Photo By Staff Sgt. Shawn Morris | The U.S. Army Reserve helped pay tribute to fallen service members during the annual...... read more read more
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RED BANK, N.J. – The U.S. Army Reserve helped pay tribute to fallen service members during the annual Memorial Day event held here May 26 at Veterans’ Monument.
Lt. Col. Christopher Carbone, who serves as the staff operations and training specialist as a civilian for the U.S. Army Reserve’s 99th Readiness Division, honored those who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.
“It is the act of remembrance that is the important piece of this day…in doing so, we reaffirm our commitment to our brothers and sisters that their sacrifices shall not be forgotten or have been in vain,” said Carbone, a two-time Purple Heart recipient.
The event featured several musical performances, remarks by Mayor William Portman and other guests, and a roll call of recently deceased Red Bank military and Fire Department veterans.
“My thoughts are of three young rifle platoon leaders in the prime of their lives,” Carbone said. “Nearly 20 years ago, in 2005, their unit was mobilized and ordered to Iraq and deployed into Ramadi in the Anbar province.
“These three had grown and developed as young lieutenants in their company and were prepared to take on the world alongside some of the finest infantrymen around,” he continued. “It would be in Ramadi, though - while leading their troops in combat - that within a span of a little more than two months, two would be killed in action and one critically wounded by an IED and evacuated.
“Today, I stand before you as the last of those three lieutenants, the one left to carry on their story, preserve their legacy, and to remember their sacrifice,” he said. “It has come with its challenges, but at some of my hardest points in life, it has given me the strength to persevere.”
First observed after the Civil War, Memorial Day was initially called “Decoration Day” because families gathered to remember their loved ones by decorating gravesites with flowers or flags. It is a tradition that continues across America to this day.
| Date Taken: | 05.27.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 07.08.2025 10:44 |
| Story ID: | 542186 |
| Location: | RED BANK, NEW JERSEY, US |
| Web Views: | 15 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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