Taps

BY FATHER PHIL SALOIS, M.S.

We regret the necessity of running only the most basic obituaries in The VVA Veteran. However, full, detailed, and expansive obituaries—going back to 2009—are online at www.vva.org/taps.html

Heavenly Father, Grandfather Spirit,

As our nation pauses today to remember those in the military who have given their lives for the freedoms we enjoy, we pray that you would have us all look to you for strength, comfort, and guidance.

Be with all who serve in our armed forces. Bless them and their families.

Grant your loving protection. Let peace prevail among all the nations, O God, especially for the brutal war that is going on in Ukraine. We implore you to soften the hearts, minds, and souls of those perpetrating this evil and senseless war. Let your mercy rest upon our land, even as we acknowledge with thanksgiving your past goodness to this country.

If it is your will, preserve the lives of the men and women in uniform as they defend our citizenry. We must never forget those who never returned to us—our Prisoners of War and those still Missing in Action.

May they all rest in your eternal peace. We pray thee, O Lord.

Eugene Clarence Alexander, 74, Pennsylvania Chapter 266, died March 7.

Dana John Austin, 71, at-large Maine, died February 12.

Mitchel Lee Baker, 80, Alabama Chapter 864, died January 30.

Mark Christopher Balance, 70, Missouri Chapter 458, died January 27.

Thomas Conrad Begush, Jr., 73, Georgia Chapter 970, died December 31, 2021.

Gary Burnell Beikirch, Medal of Honor recipient, 74, New York Chapter 20, died December 26, 2021.

Teresa Jean Bender, 68, Kansas Chapter 75, died March 7.

Samuel Douglas Bennett, 79, at-large Tennessee, died February 1.

Joseph Ray Birindelli, Jr., 78, Alabama Chapter 864, died January 27.

John Henry Bonds, Jr., 72, South Carolina Chapter 1017, died January 11.

Daniel T. Boothby, Jr., 85, Maine Chapter 1044, died November 26, 2021.

Michael J. Branciforte, 72, New York Chapter 77, died March 16.

Bruce F. Bratton, 72, Pennsylvania Chapter 542, died March 10.

Michael D. Brookover, 67, Iowa Chapter 798, died January 29.

Charles T. Brown, 72, Iowa Chapter 888, died December 20, 2021.

Ronald Wayne Brown, 75, Florida Chapter 522, died February 16.

Charles M. Burns, 83, Illinois Chapter 299, died December 19, 2021.

Keith A. Burrier, 72, Ohio Chapter 857, died January 19.

Donald Murill Byers, 90, Virginia Chapter 617, died February 17.

Scott Cameron, 71, Philippines Chapter 887, died August 30, 2021.

Joseph F. Campbell, 74, Wisconsin Chapter 324, died March 3.

Edward L. Carpenter, Jr., 74, New York Chapter 803, died January 12.

David Douglas Chidester, 86, Florida Chapter 1059, died February 15.

Timothy R. Close, 79, New York Chapter 268, died December 21, 2021.

William P. Couture, 74, Washington Chapter 423, died recently.

Kerry L. Crozier, 72, New York Chapter 60, died February 9.

James J. Curin, 83, Illinois Chapter 242, died February 13.

Phillip Randall Dalto, Sr., 90, Tennessee Chapter 1073, died February 27.

Keith Gary Davis, 81, North Dakota Chapter 374, died January 29.

John J. Deli, 76, New Jersey Chapter 233, died March 18.

Gordon Keller Denmark, 73, Tennessee Chapter 942, died March 15.

Gerald R. Dennis, 74, Indiana Chapter 905, died January 9, 2021.

Mark DePlanche, 76, Michigan Chapter 380, died December 12, 2021.

Daniel L. Elkins, 72, Ohio Chapter 97, died February 21, 2020.

Willie James Ferguson, Jr., 76, Tennessee Chapter 1140, died February 13.

Patricia R. Fisher, 59, AVVA Tennessee Chapter 240, died February 13.

Thomas E. Fitzpatrick, 76, Pennsylvania Chapter 542, died January 16.

Shawn Joseph Germain, 72, Michigan Chapter 380, died January 29.

Richard Thomas Gesiorski, 70, Illinois Chapter 928, died April 17, 2021.

Bernard S. Goldenzweig, 74, Pennsylvania Chapter 542, died January 22.

David Windell Gott, 79, Missouri Chapter 1028, died March 28.

Robert Emery Greenwood, 76, Florida Chapter 1096, died March 17.

Ralph M. Griffin, 77, Pennsylvania Chapter 542, died November 24, 2021.

Rodney Dean Griffith, 76, Illinois Chapter 269, died December 22, 2021.

Steve A. Grimm, 73, Florida Chapter 1048, died November 24, 2021.

Earl Guillory, Sr., 78, Louisiana Chapter 1098, died May 27, 2021.

Jerome Kyle Gunderson, Sr., 74, South Carolina Chapter 303, died December 29, 2021.

James W. Hall, 86, Georgia Chapter 443, died August 20, 2021.

William H. Hall, 89, Tennessee Chapter 950, died recently.

Linda Sue Harris, 66, South Carolina Chapter 303, died January 19, 2020.

Theodore H.H. Harris, Sr., 77, Kentucky Chapter 88, died October 20, 2021.

Donald Duane Heick, 80, Montana Chapter 234, died November 11, 2021.

Robert Hettiger, 73, New York Chapter 11, died recently.

Lynn Preston Hine, 66, at-large Mississippi, died November 2, 2018.

Maurice M. Hines, 78, Florida Chapter 1046, died March 8.

Donald J. Hoffman, 80, Michigan Chapter 313, died February 7.

James Edward Humbard, Sr., 74, Tennessee Chapter 1073, died February 21.

Roy Darrell Hutchins, 73, Tennessee Chapter 1004, died December 15, 2021.

James Douglas Jones, 73, Kentucky Chapter 1050, died January 3.

Thomas A.J. Keleher, 84, AVVA New York Chapter 803, died January 5.

Ronald Clifford Keller, 78, Kentucky Chapter 454, died February 24.

Thomas R. Kimball, 79, North Carolina Chapter 966, died recently.

Thomas John Kowalski, 77, South Carolina Chapter 1049, died February 22.

Joe V. Krasucky, Jr., 73, Texas Chapter 1069, died January 30.

Gerald Edward Kuecker, 79, South Dakota Chapter 1054, died February 26.

Calvin Joe Kuehn, 82, Texas Chapter 870, died February 17.

Steven T. Kuykendall, 73, California Chapter 53, died January 22.

Edward Cleofice Layman, 73, Tennessee Chapter 1073, died February 4.

Rodney Louis Lazare, 65, Louisiana Chapter 1098, died January 6, 2018.

Lynell Bruce Leasman, 74, South Dakota Chapter 1054, died March 2.

Jesse Morris Lee, 78, Tennessee Chapter 1123, died February 18.

Alan Robert Leighton, 71, Maine Chapter 1044, died September 12, 2020.

Ballard Lee Lester, 72, West Virginia Chapter 860, died October 5, 2021.

Frederick A. Lester, 73, Indiana Chapter 71, died December 6, 2021.

Kenneth Elmore Lestrud, 78, Wisconsin Chapter 5, died February 20.

Robert Virgil Lintz, 76, Illinois Chapter 299, died February 24.

David Earl Lute, 76, Ohio Chapter 857, died February 9.

Alan Frederick Maberry, 73, Pennsylvania Chapter 266, died January 30.

John Lee Malack, 75, Pennsylvania Chapter 862, died December 28, 2021.

Rick M. Manzella, 75, New York Chapter 459, died January 13.

Donald Michael Marino, 79, New Jersey Chapter 12, died February 10.

Louis D. Martin, Jr., 61, at-large Illinois, died February 16, 2018.

James D. Matthews, 76, Ohio Chapter 55, died May 31, 2021.

Charles Byron McAuley, 71, Ohio Chapter 55, died May 7, 2021.

Kathleen Rose McCall, 69, AVVA Illinois Chapter 928, died February 15.

Nicholas William Miller, 75, Utah Chapter 961, died March 22.

Rodger A. Mineard, 74, Pennsylvania Chapter 862, died February 19.

Jerome E. Monson, 75, Wisconsin Chapter 351, died March 1.

Larry Ray Moore, 81, Tennessee Chapter 1078, died February 10.

Thomas Lee Moore, 75, Missouri Chapter 1028, died February 13.

Charles Joseph Morel, 71, Iowa Chapter 776, died March 1.

Floyd William Morris, 73, Michigan Chapter 313, died February 5.

James Albert Murdock, Jr., 74, West Virginia Chapter 860, died December 23, 2021.

Dennis Delbert Nye, 70, Ohio Chapter 440, died February 19.

John Allen Oby, 73, North Dakota Chapter 374, died May 20, 2021.

Michael P. O’Grady, Sr., 76, New York Chapter 77, died March 12.

John Wayne Orndorff, Sr., 73, Virginia Chapter 936, died February 1.

Ronald Otto, 70, North Dakota Chapter 150, died February 13.

Thomas Grant Paine, 96, Rhode Island Chapter 818, died March 25.

James J. Palermo, 75, New York Chapter 20, died February 9.

Jack D. Patterson, 74, Ohio Chapter 440, died February 28.

William E. Perry, 72, Texas Chapter 844, died February 26.

Joseph Anthony Pittello, 91, Massachusetts Chapter 111, died January 26.

Michael J. Poirier, 75, Michigan Chapter 154, died November 19, 2021.

Richard Allen Pope, 73, Pennsylvania Chapter 862, died December 22, 2021.

Patrick Lavaughn Ramsey, 74, South Carolina Chapter 523, died January 23.

Charles T. Reddinger, 74, at-large Pennsylvania, died January 2.

Ben H. Reece, Jr., 75, Florida Chapter 1046, died January 22.

Larry James Regan, 76, Louisiana Chapter 1098, died October 9, 2021.

Larry David Salmans, 84, Kansas Chapter 939, died January 23.

Michael Jay Samar, Sr., 74, Michigan Chapter 310, died February 4.

James E. Sanders, 75, Ohio Chapter 55, died March 4.

Roy Collins Sanders, 86, Louisiana Chapter 1098, died October 20, 2020.

Robert James Scharwath, Jr., 74, Kentucky Chapter 1066, died January 7.

James Edgar Schmelz, Jr., 72, Missouri Chapter 1028, died February 4.

Robert Mitchell Schmid, 76, at-large Massachusetts, died September 24, 2021.

Allen Gene Schmidt, 69, South Dakota Chapter 1054, died March 11.

George W. Schneider, 76, New York Chapter 20, died February 20.

Gordon C. Scott, Jr., 72, Oregon Chapter 820, died January 2019.

John C. Sedovic, 73, Missouri Chapter 458, died March 14.

Charles Winford Singletary, 71, Tennessee Chapter 596, died February 20.

Hugh Joseph Smith, Jr., 76, Pennsylvania Chapter 266, died February 10.

Scott Fraizer Smith, 74, Montana Chapter 1087, died February 2.

Steven Harris Spickelmier, 77, Florida Chapter 1046, died January 25.

Claire Brisebois Starnes, 77, Maryland Chapter 722, died January 24.

John D. Stills, Jr., 78, Louisiana Chapter 1098, died April, 18, 2021.

Ronald Joseph Stokes, 75, New Jersey Chapter 779, died February 15.

George Roy David Streicher III, 72, New York Chapter 77, died February 20.

Michael Lynn Swan, 73, Ohio Chapter 55, died March 22.

Wade Tesar, 74, at-large Florida, died February 12.

Gary Dana Thompson, 74, Florida Chapter 787, died October 7, 2021.

Harmon Eugene Thompson, 75, Oklahoma Chapter 291, died January 28.

James Lewis Thompson, 98, Oklahoma Chapter 751, died January 27.

Charles A. Tonna, 79, New York Chapter 82, died February 8.

George Patrick Torinese, Sr., 72, Mississippi Chapter 1057, died December 17, 2021.

Robert James VanderZalm, 76, Utah Chapter 961, died March 13.

James Vialard, 74, New Jersey Chapter 327, died December 13, 2021.

Francis Xavier Vollmer, Jr., 75, New York Chapter 77, died March 20.

Victor Lee Wallace II, 83, Georgia Chapter 970, died August 11, 2021.

James Charles Weaver, 74, Ohio Chapter 857, died August 16, 2021.

Larry S. Welch, 85, West Virginia Chapter 860, died September 2021.

Robert L. Whelpley, Jr., 73, Pennsylvania Chapter 720, died January 25.

Gary L. White, 73, Illinois Chapter 299, died February 16.

Charles Edward Whitted, 75, Georgia Chapter 1070, died January 8.

Grant Morrow Wideman, 76, New York Chapter 20, died November 12, 2021.

Gordon H. Williams, 75, New York Chapter 20, died December 22, 2021.

Roy L. Williams, 74, Ohio Chapter 857, died January 13.

Eric J. Wincek, 75, Indiana Chapter 1027, died January 12.

Bruce Alan Witt, 71, Wisconsin Chapter 448, died March 9.

Marvin Earl York, 75, Georgia Chapter 970, died May 9, 2021.

Otis Albert Young, Jr., 83, Georgia Chapter 671, died January 21.

Jerome C. Zientara, 76, Arizona Chapter 1011, died February 10.

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