June 6, 2005
Contact: Sue Baker
For Immediate Release
WARWICK – Mayor Scott Avedisian announced today that Tuesday, June 14, will be observed as Armed Services Appreciation Day in the city, and will be commemorated that day with a noontime ceremony near the 9/11 memorial at the Oakland Beach Commons. All members of the public are cordially invited to attend.
A focal point of the celebration, on Flag Day, will be the raising of an American flag that has recently flown over the nation’s Capitol. Once the flag is lowered, it will be presented to Carol Chevalier, an employee of the city’s Zoning Office, whose husband, Andy, is deployed in Iraq as a member of the Rhode Island National Guard’s 126 th Aviation Battalion. Major Andy Chevalier is expected home on leave within the next few weeks; when he returns to Iraq, he will bring the flag with him. It will be flown over the military base there, taken on several missions, and then returned to City Hall, where it will be displayed for public viewing and available for presentations in city schools.
In addition to the flag raising ceremony, there will be a very brief speaking program, followed by a performance by jazz band The Dixie All Stars. The band will play the battle hymns of the various military branches as well as a medley of patriotic songs, to which the audience will be welcomed, and encouraged, to sing along.
The Oakland Beach Commons is located at the end of Oakland Beach Avenue. In the event of inclement weather, the ceremony will be moved to the Buttonwoods Community Center, at 3027 West Shore Road.