Richmond wall honors the fallen in war on terror

RICHMOND

Days before last Thanksgiving, Army Spc. William Kyle Middleton, a 26-year-old graduate of Old Dominion University, was killed in an explosion in Afghanistan.

When his family assembled to celebrate the holiday, they got a posthumous reminder that he had been thinking of them from his remote outpost: flowers from Middleton, who went by Kyle, arrived at the home where they'd gathered.

About 15 members of Middleton's family were together again Thursday among hundreds who attended a pre-Memorial Day ceremony at the State Capitol honoring Virginians who died combating terrorism.

The names and photographs of Virginians slain in that military effort have been enshrined on a state Wall of Honor since 2007. The memorial, funded by donations, is in the Pocahontas Building, which houses the main offices of the state's attorney general.

In the years since the wall was established, 233 Virginians have been memorialized, including 27 added in conjunction with this year's ceremony.

The tradition began when Gov. Bob McDonnell was attorney general. It was the byproduct of a chance encounter with the father of a Patrick County Marine killed in Iraq in 2005.

McDonnell, an Army veteran, pledged he would find a place to display the Virginia flag that the Marine, Jonathan Bowling, had flown in Iraq. The Wall of Honor is an extension of that commitment.

Each year, a ceremony honoring the fallen is held near Memorial Day, as was the case on a sweltering Thursday morning.

Speaking at the event, McDonnell stressed the importance of honoring service members who have lost their lives.

"We will say to those families who have sacrificed loved ones in the cause of freedom that we will never, ever forget the sacrifice of your loved ones and that their faces and their stories will be permanently enshrined in a Wall of Honor so that all Virginia generations can see and understand the sacrifice that you and your family have made," he said.

Added Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli: "Since Revolutionary times, brave and devoted Virginians have given their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor for the cause of freedom. The Wall of Honor is our way of paying tribute to the men and women from Virginia who died while courageously serving in our most recent war, the global war on terrorism."

Criteria for enshrinement on the wall appear different from those of the Virginia War Memorial in Richmond, which has faced scrutiny for a recent policy of honoring only service members killed in hostile action.

An advocate for changing that policy is Newport News resident Rick Schumann, whose son hasn't qualified for inclusion on the memorial because he was killed during a 2005 helicopter crash in Iraq.

Yet Marine Lance Cpl. Darrell Schumann is listed among those featured on the Wall of Honor.

Another review of War Memorial eligibility standards is expected this summer when board members meet to discuss a resolution, said Del. Bill Janis, a Henrico County Republican who serves on the board.

Pilot writer Bill Sizemore contributed to this report.

Julian Walker, (804) 697-1564, julian.walker@pilotonline.com