COLUMBUS, Ohio - A crowd of about 300 gathered at the Ohio National Guard state headquarters, MG Roberts S. Beightler Armory, in northwest Columbus May 23 to attend the dedication ceremony for a monument honoring all Ohio National Guard troops who have been killed in action throughout the organization's 220-year history.
"Each left behind a son, a husband, a father, a grandson, a brother who loved them; friends who mourned them and a nation with a debt it can never repay," Wayt said of the fallen troops.
The memorial plaza includes a 10-foot bronze minuteman sculpture, the symbol of the National Guard, which depicts a colonial militiaman holding his farmer's plow in one hand and a musket in the other, representing his promise to be ready to defend his country at any minute. Set back behind the sculpture is a battlefield cross, the traditional fallen hero memorial with rifle, boots and helmet, atop a granite platform etched with the names of 12 wars and 77 campaigns in which the Ohio National Guard has participated.
Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, the Ohio National Guard commander in chief, was among the honored guests and thanked the Gold Star Families and service members gathered for their sacrifices.
"There is something profoundly moving and profoundly American about service in the National Guard," he said. "These are our neighbors, men and women who stand ever ready, who put down the tools of their trade and forego the comforts of home to say goodbye to their loved ones to serve in times of threats and disasters."
Strickland, Maj. Gen. Gregory L. Wayt, Ohio adjutant general, and Henry Guzman, director of the Ohio Department of Public Safety, presented the family members of six of the Ohio National Guard's fallen heroes with Gold Star Family license plates. The Bureau of Motor Vehicles on April 25 made the specialized plates available to immediate family members of Ohio troops killed in action.
The plates feature a large gold star surrounded by five additional stars below the name of one of ten designated combat zones from World War II through the Global War on Terrorism. Seventy-nine Gold Star plates have been issued since the plate became available, Guzman said.
Guzman, a Vietnam veteran, said he was especially proud to present the plates to the families who have sacrificed so much and asked attendees to "pause and consider the weight of the words 'honor' and 'hero.'"
"These are not words to be used lightly," Guzman said. "We reserve them for those who make conscious decisions to give their all. There is no greater service you should do for your families or loved ones or for the citizens of our great state than to give all for your country."
Following the ceremony, Strickland signed a bill creating the Department of Veterans Services as a cabinet-level agency to coordinate veterans' services statewide.