Jon Guy

By Peter Ciferri, BucksLocalNews.com

Jon Guy has a message for some of his fellow veterans: "Get off the sidelines, stop just saluting the flag as it comes by, and start marching behind it." The Newtown resident and West Point graduate will be the guest speaker at this year's Newtown Memorial Day Parade, and he says every veteran - himself included - is sometimes guilty of not doing his part to honor the uniform they once wore so proudly.

Guy said a few years ago, shortly after he joined American Legion Post 440 in Newtown, he was one of those veterans who would simply come out and view the Memorial Day Parade. One year, however, after a friend teased him about not marching alongside his fellow man, the message of the day started to have new meaning.

By marching, Guy said, you aren't just honoring those who died in combat, you're honoring every service member who has since passed away. He added that so many people mix up the meanings of Memorial Day (to honor the fallen) and Veterans Day (to honor all who served) that sometimes the events lose focus.

"We all know someone who served and isn't with us anymore," Guy explained. "You don't even have to put on a uniform, or even a blazer and tie, you just need to get there and march with us."

The parade, Guy says, is a special opportunity for veterans young and old to get the respect and recognition they earned.

"It's a moving experience," he reflected of his first time marching. "The people on the side, like I used to be, watch it go by and are affected by one moment. When you march you're affected by the whole thing."

And every other day of the year, the Wilmington, Del. native said vets should "find a way" to get involved with community service - upholding the oath of serving their country they took as cadets.

Guy was a student of the United States Military Academy at West Point. Standing in the shadow of our nation's greatest generals, including Eisenhower, Grant and Patton, he admitted that attending the school can be intimidating at first.

But once you remember that they're all just flesh and blood humans, like yourself, it's easier to gain confidence and succeed at the prestigious academy.

Currently a managing partner in his new company, Gray and Blue LLC, Guy also noted that many of his associates are West Pointers - a testament to the bond these servicemen carry their entire lives.

"I made friendships that are deeper and longer lasting [at West Point] than I think I would have anywhere else," he explained.

After graduating in 1986, Guy spent time leading a Transportation Platoon and an Abrams Tank Platoon in the 2-66 Armor Battalion of the 2nd Armored Division, at that time stationed in Germany.

Though he considers his time "undistinguished," Guy is quick to say that no soldier should ever "disparage another man's service," because even simple training exercises can lead to injuries or casualties.

Case in point: While doing maneuvering exercises with his tank battalion in Southern Germany, Guy's unit was faced with extreme cold, ice and snow while transporting trucks and tanks filled with hundreds of gallons of explosive fuel.

"Army vehicles can't seem to get any traction tanks don't do very well on ice," he said. "It took us five hours to go 30 miles."

Along the way, one of the tanks slid down a hillside and off the road.

As a commanding officer, Guy was astounded to hear his men vehemently talk back at him about moving forward with the mission. But after some negotiating - and a lot of hard work getting the tank out of a snowy ditch - forward action continued and the men finished their assignment as a team.

"Some casualties are not caused by enemy action, some are caused because you're handling heavy equipment that's just plain dangerous," he said. "If you can keep people safe and get out of an exercise without any injuries, you're doing a pretty darn good job."

He won an award for that exercise, the Army Achievement Medal, and while he says it's far from the most prestigious award in the service, it's the one he's most proud of - because of the hard work that came with receiving it.

"You get very close to those people," he explained. "You have a responsibility for them That's the real mission and it's far more important than four tanks or your ammo. They don't make you sign for those 15 people."

Guy left the service in 1990, but the service never left him. Between reunions at West Point, working with fellow Army and Navy veterans with his business startup and the time he spends at the Legion, Guy maintains a level of commitment to that oath of service he hopes veterans of yesterday and today will embrace.

And it all starts on Memorial Day.