- December 6, 2024
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The city of Ocoee held a moving Memorial Day ceremony Friday, May 27, at the Ocoee Lakeshore Center. Mayor Rusty Johnson, a Vietnam War veteran, presided over the program. The Ocoee Police Department presented the colors.
Ocoee High School's Air Force JROTC Color Guard were responsible for placing American flags at the city cemetery.
Officer Duane Hunt of the Ocoee Police Department sang a beautiful rendition of the national anthem.
Daniel Keel, one of the last surviving Tuskegee Airmen, was the keynote speaker. He shared his World War II experiences, including the extensive racism that black men faced in the military.
After the ceremony, officials and guests walked to the nearby war memorial and the mayor and several commissioners read the names of the war dead: Billy Bennett, James W. Brown, James W. Bruce, Jack Corbin, Charles Day, Robert L. Day, Buford Gerald Johnson, Robert G. Fischer, Logan A. McNeil, George Robert Salisbury, James S. Simmons, Walter I. Turner, Dominic Ungaro and Eric Ulysses Ramirez.