thedrifter
10-10-07, 07:36 AM
Bench to honor fallen Marine
Published: Wednesday, October 10, 2007
By Gail Callahan
Correspondent
ESSEX JUNCTION -- A granite bench commemorating Marine Cpl. Christopher DeGiovine's service and sacrifice will be placed in Veterans Memorial Park next month.
A dedication ceremony at the Five Corners site for the bench is scheduled for 11 a.m. Nov. 11, Veterans Day, at the park. The time and date commemorate the time when guns fell silent after World War I.
DeGiovine, a 2000 Essex High School graduate, was killed April 26 in Iraq. Friends and family of the 25-year-old serviceman started a fund-raising campaign around Memorial Day, hoping to garner $3,000, but the memorial account's total triples the original goal.
The money paid for the bench and a plaque, dedicating the U.S. Marine flag at the park to DeGiovine. The remaining money will be put into a fund earmarked to pay for the site's maintenance, said Dick Munsell of the Essex Junction Lions Club's Veterans Park Committee.
David Johnson, a longtime neighbor of DeGiovine's father, Raymond, approached him about a permanent memorial. Once Raymond DeGiovine, 63, endorsed the idea, Johnson said a groundswell of support enveloped the campaign.
"I'm very proud," DeGiovine said. "Over 100 people wrote checks, and I sent out a personal thank you to each person."
Johnson said the time is right for the memorial. "Chris grew up in Essex and had a lot of friends here. Chris served his country well."
Ann Gray, a member of the Veterans Park Committee, is pleased DeGiovine's commitment will be honored. "I think it's so important to remember any time one of our soldiers makes the ultimate sacrifice. It'll be bittersweet."
Crafted by Granite Corp. of Barre, the bench carries a number of engravings. The inscription gives DeGiovine's name, rank, date of death; renderings of the U.S. Marine Corps logo, the Purple Heart citation and the Vermont Patriot medal also grace the structure.
The structure will join memorials, including ones to World Wars I and II and the Korean and Vietnam wars. DeGiovine's bench is the first testament at the site to the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Calling DeGiovine a "news junkie," Raymond DeGiovine said his son enlisted in the U.S. Marines in 2005 in response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. An only child, he was raised by his father after his parents divorced. "We had a great life together," Raymond DeGiovine said.
That life grew to include Christopher DeGiovine's wife, Rachel, whom he married in the DeGiovine family home in November 2005. His other loves included his dog, Lucy, and his Acura RSX-Type-S car.
DeGiovine spent 21 days in Iraq before he was killed conducting combat operations in Iraq's Anbar Province. His funeral and burial in Colchester drew more than 1,000 people.
"Chris and I were together our whole lives," Raymond DeGiovine said. "His death has been just devastating, but we're slowly getting through this, somehow."
Ellie
Published: Wednesday, October 10, 2007
By Gail Callahan
Correspondent
ESSEX JUNCTION -- A granite bench commemorating Marine Cpl. Christopher DeGiovine's service and sacrifice will be placed in Veterans Memorial Park next month.
A dedication ceremony at the Five Corners site for the bench is scheduled for 11 a.m. Nov. 11, Veterans Day, at the park. The time and date commemorate the time when guns fell silent after World War I.
DeGiovine, a 2000 Essex High School graduate, was killed April 26 in Iraq. Friends and family of the 25-year-old serviceman started a fund-raising campaign around Memorial Day, hoping to garner $3,000, but the memorial account's total triples the original goal.
The money paid for the bench and a plaque, dedicating the U.S. Marine flag at the park to DeGiovine. The remaining money will be put into a fund earmarked to pay for the site's maintenance, said Dick Munsell of the Essex Junction Lions Club's Veterans Park Committee.
David Johnson, a longtime neighbor of DeGiovine's father, Raymond, approached him about a permanent memorial. Once Raymond DeGiovine, 63, endorsed the idea, Johnson said a groundswell of support enveloped the campaign.
"I'm very proud," DeGiovine said. "Over 100 people wrote checks, and I sent out a personal thank you to each person."
Johnson said the time is right for the memorial. "Chris grew up in Essex and had a lot of friends here. Chris served his country well."
Ann Gray, a member of the Veterans Park Committee, is pleased DeGiovine's commitment will be honored. "I think it's so important to remember any time one of our soldiers makes the ultimate sacrifice. It'll be bittersweet."
Crafted by Granite Corp. of Barre, the bench carries a number of engravings. The inscription gives DeGiovine's name, rank, date of death; renderings of the U.S. Marine Corps logo, the Purple Heart citation and the Vermont Patriot medal also grace the structure.
The structure will join memorials, including ones to World Wars I and II and the Korean and Vietnam wars. DeGiovine's bench is the first testament at the site to the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Calling DeGiovine a "news junkie," Raymond DeGiovine said his son enlisted in the U.S. Marines in 2005 in response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. An only child, he was raised by his father after his parents divorced. "We had a great life together," Raymond DeGiovine said.
That life grew to include Christopher DeGiovine's wife, Rachel, whom he married in the DeGiovine family home in November 2005. His other loves included his dog, Lucy, and his Acura RSX-Type-S car.
DeGiovine spent 21 days in Iraq before he was killed conducting combat operations in Iraq's Anbar Province. His funeral and burial in Colchester drew more than 1,000 people.
"Chris and I were together our whole lives," Raymond DeGiovine said. "His death has been just devastating, but we're slowly getting through this, somehow."
Ellie