Summer Memorial Service honors veterans

Members of the Marion County Memorial Honor Guard provided a Color Guard, rifle salute and played “Taps” at the Summer Memorial Service held at the Ocala – Marion County Veterans Memorial Park on Saturday, July 6, 2024. [Andy Fillmore/Ocala Gazette] 2024.

Thirty-six Marion County veterans who passed away over the last several months were honored at the Summer Memorial Service, held Saturday, July 6, 2024, at the Ocala-Marion County Veterans Memorial Park. 

The ceremony, presented by Marion County Veterans Services, included the reading of the name of a long serving local judge and the presentation of a Braille U.S. flag to be installed at the park’s Court of Flags.  

The Marion County Memorial Honor Guard (MCMHG) provided a color guard. Sam Coventry, president of the Children of the American Revolution (CAR) Ocali Chapter, led the Pledge of Allegiance to open the ceremony.

The names of the 12 Army, 13 Navy, three Air Force and two Army National Guard veterans were read by Renee Coventry, regent of the Ocala Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR).

The names of six members of the Marine Corps were read by a member of the local Marine Corps League Detachment 061. 

Members of the Marion County Memorial Honor Guard provided a Color Guard, rifle salute and played “Taps” at the Summer Memorial Service held at the Ocala – Marion County Veterans Memorial Park on Saturday, July 6, 2024. [Andy Fillmore/Ocala Gazette] 2024.

The six names included Hale R. Stancil, who according to Legacy.com, served in the Marine Corps from 1969 to  1971 before serving as an assistant public defender, county judge and Fifth Judicial Circuit judge and senior judge. Stancil passed away on March 24, 2024.

The veterans were hailed as “our peacemakers” by Hospice of Marion County veteran volunteer Dexter Vance in an invocation. A bell was rung by veteran and park volunteer Dave Bice after each name was read and members of the MCMHG in the uniform of the service branches being read stood at attention.

MCMHG member and retired Navy Senior Chief Donald Kennedy provided closing remarks at the memorial service. 

“These veterans deserve our recognition,” he said while encouraging telling of the veterans’ stories and to “never forget” their service and sacrifice and what they valued. 

At the close of the memorial, Sam Coventry, 18, and his brothers Gary, 19, CAR chaplain; Joshua, 21, CAR historian; and Ezekiel, 22, a CAR alumnus, presented the Braille flag to Jeffrey Askew, director of Marion County Veterans Services and Ken Nichols with the Nautilus Group, one of the organizations active in park activities.

Sam Coventry, left, President of the Ocali Chapter of the Children of the American Revolution, presents a Tactile Braille American Flag donated by the group to Marion County Veterans Service Director, Jeffrey Askew, Center, and Ken Nichols, right, of the Nautilus Base veterans organization .
The presentation took place during the Summer Memorial Service at the Ocala – Marion County Veterans Memorial Park on Saturday, July 6, 2024. [Andy Fillmore/Ocala Gazette] 2024.

The 13¼ inch by 12-inch Tactile Braille American flag, with the words of the Pledge of Allegiance in Braille and made in the form of a plaque, will be placed outdoors at the park’s Court of Flags where flags of all 50 states are displayed. Members of the CAR worked odd jobs to raise the $850 needed to purchase the Braille flag.

The Court of Flags and surrounding concrete plaza was the Eagle Scout project of Logan Catalanotto of Ocala, and the Braille flag is meant to enhance park visits for visually impaired guests.    

Ken Nichols of the Nautilus Base veterans organization holds a Tactile Braille American donated to the Ocala- Marion County Veterans Memorial Park by the Ocali Chapter of the Children of the American Revolution during the Summer Memorial Service on July 6, 2024 at the park. [Andy Fillmore/Ocala Gazette] 2024.

The Summer Memorial Service included a rifle salute and playing of “Taps” by members of the MCMHG. 

Lucille Blom came to the Summer Memorial Service to honor her husband Jeffrey Blom, who passed away at age 77.

Blom served in the U.S. Navy from 1966 to 1970 including deployments on the U.S.S. Cambria attack transport. 

Between 1966 and 1970, the ship saw deployments to the Mediterranean and Caribbean, served as a secondary Atlantic recovery team for Apollo 13, and deployed for an emergency assault landing off the Middle East Coast, according to Hull.

Lucille Blom said her husband served as a radioman and was recently reunited with several shipmates. She placed a dog tag–sized plaque with her husband’s name in a wall rack called the Wall of Heroes in the Veterans Exhibit and Education Center building adjacent to the park.    

Jeffrey Blom, who passed away Mar. 11, 2024, served in the Navy from 1966-1970 including service as a radioman on the U.S.S. Cambria. He is pictured in a Navy photo.
Blom was one of the veterans honored at the Summer Memorial Service at the Ocala – Marion County Veterans Memorial Park on Saturday, July 6, 2024. [Submitted photo]

“We looked up to him. We looked forward to hearing his stories of bravery—these very special memories, we will always hold a special place in our hearts,” Krupski texted. 

Robert J. Sirkoch, who died on Jan. 3, 2024, was one of the veterans remembered at the Summer Memorial Service at the Ocala – Marion County Veterans Memorial Park on Saturday, July 6, 2024. Sirkoch served in the Air Force during the Korean War era, according to his granddaughter.[Submitted photo]