Tecumseh’s Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps Unit OH-881 (AFJROTC) cadets continue to keep the memory alive of former cadet and 2005 Tecumseh graduate, Army Staff Sergeant Wesley R. Williams, with an annual memorial service held at the flagpole dedicated to him in front of Tecumseh High School.
Staff Sgt. Williams was 25 when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device while in combat operations in Panjwa’i district, Afghanistan.
Staff Sgt. Williams died on Dec. 10, 2012, from wounds he sustained from that attack; leaving behind his wife, Krista, also a former Tecumseh AFJROTC cadet, and a daughter, Faith.
A daughter, Valerie Marie, was born the July after her father died.
During the ceremony, cadets placed a wreath near the flagpole and the laser-etched monument bearing Staff Sgt. Williams’ likeness. Both were re-dedicated in his honor “as a symbol of his sacrifice for his country and family.”
Members from several Ohio chapters of the Military Order of the Purple Heart attended the ceremony. The veterans and Purple Heart recipients commented why it is important to have memorial services like the one held for Staff Sgt. Williams.
“(Memorial services) help us honor all our fallen comrades...to remember those who have given all. We should never, ever forget the ultimate sacrifice they gave for our country.”
Krista Williams says she appreciates how Tecumseh’s AFJROTC unit and school district honors the memory of her late husband with the annual memorial service. She also comments how she helps keep his memory alive at home for their daughters, “We have pictures of (Wesley) all over the house. We talk about him a lot too...what his favorite things were and stuff like that. They definitely know how much he loves them.”
A new “QR” code has been placed on the monument. The code can be scanned with a smart phone in order to learn more about Staff Sgt. Williams and his family.
