Welcome to Veterans Memorial Park & Rear Admiral Leroy Collins, Jr. Veterans Museum
Sunday, May 25, 2025
28th Annual Memorial Day Observance
Featuring: The Garden of Gold
Program
Welcome | The Hon. Gregory Holder, Master of Ceremonies
Retired Judge, Florida Thirteenth Judicial Circuit
Colonel, United States Air Force (Ret.) |
Color Guard | Sickles High School Air Force JROTC
Col. Robert Wright, U.S. Air Force (Ret.)
Senior Aerospace Science Instructor |
National Anthem | Gabriella Jaramillo
Dr. Kiran C. Patel High School |
Pledge of Allegiance | Charlie Conover, U.S. Army (Ret.), President
Veterans Council of Hillsborough County |
Invocation | Mary Ellen Harlan, Chaplain
Veterans Council of Hillsborough County |
Remarks | Commissioners and Representatives |
Garden of Gold: Tribute to Fallen Heroes | Evelyn Brady, Tampa Bay Chapter President
American Gold Star Mothers, Inc. |
Guest Speaker | Col. Alfred “Al” Carter, U.S. Army (Ret.), Chief of Staff, Florida Department of Veteran Affairs |
Keynote Speaker | Col. Jeff J. Mrazik, Commander, 6th Operations Group, MacDill Air Force Base |
Rifle Salute & Taps | Sgt. Walter P. Ryan, Detachment 1226
Marine Corps League, Riverview, FL |
“God Bless America” | Gabriella Jaramillo
Dr. Kiran C. Patel High School |
Closing Remarks | Frank Strom, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.) Director,
Hillsborough County Consumer & Veterans Services |
Col. Jeff J. Mrazik, Commander; 6th Operations Group, MacDill Air Force Base (AFB)
Col. Jeff J. Mrazik is responsible for the planning and execution of global aerial refueling missions in direct support of the Secretary of Defense, Combatant Commanders, and other national and international leaders. He leads a group comprised of 544 Airmen, four squadrons, and 24 KC-135 aircraft. Col. Mrazik was commissioned in 1999 upon graduation from the United States Air Force Academy where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Studies. He also holds a Master of Arts, Diplomacy, Norwich University, Vermont; a Master of Arts, Defence Studies, King’s College, London; and a Doctor of Philosophy, Military Strategy, School of Advanced Air and Space Studies, Maxwell AFB, Alabama. Col. Mrazik is a Command Pilot with more than 3,600 flight hours and worldwide missions in the C-21A, KC-10A, KC-135R/T, and KC-135RT aircraft, executing operational combat deployments in each. He served as a squadron commander for air refueling operations over Southwest Asia. Additional assignments include NATO’s Headquarters Allied Air Command, Ramstein Air Base, Germany, the United Kingdom’s Joint Force Air Component Headquarters, Royal Air Force High Wycombe, U.K., and at Headquarters U.S. Air Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia. His military awards and decorations include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters, Air Medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters, Aerial Achievement Medal, and the Air Force Commendation Medal. Col. Mrazik is a married father of four.
Col. Alfred “Al” Carter, Chief of Staff; Florida Department of Veteran Affairs
Retired Army Col. Alfred “Al” Carter is Chief of Staff of the Florida Department of Veterans’ Affairs (FDVA) in Largo, Florida. He provides operational and administrative oversight of the department’s functional entities and activities involving nearly 1,260 employees with an annual budget of more than $112 million, impacting more than 1.5 million Veterans and their families. He began at FDVA in 2011 following military retirement. He previously served in numerous U.S. Army command and staff leadership positions as a Military Police Officer with duty assignments in more than 40 countries, with combat tours in Qatar, Afghanistan, and Iraq and assignments with U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), MacDill AFB, Florida, during Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). Key assignments included: Deputy Chief of Staff Provost Marshal and Operational Protection Chief, U.S. Army South, Ft. Sam Houston, Texas; Director, Joint Security Office (Fwd) and Deputy Chief of Staff (Fwd) U.S. Central Command, Qatar; Director, Security Directorate, USCENTCOM, Tampa, Florida; Commander, 795th MP Battalion, Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri; Deputy Inspector and Inspector General, XVIII Airborne Corps, Ft. Bragg, North Carolina; Executive and Operations Officer, 19th Military Police Battalion (CID), Korea; Headquarters’ Commandant and Chief, Plans Branch, U.S. Army Criminal Investigations Command, Ft Belvoir, Virginia. Colonel Carter graduated from the University of North Carolina, Wilmington as a Distinguished Honor Graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology/Criminal Justice. He later earned a Master of Science Degree in Management Administration from Central Michigan University and along with more than 30 military medals. He is married to Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Marlené Carter and has two children.
Hillsborough County Proudly Honors these American Gold Star Heroes in Veterans Memorial Park’s Garden of Gold
Justin Kyle Adams | Amire M. Jennings |
Landon L. Anderson | Joseph Jurawic |
David C. Baxter | Corey J. Kowall |
H. F. “Bud” Bolte IV | Derek Landers |
Christopher Brockway | Patrick L. Lay II |
Mark N. Brunelle | David Alan Lincoln |
Austin Caratelli | Terry Michael Lisk |
Alwyn Crendall Cashe, Medal of Honor | Matthew R. Lowenthal |
Philip Paul Clark | Ivan Lugo, Jr. |
David A. Croft, Jr. | Alexander Miller |
Paul Orazio Cuzzupe II | Robert J. Miller, Medal of Honor |
Aedan Crowder | Zachary C. Moore |
Dimitri del Castillo | Anthony P. Muhlstadt |
Patrick Dolphin | Ronald R. Payne Jr. |
Alfred Dorn | Marc Leeland Plotts |
Scott W. Dyer, SF | Rhiannon "Pam" Ross |
Jason J. Fabrizi | Gary Rowlett |
Adam S. Flanery | Joseph Scerati |
Nicholas Flowers | Zachary L. Shannon |
William D. Frantz | Matthew S. Sitton |
Frank R. Gross | Gerald M. Soens |
Mohammed “Mo” Haitham | Andrew K. Stern |
Julian D. Harris | Brandon M. Thurber |
Richard “Buck” Hubbell III | Maurice Tucker |
Barton R. Humlhanz | Jalfred David Vaquerano |
Joseph F. Hunt | Charles S. Walsh |
| Joseph Zygarowski |
Thank you
Thank you for taking time to observe the true meaning of Memorial Day. Please enjoy the Garden of Gold and the monuments at Veterans Memorial Park. Join us at the pavilion shelter for refreshments and fellowship following today’s ceremony. The Veterans Council of Hillsborough County, Inc. meets on the last Monday of the month at 6 p.m. inside the Veteran Resource Center – all are welcome. For more information, call (813) 635-8316.
Special thanks to
- American Legion Alafia Post 148
- Serenity Meadows Funeral Services
- County staff and volunteers for continued dedication to our Veterans
