(Photo: Captain Leo Matthews (2011 Rye High School graduate), currently an American politics instructor at West Point, will be the speaker at Rye’s Veterans Day Gala on November 11, 2024.)
The City of Rye and American Legion Post 128 will continue its tradition of honoring Rye veterans on Veterans Day, Monday, November 11, 2024. The ceremony will be held at Rye City Hall at 10:30 a.m. The ceremony is scheduled to be outdoors, depending on the weather, and will move indoors if necessary.
This year, Ray will add 126 names to the Veterans Memorial at City Hall. A new plaque named after Ray’s Veterans of Iraq, Afghanistan, Global War on Terrorism and Cold War will be unveiled, which will include the names of 50 Ray’s veterans. The existing World War II plaque commemorating those killed in action will be updated to include an additional 15 names. The Vietnam panel will now include 44 additional names. The WWII and Korea plates will be updated with an additional 11 and 6 names respectively. You can review the full list of names being added.
The updates to the veterans plaques are the result of a two-year effort to gather names and finalize the design. Mayor Cohn and the Rye City Council formed the Veterans Monuments Commission in a formal resolution at the August 11, 2021 Rye City Council meeting. The committee consists of City Councilwoman Julie Souza. Rex Gedney of the Landmarks Advisory Committee; Noga Rotenberg, Rye City Clerk and Tim Moynihan of the American Rye Corps.
The ceremony will be led by 128th American Legion Commander Fred De Barros. It will highlight the American Legion values ​​of the importance of preserving our American traditions and values, improving the quality of life for our nation’s children, caring for our veterans and their families, and most importantly, teaching the basics of good citizenship.
This year’s keynote speaker will be Captain Leo Matthews, whose name is engraved on the new Afghanistan and Iraq plaque. He is a 2011 graduate of Ray High School and currently serves as an American politics instructor at West Point. A military intelligence officer by profession, Liu served with the 75th Ranger Regiment from 2018-2022 and completed three deployments to Afghanistan in support of Operation Freedom’s Sentinel. Prior to that assignment, Leo served in the 173rd Infantry Brigade as an infantry officer. He holds a master’s degree in security studies from Georgetown University (’24) and a master’s degree in civil engineering from West Point (’15). Leo and his wife Dominique have a son named Kilian.
Rye Mayor Josh Cohen, County Executive George Latimer and Assemblyman Steve Otis are expected to speak. Robin Latimer will be the vocalist.
(Photo: Veterans Day ceremony at Ray Green Village on November 11, 2023.)
