Gionna Noe hands out flags at the Brookfield Township Memorial Day Parade. She is the granddaughter of Debbie Elliott, a member of the Brookfield ladies’ auxiliary.
Gary Yonchak was the featured speaker at the Brookfield Township Memorial Day Observance.
Yonchak retired as an Air Force senior master sergeant in 2008, but his service started in 1970 with his enlistment in the army.
After five years, which included stints in southeast Asia and several locations in the United States, Yonchak left the service when the military shed many service members. He went into law enforcement and served as Brookfield’s police chief for about two years in the early ‘80s.
While still working for Brookfield, Yonchak rejoined the military, this time the air force reserves, in 1978. He later left the police department and transitioned to air force active duty. He served in Germany, Grenada, Operation Urgent Fury, Kuwait, Iraq, Qatar, Operation Desert Storm, Operation Desert Shield, Operation Iraqi Freedom and, finally, at the Youngstown Air Reserve Station in Vienna.
Gary Yonchak
Yonchak’s address:
“Today, on this Memorial Day, we honor the men and women who have died while serving in our United States armed forces. Today, we are reminded of the high price of freedom and the debt of gratitude that we owe to those who made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our country and the collective freedoms we enjoy daily. Today, we recognize those soldiers, Marines, airman, sailors, Coast Guardsmen and merchant mariners who lost their lives in all wars, conflicts and peacekeeping missions in which the United States has participated from the Revolutionary Way to the present day in the Middle East, Africa and central Europe. These heroes knew there was a chance they would not return home. They clearly knew there might be severe injuries of which they might die at a later time. They willingly and voluntarily accepted those challenges so we might endure and prosper as a family, a township, a county, a state and a nation. Today, we recognize those heroes who are in fact interred here in the Brookfield cemetery. Social, electric and print media will only give a cursory notice of those we remember and honor today. These souls died so that we can live as we do now. We must say their names and keep them forever in our hearts and in our minds. Let us remember many others who served and are buried in this hallowed ground, those from Brookfield who served in the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, the forgotten war in Korea, the Vietnam War and the conflicts in Kuwait, Iraq, Afghanistan and other locations. Today, we seek remembrance, recognition and grateful attention to those who died in military service. They served and fought and died so that we might be safe and free. Give them eternal peace and the victory, and, in these days of unrest, filled with grave uncertainty, let us not forget the price they paid to keep our country free. God bless America, God bless Brookfield Township, and thank you for being here today to support and remember everybody here.”
@@@
These veterans have passed away since Memorial Day 2023 and were named at the Brookfield Township Memorial Day Observance:
Joyce G. Algoe, Army, Korean era
Jack R. Allen Sr., Navy, Vietnam era
Raymond R. Candor, Navy, peacetime
Larry E. Conyers, Air Force, Korean era
John O. Cromley, Navy, World War II era
William Davis Jr., Army, Vietnam era
Larry E. Dillingham, Air Force, Vietnam era
Thomas G. Dovutovich, Air Force, Vietnam era
Donald J. Durkot, Air Force, Vietnam era
Stephen E. Hansley Jr., Army, Korean era
Donald T. Higgins, Army, Korean era
Michael Javorsky, Army, Vietnam era
Paul A. Lambert, Navy, Vietnam era
David A. Lawrence, Army, Vietnam era
William R. MacIntrye, Air Force, Vietnam era
James E. Miller, Army, Vietnam era
Roger C. Paroz, Army, peacetime
Dale L. Phillips, Air Force, Vietnam era
Donald J. Rankin, Army,Vietnam era
David E. Rush, Air Force, Vietnam era
Ronald S. Santell, Army, Vietnam era
Alfred L. Schmidt, Navy, World War II era
Robert J. Scurry, Army, Vietnam era
Shawn P. Smith, Air Force, peacetime
Neal T. Swartz, Air Force, Vietnam era
Robert A. Tallo, Navy, Vietnam era
Thomas E. Wike Jr., Army National Guard, Afghanistan era
Stephen N. Zarbaugh, Marines, Vietnam era
@ @ @
Please help support NEWS On the Green’s work:
Click here: http://news-on-the-green.fundjournalism.org/news-on-the-green-page-1
