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The 11 Aggies who died in military service 80 years ago this year will be among those honored at the annual Memorial Day Ceremony Thursday (May 22). The event honors all 136 Gold Star Aggies, the former students who gave their lives in military service to this country dating back to World War I and for whom the Memorial Union is named.

The stories of the Gold Star Aggies are told in the Golden Memory Book, on display in the East Wing of the Memorial Union and online. These are some of the Gold Star Aggies who gave their lives in the final year of World War II:

Pacific Theater

Several Aggies died in the Pacific Theater in 1945, including:

• Army 1st Lt. Herbert Leroy Tolley, who was killed in action in Manila
• Army Reserve 2nd Lt. Russell Andrew Donogh, who died from injuries sustained in the effort to retake Clark Field in the Philippines
• Marine Corps 1st Lt. James Washburn Fox, who died in an airplane accident near Okinawa

European Theater

Thousands of miles away, Aggies also gave their lives in the European Theater of World War II, including:

• Army Air Corps Lt. John Arpin Davies, a pilot who was killed while “strafing the Nazi Air Base at Lonate Pozzolo, Italy,” according to the Golden Memory Book. He and radar operator Lt. Hubbard Laresen were reportedly buried in Italy after the crash.
• Army Staff Sgt Samuel John Banks, who was killed in action during the Battle of the Bulge
• Army Sgt. Masami Sakamoto and 1st Lt. Burson Woods Joseph, who were both killed in action in France within the span of two months

Keynote speaker

This year’s keynote speaker will be Dr. Arthur B. Dublin, a professor emeritus in the Department of Radiology at �ٺ���Ƶ Health who served as a flight surgeon for the Presidential Helicopter Squadron at Marine Corps Base Quantico in the early 1970s.

The event will also feature welcome remarks from Chancellor Gary S. May and more.