Community Corner
Vets Commitment to Remember the Fallen Remains Rock Solid
Public 'Reading of Names' to be held at Fairfax Government Center on Memorial Day
Local veterans, elected officials and residents will gather at the Fairfax War Memorial on Memorial Day for the reverent "reading of names" that honors those local veterans who gave their lives in service of their country.
American Legion Post 177 and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8469 of Fairfax Station will provide a joint color guard for the occasion.
The event on Monday at 9 a.m. takes place at the intersection of Fairfax City's Main Street and Route 123, a site local veterans refer to simply as "the Rock."
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Fairfax Station's Benjamin Park's name will added to the list of local heroes this year. The Army PFC was killed by an insurgent bomb in Afghanistan last June.
Other local veterans previously killed in action include Fairfax Station's Dillon Jutras and Clifton's Daniel Bennett and Jeff Kaylor. All were 25 years or younger.
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Many young veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are making a concerted effort to reach out to their comrades locally. Joshua Lawton Belous was injured during his two tours in Iraq. Last month, he and fellow Iraq veteran, Jacobo Flores assumed senior positions as Post Commander and Vice Commander at VFW post 8469.
The occasion serves as "a tipping point for our organization," said immediate past Post Commander and retired Marine Corps colonel Floyd Houston.
Lawton Belous was instrumental in founding George Mason University's veterans society.
He said he looked forward to Monday's commemoration.
"Our annual war memorial serves as a reminder for those of us who were fortunate to have survived the battlefield, that our work is not yet done and that we must continue to remember and take care of our own," Belous said.
