Remembering the fallen

Brick Memorial Ceremony honored veterans, Private Lamoral J. Tucker

Military veterans, both living and dead, were honored Monday evening in front of Alachua City Hall.  Standing in front of the military memorial and on memorial bricks lining the area, City of Alachua officials and the Marine Corps League Gator Detachment 990 dedicated a memorial brick in honor of Army Private Lamarol J. Tucker, a graduate of Santa Fe High School who was killed May 16 when his unit was attacked by insurgents using an improvised explosive device.

A Santa Fe High School graduate who was killed in Afghanistan last week was honored Monday when the City of Alachua and a military support group held a ceremony and announced the dedication of a brick in memory of the fallen soldier.

Army Private Lamarol J. Tucker, 26, was killed May 16 when insurgents attacked his unit using an improvised explosive device. He passed away in the city of Spin Ghbarga in the Zabul Province of Afghanistan after the wounds from the attack proved to be too severe.

The 2003 Santa Fe High School graduate was one of four soldiers killed during the attack.

Tucker was assigned to the 73^rd Engineer Company, Brigade Troops Battalion, 1^st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25^th Infantry Division in Fort Wainwright, Alaska. He deployed to Afghanistan this past April after joining the Army in January 2009.

He was scheduled for a one-year tour.

A large group of area residents and military veterans gathered in front of City Hall to show their respect to Tucker through a Brick Memorial Ceremony.

Jim Yakubsin, a member of the Marine Corps League Gator Detachment 990, said the brick memorial project had been a topic of discussion for the past three to four years.

“We started putting this thing together a couple of years ago, and now the bricks are the last thing to be done,” Yakubsin said. “We now have 100 bricks in there and that put the final touch on the memorial.”

The commemorative bricks will be a replacement for the original plain bricks and serve as a constant reminder of the men and women who served our country.

Each red brick will display the names of those who donated money to support the military. The larger white bricks will be dedicated to the soldiers who were killed during combat.

Private Tucker will be receiving a white brick in the memorial to honor his service to the country.

The bricks will remain as a testimony to those in uniform and help to show the strong support the City of Alachua and area residents have for the military and veterans.

Each four inch by eight inch brick costs $110, but with the purchase, a laser-cut keepsake mini brick with the same inscription is given as well.

“The money is going into a fund for the Marine Corp League and we’re possibly going to start a museum in this area,” Yakubsin said. “It’s long range, but you have to start somewhere. The goal can change, but right now, that’s the plan.”

In addition to the ceremony in Alachua Monday night honoring Private Tucker, members of the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO) will escort the body of Private Tucker from the Gainesville Regional Airport to Chestnut Funeral Home on Thursday.  The ACSO is encouraging the public to line the route to the funeral home in a show of respect for Private Tucker’s service. The procession will depart University Air at approximately 11 a.m. and travel south on NE Waldo Road to NE 39th Avenue. From there, it will turn west on NE 39th Avenue and proceed to NW 6th Street where it turn south on NW 6th Street and proceed to NW 8th Avenue. The procession will then be ending at Chestnut Funeral Home.