, was established in 1867 and holds the remains of veterans from every major US conflict dating back to the Revolutionary War.