CLEARY, PETER McARTHUR
Remains Identified 02/11/02
Name: Peter McArthur Cleary
Rank/Branch: O3/US Air Force
Unit: 523rd Tactical Fighter Squadron, Udorn AF TH
Date of Birth: 27 August 1944
Home City of Record: Colchester CT
Date of Loss: 10 October 1972
Country of Loss: North Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 174800N 1064000E (XE541685)
Status (in 1973): Missing in Action
Category: 4
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: F4E
Refno: 1936
Other Personnel in Incident: Leonardo C. Leonor (missing)
Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 30 April 1990 from one or more of
the following: raw data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence
with POW/MIA families, published sources, interviews. Updated by the P.O.W.
NETWORK 2002.
REMARKS:
SYNOPSIS: The Phantom, used by Air Force, Marine and Navy air wings, served
a multitude of functions including fighter-bomber and interceptor, photo and
electronic surveillance. The two man aircraft was extremely fast (Mach 2),
and had a long range (900 - 2300 miles, depending on stores and mission
type). The F4 was also extremely maneuverable and handled well at low and
high altitudes. The F4 was selected for a number of state-of-the-art
electronics conversions, which improved radar intercept and computer bombing
capabilities enormously. Most pilots considered it one of the "hottest"
planes around.
Capt. Peter A. Cleary and Capt. Leonardo C. Leonor were pilots attached to
the 523rd Tactical Fighter Squadron at Udorn Airfield, Thailand. The
aircraft they flew on the combat missions they were assigned was the F4E, an
electronic version of the Phantom.
On October 10, 1972, Cleary was the pilot and Leonor the navigator onboard
their F4E when it was assigned a mission over North Vietnam. The aircraft
did not return to friendly control, and the crew was declared missing at the
time of estimated fuel exhaustion. Their last known location was on the
coastline of North Vietnam at Quang Binh Province, about 5 miles south of
the city of Ron.
Cleary and Leonor were maintained missing in action for the next seven
years. At that time, their status was administratively changed by the
Department of the Air Force to killed in action, based on no specific
evidence that they were alive.
When the last American troops left Southeast Asia in 1975, some 2500
Americans were unaccounted for. Reports received by the U.S. Government
since that time build a strong case for belief that hundreds of these
"unaccounted for" Americans are still alive and in captivity.
"Unaccounted for" is a term that should apply to numbers, not men. Nearly
600 men were left behind in Laos, and our government did not negotiate their
release. We, as a nation, owe these men our best effort to find them and
bring them home. Until the fates of men like Cleary and Leonor are known,
their families will wonder if they are dead or alive - and why they were
deserted.
-------------------------------
From - Fri Aug 07 20:07:27 1998
Cc: "Tom Cleary" <tcleary@prodigy.net>
Subject: MIA Family - Love Letters
I am the brother of Peter Cleary - MIA 10/10/72. I will be speaking at the
Traveling Wall in Bristol, Ct. on Friday August 14, 1998. In preparing
myself for this talk, I found this page. I find the Love Letter Page
intriguing.
If anyone would like to contact me about Pete or the "MIA experience",
feel free.
POW-MIA You are not forgotten.
===========================================
02/12/02
To: <info@pownetwork.org>
Cc: "Tom Cleary" <tcleary@earthlink.net>
Subject: My brother, Peter Cleary, is coming home
My brother, Peter Cleary, has been missing in action in North Vietnam since
Oct. 10, 1972. This week, we received a report from the Air Force which
confirms that Pete's crash site has been located and his remains positively
identified. We have accepted that report and are making arrangements for his
burial in Arlington National Cemetery.
We now know that Pete died instantly, but Pete was MIA for almost 29 years.
In that time his father, mother and mother-in-law died withour ever knowing
his fate and the family suffered with uncertainty.
Please remember all POW-MIAs and their families. We now can have closure,
but never let the search diminish.
If anyone knew Pete or wore his bracelet, they may contact me.
Never Forgotten.
Tom Cleary
===============
A LONG-LOST BROTHER HEADS HOME ; OFFICIAL IDENTIFICATION OF VIETNAM WAR
PILOT'S REMAINS ENDS NEARLY 30 YEARS OF UNCERTAINTY FOR COLCHESTER FAMILY
TRACY GORDON FOX; Courant Staff Writer
In the 29 years since Maj. Peter Cleary's F-4 Phantom disappeared over North
Vietnam, his family has lived with grief punctuated by occasional flickers
of hope -- but never closure.
Over the years there were several reports, all untrue, that authorities had
found his crash site. One time the family was told -- falsely -- that
Cleary's remains and dog tags had been found by a North Vietnamese refugee.
The worst thing was the middle-of-the- night phone call to his brother,
Thomas, from a man who said he worked for a clandestine organization and
that Peter Cleary was alive and being kept as a slave in Cambodia.
The forced optimism and trampled hopes are now at an end. The Cleary family
was told by the military last week that remains recovered from a crash site
in the mountains of North Vietnam near the Laotian border have been
positively identified as Air Force Maj. Peter Cleary of Colchester.
"None of us had peace on this, ever," Thomas Cleary, 49, said Thursday,
sitting in the living room of his Colchester home. It was the first time he
has spoken publicly since he learned that his brother's remains had been
identified.
"This is a gift to us. After 29 years of uncertainty, we finally know Pete's
fate and all the questions are gone."
The Clearys now know that Peter Cleary died on Oct. 10, 1972, when his
fighter crashed into the mountains, probably at such high speed that death
came instantly. But they question why the Air Force took so long to identify
his remains.
"We're frustrated. They could have done better; they should have done
better. The pilots deserved it," Thomas Cleary said.
Johnie Webb, deputy director of the U.S. Army's Central Identification
Laboratory in Hawaii, said final DNA tests on the remains of both Cleary and
his navigator, Capt. Leonardo Leonor, who was from the Philippines, were
completed last year. But he said officials wanted to be absolutely sure they
were correct.
"The worst thing we could do is give the family the wrong identification,"
Webb said.
Cleary's mother, Helen, died last March never knowing whether her son was
dead or alive. Day and night, for 20 years, she wore a silver
missing-in-action bracelet with her first-born son's name on it. She finally
took it off in 1992, carefully storing it with the rest of her jewelry.
Thomas Cleary found the bracelet when he was going through his mother's
belongings after her death. It was so worn, it broke in half when he picked
it up.
"My mom kept her sanity by just believing he was dead, yet she wore that
bracelet," Thomas Cleary said.
The major's children were toddlers when he disappeared and they grew up
knowing him only from photographs. They had always dreamed of seeing him
again, but hope faded with time, even if memory didn't. His daughter, Paige,
went to St. Michael's College in Vermont because her father did, and named
her first child after him.
"It broke my heart one day when she was 3 and she asked me if I was her
daddy," Thomas Cleary said.
Thomas Cleary has spoken to dozens of audiences over the years about the
feelings of families with relatives missing in action in Vietnam. The MIA
issue, a raw scar on the American psyche, has been slowly subsiding with
time and with the efforts of teams from the military's Joint Task Force --
Full Accounting and the Army's Central Identification Laboratory in Hawaii.
The task force has made several missions to Vietnam over the past few years
to search for the remains of U.S. servicemen.
Since 1992, when the task force was established, 537 sets of remains have
been returned to the United States. Nearly 2,000 Americans are still
unaccounted for from the Vietnam War, including 31 Connecticut residents.
Peter Cleary was on temporary duty at Udorn Royal Thai Air Base, Thailand,
when he left on his last fighter mission. He was over the coast of North
Vietnam in Quang Binh Province, about 5 miles south of the city of Ron, when
his jet disappeared.
With him was his best friend, Leonor -- nicknamed Lenny -- who had finished
his tour of duty and had even gone home to the Philippines, but who returned
to fly one last mission with Cleary. The Air Force searched for the men for
two days, but did not find the crash site.
The last time Peter Cleary spoke to his mother, he told her he was coming
home for Thanksgiving. He told her to "get out the turkey." The peace treaty
was signed at the end of January 1973, just a few months after he was shot
down.
"The war was almost over," Thomas Cleary said. "Pete was one of the last
casualties."
The family gathered in early 1973 after the treaty was signed and waited for
a telephone call from the military, which was releasing the identities of
prisoners of war who were being released. They wept when they learned Peter
Cleary's name was not on the list.
A few years later, in July 1979, Peter Cleary was declared killed in action
after several investigations failed to find any evidence that he might still
be alive. His wife, Barbara, remarried and tried to move on with her life.
A picture frame in Thomas Cleary's living room holds the three Distinguished
Flying Crosses and the Purple Heart awarded to Peter Cleary, the oldest of
four children.
Peter Cleary's remains will be buried with military honors at Arlington
National Cemetery sometime in April, fulfilling a wish he expressed to his
family when he went to war. After that, veterans in Colchester will hold a
special ceremony for him in front of the Vietnam Memorial in the town
center.
"I was just blown away that they actually found his remains," said
Colchester veteran Charles Savitsky. "Any time we can get one of our own
back, it's just a great day."
Thomas Cleary said that for the first time, he can no longer say he's the
relative of an MIA. And for the first time in 29 years, members of the
Cleary family talk openly about Peter Cleary and can reconcile their grief.
Thomas Cleary wrote a letter and posted it on a website. He wrote: "My
brother, Peter Cleary, is coming home."
===================================
http://www.thejournalnews.com/newsroom/031802/18mia.html
White Plains man to receive remains of father downed
in Vietnam
By RICHARD LIEBSON
THE JOURNAL NEWS
March 18, 2002
Capt. Peter Cleary's F-4E Phantom jet fighter streaked over North Vietnam on
what was supposed to be his last combat mission. His job - one assigned only
to the Air Force's elite pilots - was to fly alone over enemy territory,
identify targets and direct squadrons of fighters against them.
Cleary was good at it. He had received numerous medals and military
citations for his courage under fire and his ability to get the job done.
Three days earlier, he had been awarded his third Distinguished Flying Cross
for intentionally exposing his plane to enemy fire in order to protect other
pilots on a strike mission.
On this particular day, Oct. 10, 1972, Cleary directed a strike on a coastal
anti-aircraft installation. Air Force records show he was preparing to head
back to his base in Udorn, Thailand, when his Phantom disappeared off radar.
Sean Cleary, now of White Plains, was a toddler at the time, living with his
mother, Barbara, and younger sister, Paige, at Clark Air Force Base in the
Philippines. He would never see his father again and, for almost 30 years,
never knew what happened to him.
The answer came last month, when the now 33-year-old Cleary was informed by
the Air Force that the remains of his father had been found at a
mountainside crash site in Quang Binh province near the Laotian border. The
remains - bone fragments, part of a femur and three teeth - were positively
identified through DNA tests at the military's Central Identification
Laboratory in Hawaii.
"It was very emotional,'' Cleary said of hearing the news that he had waited
for most of his life. "We'd never given up hope that he would be found, but
it was still a shock. I was just dumbfounded. I didn't know what to think
except that finally, this was it.''
The Air Force told Cleary his father's jet had apparently been hit by a
surface-to-air missile and that he most likely died instantly.
"That was a huge relief to us,'' Cleary said. "The biggest fear we had was
that he had survived and suffered. Now, we know that he died doing something
he loved and something he believed in strongly. He was a patriot, and this
was his defining moment.''
Cleary, human resources manager at Guinness UDV North America in Stamford,
Conn., has few memories of his father.
"I remember him giving me my first bike in the Philippines, and I remember
us spending Christmas by the pool in 100-degree weather and thinking it was
perfectly normal, even though my parents kept telling me that back home it
was freezing cold and snowy."
His mother remarried in 1979, "so it wasn't like I grew up without a father
figure."
"My stepfather was very, very supportive and generous with his time," Cleary
said. "My sister and I were raised knowing that our father was a hero. The
hardest thing for me was watching my mother go through the years of
uncertainty. That's over now. This is really a gift for us.''
Locating and identifying missing American soldiers is the responsibility of
the Joint Task Force-Full Accounting - a special unit with members from all
the armed forces. Teams from the unit work with officials from Vietnam,
Laos, Cambodia and China to find and search combat areas and crash sites.
Any remains are sent to the Central Identification Laboratory in Hawaii. The
task force says there are still 1,460 Americans unaccounted for from the
Vietnam War.
"When you can make a positive identification and help lift the burden a
family has been carrying for 30 years, it's just an amazing feeling,'' said
Trevor Dean, a mortuary affairs specialist at the central laboratory. "Being
able to tell someone that their loved one has been found is the best feeling
you can have.''
Cleary said the Air Force "has been very good about sending us any updates
from my father's case over the years."
"I think it's important that our country is of the mindset that we don't
leave our heroes behind, whether it's six months after Sept. 11 or 29 years
after Vietnam,'' Cleary said.
Thomas Cleary, a 49-year-old engineer from Colchester, Conn., remembers
Peter Cleary, his older brother, as "someone who did everything right."
"He was very spirited and had a real zest for life," Thomas Cleary said. "If
you've seen the movies 'Top Gun' or 'The Right Stuff,' that was Pete. There
was no way you were going to keep him from flying jets. He was a volunteer.
He believed in what he was doing and was a highly skilled, elite pilot. He
was devoted to duty, and ultimately it cost him his life.''
Thomas Cleary was 19 and against the war in 1972, but became active in MIA
and veterans organizations after his brother disappeared.
"Vietnam was a divisive issue in our country,'' he said. "I was against it,
and Pete was an Air Force fighter pilot. But he held no resentment toward me
- he was more mature than I was. I've learned, and I think the country has
learned, that you can be against the war but for the soldiers. My biggest
regret is that I never had that conversation with Pete.''
Sean Cleary will fly to Hawaii next month to accompany his father's casket
to Washington. Peter Cleary, who was posthumously promoted to the rank of
major, will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery with full military
honors.
"It will be a big moment for our family,'' Sean said. "We're looking at it
as a gift - a chance to finally have closure and to celebrate my father's
life.''
Thomas Cleary will give the eulogy at his brother's funeral.
"I been sorting through a thousand thoughts about what to say,'' he said.
"It's kind of overwhelming. It's the final chapter of a tragedy that
happened 29 years ago, but it's also a celebration of Pete - who he was and
what he's meant to us. Mainly, I want Sean and Paige to see our nation honor
their father.''
Sean Cleary has a 21-month-old daughter, Hannah. His wife, Beth, is
expecting their second child in June. When they're older, Cleary plans to
tell them about the father he barely knew and the grandfather they'll never
know.
"I'm going to tell them that their grandpa was a hero who died for his
country,'' he said. "I'll tell them that they should be proud of what he
did, and of why he did it.''
=======================================
May 21, 2002
Dear "Extended Family",
The town of Colchester, CT., the church and veterans are conducting a
memorial service for Pete Cleary on May 27. For those of you who care about
Pete, but live great distances, I've attached a copy of the program.
Thank you for your support,
Tom Cleary
========================
Major Peter McArthur Cleary, United States Air Force Reserves, was missing
in action in North Vietnam since October 10, 1972.
In February, 2002 his family was provided a report from the United States
Army, Central Identification Laboratory, which concluded that the crash site
and remains of Major Cleary had been positively identified. The family of
Major Cleary accepted that report and he was buried with full military
honors in Arlington National Cemetery on April 12, 2002. The crash site is
located in the vicinity of Dan Hoa Hamlet, Y Leng Village, Minh Hoa
District, Quang Binh Province, Republic of Vietnam. The grid coordinates
are 48Q WE 83141/60666.
Peter Cleary was a captain at the time of his loss but was promoted to major
in 1979.
Major Cleary was a pilot attached to the 523rd Tactical Fighter Squadron at
Udorn Airfield, Thailand. Major Cleary flew Fast Forward Air Control (Fast
FAC) missions in F4 Phantoms over North Vietnam. His tour was from March
1972 to October 10, 1972. He is credited with 130 combat flying missions.
The mission of the Laredo Fast FACs was to fly alone over North Vietnam and
identify and direct air strikes on enemy targets. According to Peter's
commander, Richard B. Corbin, the Fast FAC was one of the most demanding and
productive missions in Southeast Asia. "The hand-picked aircrews that fly
them are the most respected and highest qualified personnel from each unit".
The Phantom, used by Air Force, Marine and Navy air wings, served a
multitude of functions including fighter-bomber and interceptor, photo and
electronic surveillance. The two man aircraft was extremely fast (Mach 2),
and had a long range (900 - 2300 miles, depending on stores and mission
type). The F4 was also extremely maneuverable and handled well at low and
high altitudes. The F4 was selected for a number of state-of-the-art
electronics conversions, which improved radar intercept and computer bombing
capabilities enormously. Most pilots considered it one of the "hottest"
planes around.
On October 10, 1972, Major Cleary was assigned as a Laredo Fast FAC over
Quang Binh Province on the coast of North Vietnam. He had directed an
airstrike consisting of two F4 Phantoms on a coastal 130mm antiaircraft
site. He had completed an air-to-air refueling and was flying on station
awaiting a second airstrike when he was cleared to return to base. He was
tracked on radar going inland in the vicinity of the city of Ron. He did
not return and was declared missing in action (MIA).
Peter Cleary was an Air Force Reserve officer. He attended St. Michael's
College in Winooski. Vermont. He was a member of the Air Force Reserve
Officer Training Corps (ROTC) for fours years. He graduated with a Bachelor
of Arts degree in 1967 and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Air
Force Reserves. He completed his pilot training at Laredo Air Force Base
(AFB) in Laredo, Texas and Seymour/Johnson AFB - Goldsboro, North Carolina.
He also served in Korea before his tour in Vietnam. He was promoted to
first lieutenant and captain during those years.
Peter McArthur Cleary was born June 27, 1944 at Hartford Hospital. His
parents, John McArthur Cleary and Helen Fifield Cleary lived in East
Hartford, Connecticut. Sometime in the late 1940s, they moved to Higbie
Drive in Mayberry Village in East Hartford. In 1956, the family moved to
Colchester, Connecticut. His parents lived in Colchester until their deaths
in 1984 and 2001, respectfully.
Peter attended grade school in East Hartford and Colchester. He spent his
high school freshman and sophomore years at St. Bernard High School in New
London, Connecticut. Peter then attended Mother of the Savior Seminary in
Blackwood, New Jersey. Upon graduation, in 1962, he became a seminarian
(studying to be an Edmundite priest) at
St. Edmund's in Mystic, Connecticut. He left after one year and transferred
to St. Michael's College in Winooski, Vermont. He graduated in 1967 with a
Bachelor of Arts Degree in English. He considered Colchester, Connecticut
his hometown.
Pete married Barbara Kingsley of Yantic, Connecticut in 1967. They had two
children, a son Sean and daughter Paige.
Major Cleary is a highly decorated flyer. He earned (3) Distinguished
Flying Crosses, (10) Air Medals and the Purple Heart. The citations are
hereby provided:
Major Peter M. Cleary
United States Air Force
Citations to accompany the award of the Distinguished Flying Cross (Basic
through 2nd Oak Leaf Cluster), the Air Medal (First through Ninth Oak Leaf
Cluster), & the Purple Heart to
Peter M. Cleary.
The Distinguished Flying Cross is awarded for extraordinary achievement
while participating in aerial flight as an F-4D Aircraft Commander over
hostile territory on 26 July 1972. On that date, Major Cleary controlled
six flights of strike aircraft in the heavily defended Quang Khe area of
North Vietnam. In spite of nearly unworkable weather conditions and heavy
antiaircraft fire from the region, he directed the destruction of one
petroleum pumping station, two ferry landings, one river craft storage area,
and one large river craft.
The Distinguished Flying Cross (First Oak Leaf Cluster) is awarded for
heroism while participating in aerial flight as an F-4D Aircraft Commander
deep within hostile territory on 7 October 1972. On that date, Major Cleary
was assigned to an extremely hazardous and important forward air controller
mission in an F-4 Phantom aircraft over Quang Khe, North Vietnam. He
successfully located and directed the destruction of a hostile
surface-to-air missile site. With complete disregard for personal safety,
in the face of numerous rounds of antiaircraft fire, Major Cleary
intentionally exposed himself in order to offer more protection to other
flyers as they expended their ordnance.
The Distinguished Flying Cross (Second Oak Leaf Cluster) is awarded for
extraordinary achievement while participating in an aerial flight as an F-4D
Aircraft Commander over hostile territory on 18 June 1972. On that date,
Major Cleary flew an important and extremely hazardous strike mission
directed against a heavily defended hostile military supply depot deep
within hostile territory. Despite intense antiaircraft artillery fire and
the constant threat of lethal surface-to-air missiles, Major Cleary
delivered all ordnance precisely on target, resulting in the destruction of
vast quantities of military supplies and equipment of critical value to the
opposing armed force.
The Air Medal (First through Ninth Oak Leaf Cluster) is awarded for
meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight from 19 March
1972 to October 1972. During this period, the airmanship and courage
exhibited by Major Cleary in the successful accomplishment of these
important missions, under extremely hazardous conditions, demonstrated his
outstanding proficiency and steadfast devotion to duty.
The Purple Heart is awarded for wounds received in action on 10 October
1972.
The outstanding heroism and selfless devotion to duty displayed by Major
Cleary reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.
Address delivered by
Major General Robert Marsh, USAF
at awards ceremony
Hanscom Air Force Base
Bedford, Massachusetts
2 November 1979
The Cleary family wishes to thank all those who have given us support over
the years. Your thoughts, words, prayers and actions have given us comfort
in countless ways. We are truly appreciative. We know that many people
have contributed to make this special day of remembrance possible. Like any
major endeavor, it would not have been possible without the extraordinary
efforts of a few. Very special thanks to:
The Major Peter Cleary Memorial Planning Committee
Nan Wasniewski - Chairman
David Gregoire, Gary Harris, Janet Koziol, John Malsbenden,
Chuck Savitski, Tony Skorek, Don Spafford
Most Reverend Daniel Hart
St. Andrew Parish
Father Michael Giannitelli, Deacon Buzz Barlow
St. Andrew Choir
Colleen Puscas
Hosts of the Reception
St. Andrew Ladies Guild
Janet Koziol
The Town of Colchester
Jenny Contois
Ct. Forget-Me-Nots
Kathy Shemeley
Ct. Rolling Flags, Inc.
Lori Grenfell, Bobby Easton
Governor Rowland and the Ct. Air National Guard 103rd Fighter Wing
George Sabrowski
And to all the participating organizations with special recognition to
American Legion Post 54
Veterans of Foreign Wars Adler-Boluck Post 6990
Vietnam Veterans of America Chapters 120, 251, 270, 484, 647
Disabled American Veterans
POW-MIA You Were Never Forgotten
A Memorial Service Honoring the Memory of
Major Peter McArthur Cleary
Born June 27, 1944
Missing in Action October 10, 1972
Burial April 12, 2002
Arlington National Cemetery
Monday, May 27, 2002
11:00 AM
St. Andrew Roman Catholic Church
&
Veterans' Memorial Green
Colchester, Connecticut
Mass for Major Peter Cleary
Presentation of Colors (Vietnam Veterans of America)
Prelude
In The Garden (Teri Phillips)
I Hope You Dance (Sarah Feldman)
Procession of Bishop and Celebrants
4th Degree Knights of Columbus Color Guard
Processional Song - On Eagle's Wings (pg. 178)
(St. Andrew Choir)
Greeting and Opening Prayer (Most Reverend Daniel Hart)
Liturgy of the Word
First Reading 789-4 Isaiah 25:6, 7-9 (Paige Cleary Somol)
Response: Thanks be to God.
Responsorial Psalm - Shepherd Me O God (pg. 562)
Second Reading 790-18 Revelation 21:1-5, 6-7 (Sean Cleary)
Response: Thanks be to God
Gospel Acclamation 793-1 Matthew 5:1-12 (Deacon Buzz)
Response: Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ
Homily (Father Michael Giannitelli)
Prayer of the Faithful
Liturgy of the Eucharist
Presentation of the Gifts
(Barbara O'Connor, Patricia Caulfield, Carol Mae Kingsley)
Offertory Hymn - Amazing Grace (pg. 14)
(St. Andrew Choir)
Communion Rite
Communion Hymn - How Great Thou Art (St. Andrew Choir)
Eulogy (Tom Cleary)
Closing
Battle Hymn of the Republic (St. Andrew Choir)
Service at the Veterans' Memorial Green
Procession - (Drummer - Jesse Brayman)
Welcome - Master of Ceremonies
(Chuck Savitski - Vietnam Veteran)
Call to Order - Commander American Legion Post 54
(David Gregoire)
Invocation - (Chaplain Roger Bergeron)
God Bless the USA - (Bill Watson)
Speakers
First Selectman Jenny Contois
Letter from Governor Rowland
K. Robert Lewis (Staff of Congressman Simmons)
Mike Weinstein (Staff of Congressman Larson)
USAF Major Linda Schwartz
Placement of Wreaths and Flowers
"Cross to a Star" Ceremony - (Bobby Easton, Connecticut Rolling Flags, Inc.)
Commander's Honor Ceremony - (David Gregoire)
Benediction - (Bishop Daniel Hart)
Flag Raising
National Anthem (St. Andrew Choir)
A-10 Fly-Over by Connecticut Air National Guard 103rd Fighter Wing (weather
permitting)
Taps - (Trumpeter - Paul Shamasian)