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Each year, Veterans gather at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial State Park to honor those who died giving service to their country. This year’s Keynote Speaker will be LTC Jay Garner.
After serving in the US Army as an enlisted man, Jay Garner attended the University of Pennsylvania where he graduated with a degree in Political Science and a commission as a second lieutenant in 1962.
Garner served two tours in Vietnam, and later led two air defense units in Germany. He also served as deputy commanding general at Fort Bliss, TX. Garner helped to develop the Patriot missile system and commanded missile batteries during the Gulf War.
After the war he was put in charge of securing Kurdish areas in Iraq. He was later named commander of the U.S. Army Space and Strategic Defense Command (working primarily on President Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative missile shield program), and concluded his Army career as Assistant Vice Chief of Staff, retiring in 1997 at the rank of lieutenant general.
