Milton's Memorial Day: 10 a.m. at City Hall.

By Accessmilton.com

Fourth annual event to feature colonel shot down over Hanoi.

MILTON, Ga., May 11, 2011- Remember to Remember: It is a plea for each and every American to reflect upon the sacrifices made by our brave servicemen and women who served their country valiantly throughout this nation's history.

It is also the annual theme of the City of Milton's Memorial Day Ceremony, scheduled for Monday, May 30 at 10 a.m. at Milton City Hall, 13000 Deerfield Parkway Suite 107. (Click here for directions).

This year's featured speaker is Col. Murphy Neal Jones of Covington, La. On June 29, 1966, during his third combat tour in Vietnam, Jones was shot down and captured on the outskirts of Hanoi. He was wounded by shrapnel in both legs when his aircraft was hit and sustained a dislocated shoulder, broken arm and broken back when he ejected at approximately 300 feet and over 620 miles per hour.

After spending nearly seven years as a prisoner of war, he was released on Feb. 12, 1973. Jones returned to the cockpit after his release and served as Commander of the 357th Tactical Fighter Squadron and as Chief of the War and Mobilization Planning Division at United States Air Force Headquarters. He retired as a colonel after twenty-one years of service.

The ceremony will conclude with a roll call of local veterans who served proudly or who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. Their friends and families are then invited to find and reflect upon the handmade markers created to remember their legacy and placed along Deerfield Parkway by Councilman Bill Lusk.

Each year residents ask how their family members may be added to the registry. The city does not have access to a government database revealing who served in the military. Instead, we need you to tell us.

If you, a friend or someone in your family is or was a veteran, please fill out the attached form below. You may drop it off at City Hall, fax it to 678-242-2499 or mail it to:

Milton City Hall
13000 Deerfield Parkway
Suite 107A
Milton GA 30004

Attn: Linda Matthews

There is also an online form available anytime at the City of Milton Web site. You may either click here or go to www.cityofmiltonga.us. To access the form, click on the "Find a Form or Permit" tab at the top of the page and choose "Register military veterans' information" from the "Online Forms" section at the top of the page.

Once you give the City of Milton the information, it will be placed in a secure database. The names will then be sent to Lusk, who for four years has personally built, painted, engraved and placed the markers at his own expense.

Please start your Memorial Day by joining the City of Milton in remembering those who have served the cause of freedom to their last breath.