Jennerstown Salutes: Track to honor OVN fallen heroes during May 27 show

The NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series show at Pennsylvania’s Jennerstown Speedway on Saturday, May 27 will be special.

Yes, the NASCAR Home Track located southeast of Pittsburgh will host an exiting night of action featuring Late Models, Modifieds, Pro Stocks, Street Stocks, Chargers and Fast 4s, but a couple days ahead of Memorial Day, it will also honor fallen soldiers.

Having teamed up with Operation Vet NOW (OVN) and its Fallen Heroes project, Jennerstown will host its Armed Forces Night, also known as Jennerstown Salutes.

Before the racing begins Saturday evening, the track will hold its Jennerstown Salutes OVN Tribute starting at 5:50 p.m. local time. Gold Star families will be welcomed and recognized, and the ceremonies will include the playing of “God Bless America,” “Amazing Grace,” a 21-Gun Salute, Taps, the national anthem, an honor guard march and a POW/MIA ceremony.

Tickets are available at the Jennerstown Speedway gates. For those who can’t make the show in person, FloRacing will provide live coverage of the racing action.

Below are the fallen soldiers who will be honored at Jennerstown on Saturday.

Michael Anthony Hook – Army

• Killed in action: Aug. 22, 2007 in Multaka, Iraq

• Unit: HHC, 2D BATTALION, 35TH INFANTRY, 3 BCT, SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, HI

Hook was soldier from western Pennsylvania who had ties to New Jersey. He was among 14 U.S. soldiers killed when a Black Hawk helicopter crashed during a nighttime mission in northern Iraq.

Larry Parks Jr. – Army

• Killed in action: June 18, 2007 in Arab Jabor, Iraq

• Unit: COMPANY D, 1ST BATTALION, 30TH INFANTRY, FORT STEWART, GA

Parks was a Pennsylvania soldier known for his dedication as a volunteer firefighter. He died of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. Parks was a Tank Gunner. He was awarded the Purple Heart.

Christopher Allen Golby – Army

• Killed in action: Jan. 8, 2004 in Fallujah, Iraq

• Unit: 571ST MEDICAL COMPANY (AIR AMBULANCE), 3D ACR, FORT CARSON, CO 80913

Golby was killed while on board a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter when it crashed during a Medevac mission.

Aaron James Rusin – Army

• Killed in action: Oct. 11, 2004 in Baghdad, Iraq

• Unit: COMPANY A, 44TH ENGINEER BN (COMBAT), 2D INFANTRY DIV, CAMP HOWZE, KOREA

Rusin died of injuries sustained when his military vehicle came under fire from enemy forces.

Brian Paul Hause – Air Force

• Killed in action: Oct. 23, 2008 in Joint Base Balad, Iraq

• Unit: 20TH EQUIPMENT MAINTENANCE SQUADRON, SHAW AFB, SC

Hause was 29 when he passed away due to a non combat-related medical issue at Balad Air Base.

Randy Donald McCaulley – Army

• Killed in action: March 23, 2006 in Taqaddum, Iraq

• Unit: COMPANY A, 1ST BATTALION, 110TH INFANTRY, INDIANA, PA

McCaulley was killed when his dismounted patrol came under enemy small arms fire during combat operations.

Brandon Edwin Adams – Army

• Killed in action: Sept. 19, 2004 in Washington D.C.

• Unit: B CO, 1ST BN, 32D INF, 10TH MTN DIV (L), FORT DRUM, NY

Adams died at Walter Reed Army Medical Center of injuries sustained Feb. 16 in Fallujah, Iraq, when a grenade exploded as he was clearing a house.

Curtis John Forshey – Army

• Killed in action: March 27, 2007 in Homburg, Germany

• Unit: 494TH TRANSPORTATION COMPANY, FORT CAMPBELL, KY

Forshey’s death was of a non-combat related illness after being medevacked out of Kuwait on March 22. He suffered a brain aneurysm caused by his leukemia treatment.

Shelby James Feniello – Marine Corps

• Killed in action: Oct. 9, 2006 in Ramadi, Iraq

• Unit: C CO, 1ST BN, 6TH MAR, (1-1 AD, I MEF FWD), 2D MAR DIV, CAMP LEJEUNE, NC

Feniello died while conducting combat operations against enemy forces when their vehicle ran over an IED. The men were rushing to the aid of Marines involved in a gun battle with insurgents.

Andrew William Brown – Army

• Killed in action: Oct. 8, 2004 in Baghdad, Iraq

• Unit: A COMPANY, 1ST BATTALION (AIRBORNE), 509TH INFANTRY (1ST CAVALRY DIVISION) FORT POLK, LA 71459

Brown died of injuries sustained on Oct. 1, 2004 when his patrol vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device.

Eric Raymond Hull – Army

• Killed in action: Aug. 18, 2003 in Baghdad, Iraq

• Unit: 307TH MILITARY POLICE COMPANY, NEW KENSINGTON, PA 15068

Hull was killed when a military vehicle he was riding in hit an improvised explosive device. He was awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart.

Nils George Thompson – Army

• Killed in action: Aug. 4, 2005 in Mosul, Iraq

• Unit: COMPANY C, 1ST BATTALION, 24TH INFANTRY (TF LIBERTY), FORT LEWIS, WA

Thompson was shot by a sniper while in the hatch of an armored vehicle on patrol at an Iraqi police station in northern Iraq. He was award the Purple Heart.

Landon Scott Giles – Army

• Killed in action: Feb. 26, 2005 in Baghdad, Iraq

• Unit: HHC, 6TH SQUADRON, 8TH CAVALRY REGIMENT, 4TH BRIGADE, 3RD INFANTRY DIVISION, FORT STEWART, GA

Giles was killed when an improvised explosive device detonated while he was on patrol. He was awarded the Purple Heart.

Clint Richard Matthews – Army

• Killed in action: March 19, 2004 in Landstuhl, Germany

• Unit: COMPANY B 1ST BATTALION 18TH INFANTRY REGIMENT, (1ID), APO AE 09033

Matthews died from injuries sustained two days before when his Bradley Fighting Vehicle went over a 60-foot embankment and flipped over in Baji, Iraq. He was awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart.

Ronald Eric Baum – Marine Corps

• Killed in action: May 3, 2004 in Al Anbar Province, Iraq

• Unit: 2D INTEL BN, II MEF, 2D MAR DIV CAMP LEJEUNE, NC

Baum was in the turret of a Humvee when it was hit by a rocket, killed by hostile fire. Baum was posthumously honored with the Navy Marine Corps Commendation for his actions during the attack.

Robert Boyd Jenkins – Navy

• Killed in action: May 2, 2004 in Ar Ramadi, Iraq

• Unit: NMCB FOURTEEN, JACKSONVILLE, FL

Jenkins was killed by hostile fire. He was a member of the Navy Reserves Sea Bee unit.

Daniel Russell Lightner Jr. – Army

• Killed in action: Oct. 27, 2005 in Ar Ramadi, Iraq

• Unit: HHC, 2D BRIGADE, 28TH ID (2MEF), WASHINGTON, PA

Lightner was killed at age 28 when an Improvised Explosive Device detonated near his Humvee during combat operations. Lightner was also a Pennsylvania State Trooper. He was awarded the Purple Heart.

Scott Sather – Air Force

• Killed in action: April 8, 2003 in Iraq

• Unit: 24th Special Tactics Squadron

Sather died following an injury sustained while engaging hostile forces. His death marked the first combat casualty for the U.S. Air Force during Operation IRAQI FREEDOM. He was awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart.

Raymond R. Buchan – Army

• Killed in action: July 1, 2007 in Ta’meem, Iraq

• Unit: 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division

Buchan died of wounds sustained from enemy small-arms fire during his second tour in Iraq. He was awarded the Purple Heart.