{"id":9765,"date":"2012-03-13T18:42:41","date_gmt":"2012-03-14T01:42:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/198.57.196.122\/~gdatwofo\/theavtimes\/?p=9765"},"modified":"2019-02-07T14:05:12","modified_gmt":"2019-02-07T22:05:12","slug":"city-pays-tribute-to-hometown-heroes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/2012\/03\/13\/city-pays-tribute-to-hometown-heroes\/","title":{"rendered":"City pays tribute to Hometown Heroes"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/TZcL05Hk3VQ?rel=0\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>LANCASTER \u2013 John E. Allen; Ryan Clark; George Delgado; Chris D. Leon; Joseph Lopez; Matthew Ramsey, Marvin R. Sprayberry III; Ian Wesley Stewart; and Allan Walker.<\/p>\n<p>Having made the ultimate sacrifice for their country, these nine men are memorialized on banners along the length of The Blvd.<\/p>\n<p>A crowd of about 200 gathered at the Lancaster Performing Arts Center Tuesday to pay tribute to the nine fallen heroes, as well as dozens of other soldiers wounded in combat whose images are part of the city\u2019s \u201cHometown Heroes\u201d banner program.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_9770\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-9770\" style=\"width: 150px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theavtimes.com\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/banner-program-5.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-9770\" title=\"banner program 5\" src=\"http:\/\/www.theavtimes.com\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/banner-program-5-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/banner-program-5-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/banner-program-5-125x125.jpg 125w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-9770\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jerral Hancock.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cThe reason for our gathering here today is to pay tribute to the life behind the banner,\u201d said City Manager Mark Bozigian. \u201cWhether it was in Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan\u2026 these young soldiers and marines exercised the full measure of service to their country.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As the tribute ceremony began, images of the nine fallen heroes were lowered from the rafters of the stage to surround an American flag. The presentation of the colors by the Blue Eagles Honor Guard from Edwards AFB was followed by remarks from Bozigian and from AV Press Editor Dennis Anderson.<\/p>\n<p>Anderson, a Cold War army veteran and the father of a marine, said war takes its toll on the combatants as well as their families.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_9768\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-9768\" style=\"width: 184px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theavtimes.com\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/banner-program-3.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-9768\" title=\"banner program 3\" src=\"http:\/\/www.theavtimes.com\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/banner-program-3-184x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"184\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/banner-program-3-184x300.jpg 184w, https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/banner-program-3.jpg 414w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 184px) 100vw, 184px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-9768\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jennifer Housholder wrote a song especially for wounded and disabled veterans.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cThe toll is on the people who love them\u2026 the toll is mental, the toll is physical and the toll is spiritual,\u201d Anderson said.<\/p>\n<p>He also introduced Iraq war veteran Jerral Hancock, who was wounded on Memorial Day 2007 (his 21<sup>st<\/sup> birthday) and is now paralyzed. Hancock did not speak at the ceremony, but received a standing ovation from the audience.<\/p>\n<p>The ceremony also featured a touching video presentation that highlighted the lives of the nine fallen servicemen through interviews with their families (see above). Featured veterans in the video include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>SSgt Allan K. Walker, USMC<\/li>\n<li>SSG Marvin R. Sprayberry III, US Army<\/li>\n<li>Cpl Ian Wesley Stewart, USMC<\/li>\n<li>Cpl Christopher D. Leon, USMC<\/li>\n<li>Cpl Ryan Clark, US Army<\/li>\n<li>Sgt John E. Allen, US Army<\/li>\n<li>PFC George Delgado, US Army<\/li>\n<li>LCpl Joseph Lopez, USMC<\/li>\n<li>SPC Matthew Ramsey, US Army<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cLet us everyday keep in prayers those that are out there still risking their lives in harms way so that we can enjoy freedoms and never forget those that have paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom,\u201d said Vice Mayor Ron Smith.<\/p>\n<p>The event concluded with a song by local recording artist and Chief Warrant Officer Jennifer Housholder. Housholder served two tours in Operation Iraqi Freedom where she piloted a Black Hawk helicopter. \u00a0She sang \u201cThe Mission Continues,\u201d a song she wrote from the perspective of wounded and disabled veterans.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_9767\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-9767\" style=\"width: 644px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theavtimes.com\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/banner-program-2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-9767  \" title=\"banner program 2\" src=\"http:\/\/www.theavtimes.com\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/banner-program-2-1024x708.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"644\" height=\"445\" srcset=\"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/banner-program-2-1024x708.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/banner-program-2-300x207.jpg 300w, https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/banner-program-2-100x70.jpg 100w, https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/banner-program-2.jpg 1275w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 644px) 100vw, 644px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-9767\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The event was held in conjunction with the city\u2019s \u201cHometown Heroes\u201d banner program. There are 52 banners dotting the length of The BLVD; each bearing a full-color photo along with the name, rank, and branch of service of the military member. The nine fallen heroes are identified with a black stripe across their left arm.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>LANCASTER \u2013 John E. Allen; Ryan Clark; George Delgado; Chris D. Leon; Joseph Lopez; Matthew Ramsey, Marvin R. Sprayberry III; Ian Wesley Stewart; and Allan Walker. Having made the ultimate sacrifice for their country, these nine men are memorialized on banners along the length of The Blvd. A crowd of about 200 gathered at the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":9766,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9765"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9765"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9765\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9766"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9765"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9765"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9765"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}