The City of Oakley will hold its seventh Annual Memorial Day Observance Ceremony on Saturday, May 26th, 2018 at the Civic Center Park, 3231 Main Street beginning at 10:30 a.m. Oakley’s program will include the Presentation of Colors, performance from the Freedom High School Choir, a student decoration of the memorial wreath, 3‐ volley salute, taps, and more!
This year’s Memorial Day address will be delivered by Ret. United States Army Sergeant Victor Thibeault, who served during Operation Enduring Freedom and received both the Silver Star and the Purple Heart. Victor lives here in Oakley with his girlfriend Gabriela and their five children and he works for the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Victor received the Silver Star for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action as well as a Purple Heart for military merit. In 2003, he was driving a Humvee through a crowded Public marketplace in Afghanistan when someone threw a live grenade into the vehicle. He had to make a split-second decision, and heroically grabbed the explosive, saving the life of his fellow soldier as well as countless Innocent civilians in the vicinity.
Now in its seventh year, the City of Oakley invites the public to join together as a community to Commemorate the American Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines who have died while serving our nation.
Although Oakley does not have a cemetery of soldiers’ graves to decorate, many Oakley residents and their families have borne the cost of our freedom.
Accordingly, we will honor our fallen heroes’ devotion by presenting a memorial wreath to the symbolic Soldiers Battle Cross, representative of all who have perished, not a particular military branch or person. The cross, made up of a soldier’s rifle with bayonet attached, stuck into the ground, helmet on top, dog tags hanging and boots aside, is typically laid out in respect in the field. The gesture is a means for the still living veterans to mourn the loss of their soldiers in arms.
