MANSFIELD — Memorial Day is set aside to honor men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces who have died in the service of their country.
Fittingly, activities related to Memorial Day in Mansfield this year will be centered at the Mansfield Cemetery, including the Veterans Honor Grounds and the annual parade on Monday.
The effort begins Saturday at 9 a.m. when volunteers are needed to place U.S. flags on veterans’ graves at the 389 Altamont Drive cemetery.
Volunteers are asked to meet in the back of the cemetery near the Veterans Honor Grounds. Veterans will be there to distribute flags and give instructions on placement.
All Scouting groups, other groups and individuals are welcome to help with the effort, sponsored by the Mansfield Memorial and Patriotic Association.
Bruce Phipps oversees the service. Call 419-544-0311 for more information.
Memorial Day Parade planned Monday at 10 a.m.
The Mansfield Memorial Day Parade will step off from Reba Avenue at 10 a.m. The parade will start forming at 9 a.m. on Reba Avenue back toward Gilbert Avenue. When it begins, the parade will proceed north on Main Street, then east on Chestnut to the entrance of the cemetery.
The parade will continue to the back of the cemetery to the Veterans Honor Grounds for the Memorial Day service.
There will be approximately 40 units in the parade this year, which include marching bands, an assortment of fire trucks, police cars, sheriff’s vehicles and military equipment, along with veterans’ organizations and other groups.
Due to the narrow streets in the cemetery, the bands and all large vehicles will be directed down Altamont Street, not going through the cemetery.
In case of rain, the Memorial Day service will be held at AMVETS POST #26 at 1100 W. Fourth St.
Denny Hempfield is the parade marshal for this parade. Call 419-884-2089 for more information.
Anyone wishing to attend the ceremonies after the parade, can drive into the cemetery by the back entrance from South Main Street. Proceed to the back of the Veterans Honor Grounds located in the south east corner of the cemetery.
Retired brigadier general is grand marshal, speaker
The parade grand marshal and featured speaker this year will be Brig. Gen. (retired) Christopher J. Dziubek, who retired from the U.S. Army after 33 years of service on Nov. 1, 2023.
Dziubek enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve in 1986 with Bravo Battery, 5/28th Field Artillery in Dayton, Ohio. In 1989, he was commissioned as a distinguished military graduate through ROTC and entered active duty at Fort Rucker, Ala., where he completed Aviation OBC and the Initial Entry Rotary Wing Course.
He served as both Aeroscout and Attack Helicopter Platoon leader with the 1-101st Aviation Regiment at Fort Campbell, Kentucky before completing the Armor Officer Advanced Course at Ft. Knox, Ky. He then served in the Aviation Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, Texas, before resigning from the U.S. Army in 1996.
Dziubek re-entered the U.S. Army as a U.S. Army Reserve officer in 2001, taking command of C/983rd Engineer Battalion in Toledo, Ohio.
In 2004, after briefly serving in the 412th Civil Affairs Battalion, he was assigned as the 983rd Engineer Battalion Executive Officer and deployed with the battalion to Tikrit and Ramadi, Iraq.
Following redeployment from Iraq in 2006, he was mobilized to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where he served as the Air Team Chief, TRADOC Program Integration Office for the Virtual Training Environment. He returned to the 983rd Engineer Battalion in late 2007, serving as the S3.
In 2009, he took command of B Company, 412th Civil Affairs Battalion (Airborne) in Columbus and upon promotion was reassigned to the 352nd Civil Affairs Command in Riverdale, Md. In 2010, he deployed as Civil Affairs Planning Team Chief for 4th BCT, 1st Cavalry Division in Mosul, Iraq, until July 2011.
Dziubek commanded the 983rd Engineer Battalion from November 2011 until June 2014, culminating with command of Task Force Larimar in the Dominican Republic for five months in support of the Army South humanitarian assistance mission known as Beyond the Horizons.
He then served as the deputy commander of the 308th Civil Affairs Brigade in Chicago, Ill., before being deployed to Djibouti, Africa, to assume command of the 415th Civil Affairs Battalion until March 2016.
He commanded the 364th Civil Affairs Brigade in Portland, Oregon, from June 2016 until July 2018 and then served as the chief of staff for the 84th Training Command in Ft. Knox, Ky., from July 2018 to July 2019.
Dziubek was the ACoS, C9 for the ROK/US Combined Forces Command in the Republic of Korea before becoming the commander general of the 351st Civil Affairs Command.
Dziubek is a 1989 graduate of the University of Dayton, earning a bachelor of arts in political science. He has two masters degrees, one in education from the University of Toledo and one in strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College.
His military education includes the Aviation Officer Basic Course, the Armor Officer Advanced Course, Combined Arms and Staff School, Engineer Captains Career Course, the Civil Affairs Qualification Course, the Army Command and General Staff College, the Army War College, and Advanced Joint Professional Military Education (AJPME).
His awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (7 awards), Army Commendation Medal (5 awards), Army Achievement Medal (6 awards), the Air Assault, Parachutist, and Army Aviator Badges, the German Armed Forces Proficiency Badge and both Canadian and Chilean Parachutist Wings.
Volunteers needed for clean-up duty May 30
Volunteers are again needed May 30 to take down the U.S. flags that were put on the Veterans Graves for Memorial Day at the Mansfield Cemetery, starting at 10 a.m.
Return the flags to the Veterans Honor grounds in the back of the cemetery.
Veterans will be there to receive the flags. All Scouting groups, other groups and individuals are welcome to help.
