Tom Sheehan’s Memorial Day letter

Jon Sham 1 Comment The Baltimore Sun Dulaney Valley, Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens, Korean War, memorial, Memorial Day, Pledge of Allegiance, Tom Sheehan, USAF

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As he leads the Pledge of Allegiance at Monday’s Memorial Day Ceremony at Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens, retired Air Force Capt. Thomas Sheehan will have a special appreciation for the anticipated 1,000 reverent voices joining his.

In 1966, a Memorial Day ceremony in Pennsylvania was so poorly attended that Sheehan wrote a letter to the editor of his local paper decrying the lack of respect for fallen soldiers. Forty-seven years later, the mere thought of it brings him to tears.

“I didn’t cry then,” Sheehan said. “I was mad.”