RICHMOND, Va. –
Virginia National Guard Soldiers and Airmen helped honor those being remembered at the Virginia Public Safety Foundation’s 10th Annual Commemorative Ceremony Sept. 14, 2024, at the Virginia Public Safety Memorial in Richmond, Virginia.
The ceremony honors nearly 1,000 who lost their lives in service to the Commonwealth of Virginia, including Guardsmen, first responders and other civil servants. This year’s ceremony marked the 10th anniversary of the memorial.
“I’m honored to join you once more on this day of remembrance and resolve,” said Virginia Public Safety Foundation president Nancy Rodrigues. “We will never forget your loved one’s service, as well as the sacrifice and sorrow that you have endured. On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Virginia Public Safety Foundation and the people of the commonwealth, let me offer our deepest condolences on the loss of your loved one. We share in your loss, and we work to ensure that your loved one will never be forgotten.”
Virginia Army and Air National Guard senior leaders were among dozens who helped read aloud each of the names of those memorialized during a roll call. Brig. Gen. Charles Martin Jr., commander of the VaARNG, Brig. Gen. Christopher Batterton, Assistant Adjutant General for Air Strategic Initiatives, Col. Kurt Kobernick, VaARNG Chief of Staff, and Command Chief Master Sergeant Kelly B. Reich, the VNG senior enlisted leader all participated in the roll call.
“It was an honor to participate in the Commonwealth Public Safety Memorial ceremony and recognize 964 fallen public safety heroes, of which 32 were Virginia National Guard service members,” said Martin. “I’m grateful to the Virginia Public Safety Foundation for organizing this annual event, which enables us to reflect on examples of true devotion to duty and to honor the fallen in the presence of many of their families and friends.”
The memorial acknowledges each public safety officer with an engraving of their name, ensuring that their memory is never forgotten and providing a place where their families and colleagues can gather to remember them. The memorial is located in a 150 foot by 40 foot area in front of the Patrick Henry Building.
Thirty-two Virginia Guardsmen who died on official state or federal orders under Title 32 of the United States Code are enshrined on the memorial, including 18 Airmen from the 203rd RED HORSE Squadron were killed on March 3, 2001, when they were returning home after completing a two-week military construction project at Hurlburt Field, Florida. The C-23 Sherpa they were flying in crashed in a cotton field near Unadilla, Georgia. Others included on the memorial include Soldiers who died either during training or during emergency response operations within Virginia.
The ceremony began with music performed by the Troutville-based 29th Infantry Division Band and a welcome from the president of the Virginia Public Safety Foundation, Nancy Rodrigues. After the roll call, the fallen were honored with a gun salute and the playing of taps, performed by the 29th ID Band’s Staff Sgt. Christopher Walton.
Read more about the Virginia Public Safety Memorial and the Virginia National Guard Soldiers and Airmen it honors at https://vngpao.info/VPSM.
Ten Virginia National Guard Soldiers lost to hostile enemy action while on federal active duty are remembered at the Shrine of Memory for the Global War on Terrorism and Beyond at the Virginia War Memorial in Richmond, Virginia. Read more about the Virginia National Guard’s fallen warriors at https://vngpao.info/RememberTheFallen.