Good morning. I am honored and humbled to be in the presence of everyone here today and thank you for coming out to pay tribute to the sacrifices of those who have come before us. Before I get started I want to recognize American Legion Post 31 for organizing Westminster’s Memorial Day observance for over 80 years, and especially Skip Amass who has put so much effort into planning this year’s event, my brother, Michael, who, last year, asked me if I would participate in this year’s observance, canvassed for me to do it and whose daughters, Kayla and Mary Katherine, I borrowed for the parade this morning, my parents, Michael and Barbara, who are here this morning, and my wife, Christine, who out of 18 years of marriage has faithfully endured more than 9 of them without me. Although, sometimes I think she actually endured the times when I was home, not the other way around. Continue reading →