COLUMBUS, Ohio — Central Ohio community members gathered Thursday as Gov. Mike DeWine and several military personnel honored local fallen service members with a wreath-laying ceremony ahead of Memorial Day.
DeWine hosts the event every year, with the wreath-laying taking place at the Veterans Plaza on the grounds of the Ohio Statehouse.
During the ceremony, DeWine recognized Army Sgt. Joseph Collette, of Lancaster, who died in Afghanistan at age 29 as a result of wounds he sustained while trying to save a fellow soldier.
Collette’s mother, Theresa Mecionis, spoke about her son’s life and his sacrifice during the ceremony.
“It has been five years since he was killed in action in Afghanistan while protecting his unit. I recently heard the saying, ‘grief is love that has nowhere to go.’ I think that’s why sometimes we feel so lost,” Mecionis said. “In honor of Memorial Day, let’s reach out for help, check on each other, share feelings, tell stories. Let’s honor the fallen and thank and reach out to the living.”
Additional Gold Star families were also in attendance and honored during the ceremony.
“There is a powerful message in the expression, ‘freedom is not free.’ The families of the fallen – our Gold Star families – understand this on a level the rest of us can only imagine,” DeWine said. “The Ohio military men and women whom we remember and celebrate at this event were sons and daughters, mothers and fathers. They believed in freedom, took an oath to defend it, and gave their lives doing just that. We owe them a debt we can never repay.”
Following the wreath-laying, a rifle salute was conducted by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Honor Guard, “Taps” was played by a bugler from the 122nd Ohio Army National Guard Band and a flyover was performed by the Ohio Air Force Reserve 445th Airlift Wing.