compiled by Linda L. Esterson & Kym Byrnes

“Those who have long enjoyed such privileges as we enjoy forget in time that men have died to win them.’ – Franklin D. Roosevelt

Monday, May 25
Memorial Day is a federal holiday to remember and honor military personnel who died while serving in the armed forces.

REMEMBERING CARROLL’S FALLEN

The fighting may seem far away, but the loss is felt very close to home. Here are some of Carroll’s finest who have made the ultimate sacrifice in recent years.

Marine Corps Cpl. Joshua D. Snyder, 20, of Hampstead, died Nov. 30, 2005, of wounds sustained from small-arms fire while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Fallujah, Iraq. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Matthew A. Snyder, 20, of Finksburg, died March 3, 2006, after a noncombat-related accident in the Anbar province of Iraq. Snyder was assigned to Combat Service Support Group-1, 1st Marine Logistics Group, I Marine Expeditionary Force, in Twentynine Palms, Calif.

Army Sgt. David J. Davis, 32, of Mount Airy, died in Baghdad, Iraq, on Sept.17, 2006, of injuries sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Stryker Armored Vehicle during combat operations in Sadr City, Iraq. Davis was assigned to the Army’s 4th Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, Fort Wainwright, Alaska.

Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Charles Isaac Cartwright, 26, of Oceanside, Calif., and formerly of Union Bridge, died Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009, in the Farah province of Afghanistan. Staff Sgt. Cartwright was assigned as a member of Marine Special Operations Company A, serving his fifth tour, three previously in Iraq and one in Afghanistan.

Marine Corps Staff Sgt. James M. Malachowski, 25, of Westminster, died March 20, 2011 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Air Force Airman 1st Class Matthew R. Seidler, 24, of Westminster, died Jan. 5, 2012, at Camp Bastion, Afghanistan, of injuries suffered when his vehicle struck an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to 21st Civil Engineer Squadron, Peterson Air Force Base, Colo.

Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Timothy Thomas Eckels Jr., 23, of Manchester, died Aug. 21, 2017, serving aboard the USS John S. McCain. He was an information systems technician and formerly served at Navy Information Operations Command in Maryland.

Navy EM3 Jordan William Way, 23, of Mt. Airy, died Dec. 16, 2017. He was a pharmacist at Naval Hospital Twenty-nine Palms in Calif.

FIVE WAYS TO OBSERVE MEMORIAL DAY

  1. Attend a Memorial Day Parade. For more than 80 years, American Legion Carroll Post 31 has remembered fallen servicemen and women through the Memorial Day Remembrance Parade and Observance Ceremony in Westminster. Visit carrollpost31.org for more information.
  2. Participate in the National Moment of Remembrance. In accordance with a congressional resolution passed in 2000, Americans pause wherever they are at 3 p.m. local time for a moment of silence to remember and honor the fallen.
  3. Visit grave sites. Visit cemeteries and place flags or flowers on the graves of our fallen heroes.
  4. Display the flag. Fly the U.S. flag at half-staff until noon. Memorial Day is a Day of National Mourning.
  5. Visit memorials. Carroll County has more than a dozen memorials, and there are many more in the surrounding region. Spend the day learning about the people who have paid for our liberty with their lives.

LOCAL MONUMENTS

Honor Roll Monument (WWII)
1100 Frizzelburg Rd., Frizzelburg

Hampstead War Memorial (WWII & Vietnam War)
MD 30, Hampstead

Key Monuments (Francis Scott Key)
Terra Rubra Farm, Keysville-Bruceville Rd., Keysmar

Manchester War Memorial (WWI & WWII)
Town Hall, 3208 York Rd., Manchester

War Memorial (WWI, WWII, Korean and Vietnam wars)
High St., New Windsor

War Memorial (WWI, WWII, Korean and Vietnam wars, Desert Storm)
VFW 8806, Penrose St., Union Bridge

Western Maryland Railway Honor Roll (WWI)
MD 75, Union Bridge

Armed Forces Monument (Men and Women in Armed Forces)
Route 84 & Middleburg Rd., Uniontown

Memorial Gateway (WWI)
City Park, Westminster

War Memorial (All wars)
Main St. & Pennsylvania Ave., Westminster

Woman’s Relief Corps Monument (Civil War Union)
Ebenezer Methodist Church Cemetery, MD 26, Winfield

War Memorial (WWI, WWII, Korean and Vietnam wars, 9/11)
Pentagon Pine Grove Chapel, Main St., Mount Airy