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 Connecticut's Fallen Heroes Honored During Mural Dedication Ceremony

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CORRECTION: Sam Zwick was the grandfather of Robert Hoyt, the soldier from Mansfield who was killed in December 2004 (see end ‘graphs of this story). Mr Zwick was incorrectly identified in the print edition (originally also called Robert Hoyt); correction will run in 03/04/11 print edition and has been done online.

 

Connecticut’s Fallen Heroes Honored During Mural Dedication Ceremony

By Shannon Hicks

More than 4,400 American soldiers have been killed since March 2002, during Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation New Dawn. As of the first of this year, 51 of those soldiers were from Connecticut at the time of their death.

Newtown High School junior Sean Decker hosted a ceremony on February 10 that formally dedicated a mural he had painted in the high school’s second floor B-wing hallway. “Connecticut’s Fallen” memorializes the Connecticut soldiers who have given their lives while serving in the military during combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The ceremony itself honored each of those late residents once again when Sean read their names during the brief but respectful service.

The mural, which measures approximately 80 inches wide by 76 inches wide, took more than 100 hours to plan and complete. It was part of Sean’s Junior-Senior Project course, and it was given a location that is prominent for fellow students, along with faculty and visitors to the Berkshire Road institution, to see.

The mural is surrounded by three colored bands, one each of red, white, and blue. It most prominently features two columns of text, with each column hosting at least two dozen rows. Each listing is of a soldier’s name and rank, age at death, branch of service, the date they were killed in action, and the country in which they died. The listing opens with Tech Sergeant John A. Chapman, who was 36 years old when he became the first Connecticut soldier to die during the War on Terror on March 4, 2002, and continues to the September 24, 2010, death of 26-year old Watertown resident PFC Gebrah P. Noonan.

Across the top of the mural, above these two columns of names, are the names of the five military branches, an American eagle with a red, white, and blue shield, and the words “Connecticut’s Fallen.” It is a simple but emotionally strong presentation. The finished project is a somber reminder — especially with many of the ages of the dead being in their teens and early 20s, just years after they finished high school — for those who view it of what the ultimate cost of being a soldier can be.

The dedication ceremony earlier this month was held in the high school’s new cafetorium. School faculty, family members of those whose names appear in the mural, and the artist David Merrill, who served as Sean’s mentor during the project, were all in attendance. Special guests also included Deborah Cook, from the Department of Veterans Affairs; members of The Patriot Guard, who silently lined the cafetorium’s northeast and southwestern walls, each member holding an American flag; and a US Marine Corps Color Guard. The Color Guard presented the colors — an American flag and a Connecticut flag, one on either side of the stage — and later retired them. 

As guests arrived, a PowerPoint slideshow played, showing each of the 51 soldiers who were memorialized in Sean’s mural. Each slide included the same information that was presented in the mural, as well as a photo of each soldier.

“It is a sad reality that all too often out of sight is out of mind,” NHS Principal Charles Dumais said in his opening remarks. “We are grateful to Sean for creating something that will keep these soldiers in our minds for a very long time.”

Assistant Principals Scott Clayton and Jaime Rivera also spoke Thursday afternoon. Mr Clayton thanked Sean for his idea. The Seven Core Army Values (loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage) “are why we here today,” he said.

“People serve in [the military] a variety of ways,” said Mr Clayton, who served in the Connecticut Army National Guard for eight years. “My service is eclipsed by the service of what we are gathered to honor today. We owe it to ourselves to foster leadership in students like Sean.

“I am humbled to be here, and thankful that Sean has taken on such a fantastic project. And thank you,” he continued, nodding toward the veterans and active soldiers in the room. “I appreciate what you have done for our country.”

Mr Rivera, who is in the US Navy, opened by joking that it is not part of the job description of an NHS assistant principal to be a veteran. He felt it was his duty to enlist, and he was proud, he said, to be among those gathered to honor his fellow soldiers “who made the ultimate sacrifice, and to their families, who allowed their family member to do so.”

When it was his turn to take the podium, Sean, like those who had gone before him, kept his comments brief.

“Without you, our country cannot be what it is today,” he said, also addressing the veterans and active military members in attendance. Sean plans to join the Marines after participating in ROTC or attending a military college following his expected graduation from Newtown High School in 2012.

“I have been raised in a family that always had the utmost respect for the military,” said the son of Martha and Glenn Decker, who thanked his parents, along with David Merrill and The Patriot Guard for their guidance and help. Sean then slowly and clearly read the name, rank, age, and date of death for each soldier listed within his mural. The reading was followed by a moment of silence, and then the playing of “Taps” by Steven Behnke, trumpeter with The Patriot Brass Ensemble.

“Thank you for coming,” Sean said in closing. “God bless you, and God bless America.”

Maintaining The Mural

Sean’s plan, he told The Newtown Bee this week, is to maintain the mural while he is still an NHS student.

“If the war is still going on while I’m in college [and there is another Connecticut casualty], I’ll try to get home to update the mural,” he said. He also has a younger brother and a younger sister who will be able to help him, he said; an older sister is already attending college.

The ceremony closed with a pair of songs, James Taylor’s “Lonesome Road” and Jerome Williams’s “Parting Blessing,” sung by the Newtown High School Singers. Taylor Varga, a member of the Singers, had been one of the first on stage earlier in the hour, offering an a cappella “Star Spangled Banner.”

Once the ceremony concluded, guests were invited to visit the mural.

Kathleen Ouellette of Mansfield and her father, Samuel Zwick of Coventry, were among the 50 or so who gathered for the February 10 ceremony. Mrs Ouellete’s son, Army (National Guard) Specialist Robert Hoyt, was 21 when he was killed in Iraq on December 11, 2004. Her son was in the same unit that also lost at least two additional members that year, one in April and another just a week before her son died, so she recognized a few of the names on the mural.

“I think it’s great, what he did,” she said of Sean’s work. “It’s nice that he did this. It’s wonderful that they will all be honored and remembered like this.”

Mr Zwick, like his daughter, was touched by Sean’s work. He still feels the pain of the family’s loss.

“It’s like yesterday,” he said, getting ready to walk with his daughter to see the mural. “It still feels like it just happened.”

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