DOBSON — “We few, we happy few, we band of brothers: For he to-day that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother.”
It was with these words from Shakespeare’s “Henry V” that Hugh Wilkins spoke of the three men honored by the Fallen Eagles Memorial.
“It should not take a special day to remember and honor these young people,” he said during Friday morning’s dedication ceremony at Surry Central High School. “They fought and they died for each other and for our freedom.”
Wilkins, class of 1963, was the keynote speaker for the ceremony to honor Gerold Lee Mounce, Dale Alan Gunnell and Adam Lee Marion, graduates of Surry Central who were killed in the line of duty. More than 100 people gathered in front of the school along with the student body to pay respect to these men and to their about 20 family members present at the dedication.
Mounce, a graduate from the class of 1963, was killed in Vietnam at the age of 22. Gunnell, Surry Central class of 1965, also was killed during the Vietnam War, at the age of 20. Marion was a member of the class of 2000 and was killed in Iraq in 2008 at the age of 26.
“Like many graduates, these three men answered the call of duty to their country,” said Principal Kevin Via. “These men represent what is best about our country, our community and our school.”
The memorial consists of a single granite stone sitting in front of the school. There are also two benches nearby which Ron Phillips, the man who came up with the idea for the memorial, hopes will be a place for reflection.
Via and Wilkins both addressed the student body specifically when noting that the three honorees were not much older than they are. Via said he hoped the students will see the memorial and remember the price that is paid for their freedom.
“It is our responsibility to never forget their sacrifice,” said Wilkins. “Today we have gathered to remember these three fallen Eagles. These three young men were in the prime of their life, they had plans, they had friends and, more importantly, they had families.”
Several student groups helped out with the event as well. The school’s JROTC program helped to lead the event and stood in formation at the front of the ceremony. The school’s choral program sang the National Anthem for the event, and a brass quartet played “Taps” at the conclusion of the event.
Read more: Mount Airy News - Central honors fallen Eagles
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Friday, May 21, 2010
Fallen Eagles Memorial Dedication Ceremony
MEMORIAL DAY DEDICATION
A Memorial Day Dedication Ceremony to honor Sgt. Gerold Lee Mounce, Cpl. Dale Alan Gunnell, and Pfc. Adam Lee Marion, will be held on Friday, May 28, 2010, at 10:30 AM at the flag pole area at Surry Central High School. Lt. Col. Brian O'Connell and the Surry Central JROTC will be conducting the ceremony. Harold "Hugh" Wilkins, class of 1963, will be the keynote speaker. Afterwards, taps will be played by members of the Surry Central High School Band. Family, alumni, friends, teachers, students, and puplic are invited to attend.
"All gave some...Some gave ALL!" These brave men gave everything...let us honor and respect them always!
A Memorial Day Dedication Ceremony to honor Sgt. Gerold Lee Mounce, Cpl. Dale Alan Gunnell, and Pfc. Adam Lee Marion, will be held on Friday, May 28, 2010, at 10:30 AM at the flag pole area at Surry Central High School. Lt. Col. Brian O'Connell and the Surry Central JROTC will be conducting the ceremony. Harold "Hugh" Wilkins, class of 1963, will be the keynote speaker. Afterwards, taps will be played by members of the Surry Central High School Band. Family, alumni, friends, teachers, students, and puplic are invited to attend.
"All gave some...Some gave ALL!" These brave men gave everything...let us honor and respect them always!
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Fallen Eagles Memorial Moving Forward...
by Morgan Wall, Mt. Airy News
DOBSON — After receiving approval from the Surry County Schools Board of Education in December, the Fallen Eagles Memorial Committee has moved forward with plans for Surry Central High School.
The committee, which is comprised mostly of family and friends of three Surry Central alumni who died while serving their country, is working on creating a Fallen Eagles Memorial Garden at the high school.
The original concept, which included three individual markers, has been modified slightly to become one marker with all three names. The golden eagle that was originally to be placed on the side of the school building has been changed to having an eagle etched on the free-standing memorial.
The memorial will be placed behind the flagpoles at the school in the grassy area between the sidewalk and the science wing. The space is about 6 feet deep and 20 feet long.
The group will also plant flowers and bushes around the garden and hopes to construct a bench as well. The committee has enlisted the help of the SCHS horticulture teacher to help determine which plants will grow best in that area and which ones would require the least amount of upkeep.
“It’s something we hope would evolve and be a good image for the school,” said Ron Phillips, chairman of the committee, at the Dec. 7 board meeting.
The memorial will honor Sgt. Gerold Lee Mounce, SCHS class of 1963, who served in the Army, Cpl. Dale Alan Gunnell, SCHS class of 1965, who served in the Marine Corps, and Pfc. Adam Lee Marion, SCHS class of 2000, who served in the Army.
“It’s an amazing great thing for Surry Central to have that and have a constant reminder of what people that serve this country give of themselves,” said Kevin Via, principal. “We should be proud of them, respect them and be thankful that we have people willing to do that.”
The committee hopes to start the construction process on the memorial as soon as it receives some materials as well as doing some work to prepare the grounds at the school. The remainder of the construction as far as erecting the memorial and doing the planting will take place in the spring.
The dedication ceremony is tentatively scheduled for May 31, Memorial Day. The committee hopes to get the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Vietnam Veterans organizations in the area involved in the dedication as well as the SCHS Air Force JROTC.
Because Memorial Day is a holiday for the school system, Via said that the school will plan a separate ceremony with the JROTC so the students can be a part of it.
The committee is still looking for support from the community and hopes to make all SCHS alumni aware of the memorial.
“We want to peak the interest of the entire county,” said Phillips. “We’re setting up a public blog and we want that to be open to anybody to seek information.”
The address for the blog is FallenEaglesMemorial.blogspot.com.
The committee is also in the process of setting up a bank account at Southern Community Bank to allow people to make contributions to the memorial and its upkeep, for which the committee will be responsible.
Contact Morgan Wall at mwall@mtairynews.com or 719-1929.
DOBSON — After receiving approval from the Surry County Schools Board of Education in December, the Fallen Eagles Memorial Committee has moved forward with plans for Surry Central High School.
The committee, which is comprised mostly of family and friends of three Surry Central alumni who died while serving their country, is working on creating a Fallen Eagles Memorial Garden at the high school.
The original concept, which included three individual markers, has been modified slightly to become one marker with all three names. The golden eagle that was originally to be placed on the side of the school building has been changed to having an eagle etched on the free-standing memorial.
The memorial will be placed behind the flagpoles at the school in the grassy area between the sidewalk and the science wing. The space is about 6 feet deep and 20 feet long.
The group will also plant flowers and bushes around the garden and hopes to construct a bench as well. The committee has enlisted the help of the SCHS horticulture teacher to help determine which plants will grow best in that area and which ones would require the least amount of upkeep.
“It’s something we hope would evolve and be a good image for the school,” said Ron Phillips, chairman of the committee, at the Dec. 7 board meeting.
The memorial will honor Sgt. Gerold Lee Mounce, SCHS class of 1963, who served in the Army, Cpl. Dale Alan Gunnell, SCHS class of 1965, who served in the Marine Corps, and Pfc. Adam Lee Marion, SCHS class of 2000, who served in the Army.
“It’s an amazing great thing for Surry Central to have that and have a constant reminder of what people that serve this country give of themselves,” said Kevin Via, principal. “We should be proud of them, respect them and be thankful that we have people willing to do that.”
The committee hopes to start the construction process on the memorial as soon as it receives some materials as well as doing some work to prepare the grounds at the school. The remainder of the construction as far as erecting the memorial and doing the planting will take place in the spring.
The dedication ceremony is tentatively scheduled for May 31, Memorial Day. The committee hopes to get the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Vietnam Veterans organizations in the area involved in the dedication as well as the SCHS Air Force JROTC.
Because Memorial Day is a holiday for the school system, Via said that the school will plan a separate ceremony with the JROTC so the students can be a part of it.
The committee is still looking for support from the community and hopes to make all SCHS alumni aware of the memorial.
“We want to peak the interest of the entire county,” said Phillips. “We’re setting up a public blog and we want that to be open to anybody to seek information.”
The address for the blog is FallenEaglesMemorial.blogspot.com.
The committee is also in the process of setting up a bank account at Southern Community Bank to allow people to make contributions to the memorial and its upkeep, for which the committee will be responsible.
Contact Morgan Wall at mwall@mtairynews.com or 719-1929.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Fallen Eagles Memorial & Garden
The Fallen Eagles Memorial, to be established on the grounds of Surry Central High School, was approved by the Surry County Board of Education on December 5, 2009. Its location will be a six foot by twenty foot grassy area behind the flag poles and adjacent to the Science building. The area will contain a free-standing granite memorial with the names of SCHS alumni who have been killed in combat action while serving their country. Also, several new plants and shrubs will accent the garden.
Diagrams of the memorial and garden are below. Click on each image to view a larger, more descriptive one.
If you would like to make a donation to the Fallen Eagles Memorial Fund, information may found at the left.
Also, PLEASE POST A COMMENT...your comments and feelings are welcome.
Thank you for for your interest in the Fallen Eagles Memorial.
Ron Phillips, class of 1965
Diagrams of the memorial and garden are below. Click on each image to view a larger, more descriptive one.
If you would like to make a donation to the Fallen Eagles Memorial Fund, information may found at the left.
Also, PLEASE POST A COMMENT...your comments and feelings are welcome.
Thank you for for your interest in the Fallen Eagles Memorial.
Ron Phillips, class of 1965
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