It’s hard to believe we’re already five months into 2011. But boy, isn’t May beautiful? It’s the perfect mix of spring and summer – warm, but not too hot – and everything is in full bloom, especially with the rain we’ve been getting.
And everyone knows what May means: the kids are getting out of school. If you’re going on vacation in May, or really anytime this summer, please check out the crime prevention tips we’ve got in our newsletter this month from Community Outreach and Policy Coordinator Dennis Nelson. There’s tons of useful information in there, from how to make your house an unlikely target for burglars looking for quick cash, to what important information and tools to keep on you during road trips and while out of town.
Of course, May also means Memorial Day, the unofficial kick-off of summer for most folks. But there are hallowed and somber origins of the holiday, and a lot of times this fact gets lost.
In Milton, Memorial Day has taken on a special significance thanks to the hard work of Councilman Bill Lusk, himself a former Navy Seabee and Vietnam veteran, and our committed special events staff. Last year’s Memorial Day ceremony was the most successful ever, and this year is shaping up to be the best yet.
The ceremony will again be held at City Hall at 10 a.m. on May 30, and this year’s featured speaker will be Col. Murphy Neal Jones. His amazing story begins in 1966, when he was shot down over Hanoi during his third combat tour in Vietnam. He was wounded by shrapnel in both legs when his aircraft was hit and sustained a dislocated shoulder, a broken arm and a broken back when he ejected at approximately 300 feet and over 620 miles per hour.
Col. Jones then spent nearly seven years as a prisoner of war and miraculously returned to the cockpit after his release, serving as Commander of the 357th Tactical Fighter Squadron and Chief of the War and Mobilization Planning Division at United States Air Force Headquarters.
The ceremony will also feature a roll call of Milton’s living and fallen veterans and, of course, Councilman Lusk’s handmade markers lining Deerfield Parkway. If you’d like to be included, make sure to fill out one of the forms we’ve got online or running in the Milton Herald. It’s the only way we’ll know you or a loved one served your country and deserve to be recognized.
That’s it for this month. As always, I’ll close by saying your City Hall is always open to your concerns, questions and comments. Be sure to take some time this month to stop by and tell us what you think.
Sincerely,
Mayor Joe Lockwood
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Will Bill Lusk appear this Memorial Day, as he does every year, and see his shadow, like Puxatawny Phil the Groundhog? Hopefully he will not see his shadow and frighten back underground.
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