April 13, 2016
Honor the fallen at Memorial Day Ceremony at the Anthem Veterans Memorial
ANTHEM – The Anthem Community Council, Anthem Veterans Memorial (AVM) Support Team and Daisy Mountain Veterans invite the public to attend the annual Memorial Day Ceremony at 10 a.m. Monday, May 30, at the Anthem Veterans Memorial. “A Day of Remembrance” honors the service and sacrifice of veterans who have fallen while serving our nation.
This year’s ceremony will be a special occasion, as the presentation and raising of the Honor Flag opens the program. Since being placed on the fallen World Trade Center following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack in New York City, the Honor Flag has become a traveling national treasure. This will be its first visit to Anthem. Other highlights of the ceremony:
• U.S. Navy Commander Dr. William Krissoff will present the keynote address. After his son, U.S. Marine Staff Sergeant Nathan Krissoff, was killed in the line of duty in Iraq, the then-61-year-old orthopedic surgeon enlisted in the Navy as a means of honoring his son.
• Chris Heisler, a retired Army veteran who currently serves as president of the Honor Network, will present the Veterans Perspectives presentation. Heisler enlisted in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and suffered an injury while serving in Iraq.
• Anthem’s own U.S. Air Force Col. (Retired) Thomas “Tom” Kirk, a POW during the Vietnam War, will present the POW/MIA ceremony.
• ProMusica Arizona, under the direction of Dr. Adam Stich, will provide ceremony music. About the Anthem Veterans Memorial The award-winning Anthem Veterans Memorial (AVM), a project of the Anthem Community Council (ACC), is located in the Anthem Community Park. The Memorial was dedicated Nov. 11, 2011 and received Arizona Historic Landmark status six months later. Fundraising efforts and the sale pavers in the Circle of Honor continue as the Memorial approaches its fifth anniversary. To donate or to learn more about the Memorial, visit OnlineAtAnthem.com/AVM.
The Anthem Veterans
Memorial Support Team (AVMST), an affiliate group to the Anthem Community Council, is composed of volunteers who assist in fundraising, programming and community outreach specific to the AVM.
The ceremony is expected to run about 45 minutes. Seating and parking are limited; attendees are encouraged to arrive early and bring lawn chairs.
The Anthem Veterans Memorial is located at Anthem Community Park, 41703 N. Gavilan Peak Pkwy. Take I-17, exit 229. Turn east (right). Turn south (right) on Gavilan Peak Pkwy. The Memorial is on the left at the four-way stop signs and entrance to the park.
For more information about the Memorial, visit OnlineAtAnthem.com/AVM.
