ARMED FORCES

ARMED FORCES

VETERANS

Flags of Honor tribute

Veterans’ Outreach is hosting the 50th Ohio Flags of Honor Foundation Tribute at Boardman Park on Friday, Saturday and next Sunday, an event in which 860 10-foot United States flags are placed to honor the 299 Ohioans who have lost their lives in service to their country since 9/11.

Setup of the tribute, hosted by Veterans’ Outreach and the township park, begins about 8 a.m. Friday during which some 560 flags will be erected near the amphitheater.

A police-escorted Tribute Bike Ride leaves Quaker Steak & Lube in Austintown at 4 p.m. for Boardman Park. The first 299 riders will carry a lanyard with one of the deceased soldier’s name to “bring that soldier to the event,” officials said.

The tribute ceremony begins at 6 p.m. Friday during which the 299 flags will be carried and placed by a Gold Star Family or escort with their names on the staff that will be read out loud, followed by the ringing of the Tribute Honor Bell.

There will be a color guard, honor guard, 21-gun salute, bagpipes and bugler as part of the ceremony, and a service member will lead a riderless horse through the flags.

DEPLOYED

Griffin returns

YOUNGSTOWN

Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Delaney Griffin, a Youngstown native, is one of more than 1,000 sailors who recently returned to Naval Station Mayport, Fla., from a six-month deployment to the Middle East and Mediterranean areas of operation.

Griffin, a 2003 graduate of Cardinal Mooney High School, served aboard the USS New York during his deployment, a ship made using some of the steel from the World Trade Center that was destroyed by terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

Griffin is a Navy boatswain’s mate aboard the New York, an amphibious transport dock ship that takes Marines to the locations they need to support U.S. interests around the world.

A boatswain’s mate is responsible for training, directing and supervising personnel in a ship’s upkeep and maintenance duties.

NATIONAL GUARD

Called to duty

COLUMBUS

About 60 Soldiers from the Ohio National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 174th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, headquartered in Cincinnati, are deploying to the National Capital Region in Washington, D.C.

The call-to-duty ceremony was Saturday at Landmark Church in Cincinnati.

The 1-174th Air Defense Artillery will provide personnel to support the homeland defense mission, which includes the use of radar, ground-based air-defense systems and communications equipment. The unit previously has deployed in support of the war on terrorism to Germany, Texas, Kuwait and Iraq.

Items of note for the Armed Forces Digest can be sent to The Vindicator, Regional Desk, P.O. Box 780, Youngstown 44501-0780, or emailed to William K. Alcorn at alcorn@vindy.com.