As the Memorial Day weekend began, Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell was joined by Lt. Governor Bill Bolling, a host of state and military dignitaries, and hundreds of family members of Virginia’s fallen at the 2008 Virginia Wall of Honor Ceremony Thursday in Richmond.

Last year, the Virginia Wall of Honor was officially dedicated. The Wall pays tribute to all Virginians lost while serving in the Global War on Terrorism, from the attack on the USS Cole in October 2000 to the present. When the Wall was dedicated, 141 names and pictures were placed on it. One year later, 29 more Virginians have sadly had their names and pictures added to the Wall.

The official 2008 Virginia Wall of Honor ceremony took place at 3 p.m. on the South Portico of the State Capitol. The ceremony was highlighted by a flyover of downtown Richmond by F-18 fighter jets, flown by the Oceana Naval Air Station Tomcatters, and UH-60L Blackhawk helicopters, flown by the 2nd Battalion 224th Aviation Regiment (Assault), Virginia Army National Guard.

The 224th Aviation Regiment is based at Richmond International Airport in Sandston and recently returned from a year-long deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. In addition, the event featured a 21-gun salute by the Langley Air Force Base Honor Guard. Music was provided by the Fort Lee Army Band. The National Anthem was sung by cadets from Fork Union Military Academy.

Speakers at Thursday’s ceremony included Bolling; Maj. Gen. Robert B. Newman, Jr., Adjutant General of Virginia; Maj. Gen. John P. McLaren, Jr., Commanding General, 80th Training Command, US Army Reserve; Brig. Gen. William D. R. Waff, Deputy Commanding General, 99th Regional Readiness Command, United States Army Reserve; Retired Col. James Hopper of the U.S. Army Reserve, and a Senior Assistant Attorney General, who recently returned from a tour of duty in Iraq; and Robert F. Arms, father of Virginia Hero Cpl. Bradley T. Arms, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. Arms was killed while serving in Iraq.

Speaking about Thursday’s ceremony McDonnell noted, “Last year we dedicated the Virginia Wall of Honor, a permanent memorial to the brave Virginians lost in the Global War on Terrorism. Sadly, one year later, we return to add new names and faces to the Wall, and to remember that as we go about our daily lives the great opportunities and freedoms we have as Americans are being daily preserved by the men and women who choose to wear the uniform and defend our nation. I am both amazed and saddened by the sacrifice of these Virginia Heroes, and I hope that all Virginians will stop this Memorial Day Weekend to thank a veteran, and remember all those who we have lost, and all those who serve today.”

McDonnell continued, “I hope that Virginians will come to Richmond and see the Wall of Honor. When you look at the faces of our brave warriors, you look into the soul of Virginia. You understand why this is the greatest nation on earth. And you resolve anew to never forget those who stood to fight, so that we may live in peace.”

McDonnell also quoted the prophetic and poignant words of George Washington, who said, “The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional as to how they perceive the veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their nation.”

The Virginia Wall of Honor is located in the Main Street lobby of the Office of the Attorney General in Richmond. It is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. Each block frame is three feet x 5’3 feet, containing 12 individual profiles. Each individual profile is seven inches by 14 inches, and each photo is five inches by seven inches. Accompanying the wall is a large framed Virginia State flag, flown in Iraq by Cpl. Jonathan Bowling of Martinsville.

The flag was donated by Jonathan’s father, Virginia State Police Master Trooper Darrell Bowling of Martinsville. Cpl. Bowling served with the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, 4th Combat Engineer Battalion, 4th Marine Division. He was killed in an enemy ambush in Al-anbar Province, Iraq on January 26, 2005. It was a chance meeting between Trooper Bowling and McDonnell in the summer of 2006 on the roadside in Patrick County, as Trooper Bowling worked a traffic accident, which led to the idea for the creation of the Wall of Honor.

Trooper Bowling told McDonnell about his son, Jonathan, and about the Virginia state flag of Jonathan’s, which meant so much to him and his platoon. Trooper Bowling was committed to finding a place for it where it would represent not only the service of his son, but the service of all of Virginia’s sons and daughters who have answered the call to serve in the Global War on Terrorism.

The Virginia Wall of Honor includes any individual who:

- Was a member of one of the U.S. Armed Forces or the U.S. intelligence community, or was employed as a civilian directly by a U.S. Department of Defense agency or other U.S. federal agency assisting with the Global War on Terrorism.

- Was a Virginia resident, Virginia was the home of record, or the Hero had some other special ties with Virginia (grew up in Virginia, for example).

- Died while either serving overseas in the Global War on Terrorism in an area considered hostile by the Pentagon (currently the Middle East combat zones and a few others, but would not include Kosovo or other combat zones not relating to the Global War on Terrorism) or died overseas by what is determined by the Pentagon to be an act of terrorism (e.g. U.S.S. Cole). Global War on Terrorism combat zones currently include: Afghanistan, the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea, the Gulf of Oman, the part of the Arabian Sea that is north of ten degrees north latitude and west of 68 degrees east longitude, the Gulf of Aden, and the total land areas of Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. These areas are determined as follows: A combat zone is any area the President of the United States designates by Executive Order as an area in which the U.S. Armed Forces are engaging or have engaged in combat. An area usually becomes a combat zone and ceases to be a combat zone on the dates the President designates by Executive Order.

McDonnell’s father, John F. McDonnell, retired as a Lt. Colonel in the Air Force, after serving in World War II with an 8th Air Force bomber squadron in England. McDonnell himself served 21 years in the U.S. Army, both active duty and reserves, retiring as a Lt. Colonel in 1997. His daughter, Jeanine, served a tour of duty in Iraq, as a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. She was a platoon leader, serving at the Camp Victory command center in Baghdad as a Signal Corps Officer.

Below is a full list of the Virginia service members commemorated on the Wall of Honor, listed chronologically by the date of their passing.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Kenneth Clodfelter
Mechanicsville

Petty Officer 2nd Class Timothy Saunders
Ringgold

Seaman James McDaniels
Norfolk

Johnny M. Spann, CIA
Manassas

Petty Officer 1st Class Neil C. Roberts
Virginia Beach

Operations Officer Helge Boes
Fairfax

Staff Sgt. Donald May
Richmond

Sgt. Michael Lalush
Botetourt County

Capt. James Adamouski
Springfield

1st Lt. Jeffrey Kaylor
Clifton

Maj. William Watkins, III
Danville

Lance Cpl. David Owens, Jr.
Winchester

Cmdr. Joseph Acevedo
Virginia Beach

Pvt. Jason Deibler
Coeburn

Petty Officer 1st Class Shaun Dale
Newport News

Staff Sgt. Micheal Dooley
Pulaski

Petty Officer 1st Class Thomas E. Retzer
Virginia Beach

Petty Officer 1st Class David M. Tapper
Virginia Beach

Sgt. Maj. James Blankenbecler
Alexandria

Capt. John Teal
Mechanicsville

1st Lt. Joshua Hurley
Clifton Forge

Chief Warrant Officer Sharon Swartworth
Alexandria

Sgt. Maj. Cornell Gilmore
Stafford

2nd Lt. Jeffrey Graham
Stafford

Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael Gray
Chesterfield

Lt. Col. Robert Zangas
Prince William County

Spec. Frank Rivers, Jr.
Prince William County

Petty Officer 3rd Class Nathan B. Bruckenthal
Herndon

Pfc. Andrew Tuazon
Chesapeake

2nd Lt. Leonard Cowherd, Jr.
Culpepper County

Pfc. Michael Carey
Prince George County

Pfc. Leslie Jackson
Richmond

Capt. Humayun Khan
Silver Spring

Spec. Jeremy Dimaranan
Virginia Beach

Staff Sgt. Gregory Pennington
Glade Springs

Staff Sgt. Robert McGee
Martinsville

Sgt. Krisna Nachampassak
Burke

Staff Sgt. Craig Cherry
Winchester

Sgt. Bobby Beasley
Winchester

Lance Cpl. Tavon Hubbard
Covington

Staff Sgt. John Ryan Howard
Reston

Staff Sgt. Kristopher Shepherd
Lynchburg

Lance Cpl. Caleb Powers
Northern Virginia

1st Lt. Timothy Price
Midlothian

Spc. Clarence Adams
Richmond

1st Lt. Alexander Wetherbee
Fairfax County

Lance Cpl. Brian Medina
Woodbridge

Cpl. Bradley Arms
Charlottesville

Lance Cpl. Demarkus Brown
Martinsville

Sgt. Jack Bryant, Jr.
Dale City

Chief Warrant Officer Travis Grogan
Norfolk

Gunnery Sgt. Javier Pena
Falls Church

Cpl. Binh Le
Alexandria

Capt. Mark Stubenhofer
Springfield

Chief Petty Officer Joel Baldwin
Arlington

Sgt. David Ruhren
Stafford

Sgt. Maj. Robert Odell
Manassas

Sgt. Nicholas Mason
King George

Staff Sgt. Nathaniel Nyren
Reston

Sgt. Jayton Patterson
Wakefield

Cpl. Christopher Weaver
Fredericksburg

Cpl. Jonathan Bowling
Martinsville

Lance Cpl. Darrell Schumann
Hampton

Lance Cpl. Karl Linn
Chesterfield/Midlothian

Sgt. Jesse W. Strong
Lynchburg

Lance Cpl. Jason Redifer
Stuarts Draft

Pfc. Lee Lewis, Jr.
Norfolk

Lance Cpl. Tenzin Dengkhim
Falls Church

Pfc. Pendleton Sykes, II
Chesapeake

Capt. James Edge
Virginia Beach

Sgt. Tromaine Toy, Sr.
Eastville

Lance Cpl. Nicholas Kirven
Richmond

Lance Cpl. Jourdan Grez
Richmond/Harrisonburg

Pfc. Kyle Hemauer
Manassas

Staff Sgt. Russell Verdugo
Alexandria

CW4 Matthew S. Lourey
Lorton

Maj. William Downs
Winchester

Staff Sgt. Leroy Alexander
Dale City

Chief Petty Officer Jacques Fontan
Virginia Beach

Lt. Michael McGreevy
Virginia Beach

Petty Officer 1st Class Jeffrey A. Lucas
Chesapeake

Petty Officer 1st Class Jeffrey Taylor
Virginia Beach

Petty Officer 2nd Class Danny P. Dietz
Virginia Beach

Sgt. 1st Class Michael Russell
Stafford

Petty Officer 3rd Class Travis L. Youngblood
Southampton County

Pfc. Jason Scheuerman
Lynchburg

Sgt. Theodore Clark, Jr.
Emporia

1st Lt. Laura Walker
Oakton

Lance Cpl. Daniel Bubb
Grottoes/Rockingham County

Pfc. Dillon Jutras
Fairfax Station

Maj. Michael Martino
Fairfax

Staff Sgt. Jason Fegler
Virginia Beach

Lt. Col. Thomas Wren
Lorton

2nd Lt. Donald McGlothlin
Lebanon

Sgt. Kenith Casica
Virginia Beach

Cpl. Jared W. Kubasak
Rocky Mount/Franklin County

Cpl. George Lutz, II
Virginia Beach

Staff Sgt. Ayman Taha
Vienna

Capt. Christopher Petty
Vienna

Cpl. Brett Lundstrom
Stafford

Lance Cpl. Kyle Brown
Newport News

Sgt. Sean Miles
Midlothian

Lance Cpl. Steven Phillips
Chesapeake

1st Lt. Almar Fitzgerald
Richmond

Spc. Felipe Garcia-Villareal
Burke

Gunnery Sgt. Justin Martone
Bedford

Pfc. Jeremy Ehle
Richmond

Capt. Brian Letendre
Woodbridge

Capt. Shane Mahaffee
Alexandria

Cpl. Andy Anderson
Falls Church

Cpl. Adam Fargo
Ruckersville

Spec. Robert Drawl, Jr.
Alexandria

Chief Petty Officer Paul J. Darga
Hampton Roads

Cpl. Shannon Squires
Virginia Beach

Pfc. Colin Wolfe
Manassas

Pfc. Edwin Andino, Jr.
Culpepper

Petty Officer 2nd Class David Roddy
Hampton

Sgt. Brandon Asbury
Tazewell

Capt. Shane Adcock
Mechanicsville

Airman 1st Class Leebenard Chavis
Hampton

Col. Thomas Felts, Sr.
Sandston

Cpl. Nicholas Rapavi
Springfield

Cpl. Joshua Stricklen
Virginia Beach

Maj. Joseph McCloud
Alexandria

Maj. Gloria Davis
Lorton

Spec. Eric Caldwell
Gloucester

Petty Officer 2nd Class Joseph D. Alomar
Virginia Beach

Col. Paul Kelly
Stafford

Staff Sgt. Darryl D. Booker
Midlothian

Sgt. Joshua Frazier
Spotsylvania

Lance Cpl. Daniel Morris
Crimora

Technical Sgt. Scott E. Duffman
Virginia Beach

Sgt. Shawn Dunkin
Covington

Sgt. Michael Peek
Chesapeake

Staff Sgt. Robert Stanley
Spotsylvania

Staff Sgt. Jason Arnette
Amelia

Sgt. Forrest D. Cauthorn
Midlothian

Chief Warrant Officer Dwayne L. Moore
Williamsburg

Staff Sgt. Christopher Kiernan
Virginia Beach

Pfc. Christopher E. Murphy
Lynchburg

Pfc. Aaron Gautier
Hampton

Cpl. Jonathan D. Winterbottom
Falls Church

Sgt. Bruce E. Horner
Newport News

Sgt. Dustin J. Perrott
Fredericksburg

Staff Sgt. Michael Moody, Jr.
Richmond

Lance Cpl. Jeremy L. Tinnel
Mechanicsville

Spc. Steven A. Davis
Woodbridge

Col. Jon M. Lockey
Fredericksburg

Sgt. William R. Howdeshell
Norfolk

1st Lt. Benjamin J. Hall
Fredericksburg

Sgt. Scott L. Kirkpatrick
Reston

Staff Sgt. Jesse Clowers, Jr.
Roanoke

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jackie L. McFarlane, Jr.
Virginia Beach

Pfc. Thomas R. Wilson
Maurertown

Sgt. 1st Class Robin Towns, Sr.
Portsmouth

Sgt. David E. Lambert
Cedar Bluff

Pfc. Rush Marshall Jenkins
Grassy Creek

Sgt. Derek R. Banks
Newport News

Sgt. Mason L. Lewis
Gloucester

Staff Sgt. Jonathan Dozier
Chesapeake

Pfc. David H. Sharrett, II
Oakton

Sgt. Tracy Birkman
New Castle

Staff Sgt. Chad Barrett
Saltville

Sgt. Christopher Simpson
Hampton

Technical Sgt. William Jefferson, Jr.
Norfolk

Sgt. Jevon Jordan
Norfolk

Staff Sgt. Jeremiah McNeal
Norfolk

Staff Sgt. Jesse Ault
Dublin

1st Sgt. Luke Mercardante
Lexington

Cpl. Jonathan Yale
Burkeville