Capt. M. Patricia Murphy of the U.S. Public Health Service and a West Hartford resident, will be the keynote speaker at West Hartford’s Veterans Day ceremony, sponsored by American Legion Hayes-Velhage Post 96, on Nov. 11.

Submitted

Capt. M. Patricia Murphy, United States Public Health Service, will be the guest speaker for the 2019 Veterans Day Ceremony, Nov. 11, 2019, 11 a.m., in the auditorium of First Church West Hartford, 12 South Main St. The ceremony was initially intended to be held at the Connecticut Veterans Memorial in West Hartford, but has been moved due to predicted weather for the day.

Free parking is available in the Isham Garage from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The Veterans Day ceremony includes a welcome by Moe Fradette, Past Post Commander of American Legion Hayes-Velhage Post 96, and an invocation by Rev. Dana Hallenbeck. The National Anthem will be sung by Stephanie Reuning-Scherer. “Taps” will be performed by Peter Roe, U.S. Army, American Legion, Hayes-Velhage Post 96. Patrick Harrell, USMC, will lay the memorial wreath.

Three color guards will present: West Hartford Police Department led by Commander Lt. Eric Rocheleau, West Hartford Fire Department led by Commander Firefighter Ryan Shea, and American Legion Hayes-Velhage Post 96 led by Commander Michael DeLuca. Sargent of the Guards is Michael DeLuca.

In addition to the keynote message, the ceremony will also include a speech by West Hartford Mayor Shari Cantor.

About the keynote speaker:

Murphy received her commission in 1991 and has served in many capacities with the United States Public Health Service.

Murphy grew up in the North Shore region of Massachusetts and graduated from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy located in Boston. Prior to receiving her commission, she and her husband relocated to Texas where she was a supervisory pharmacist of the Research/Inpatient/Outpatient Pharmacies and member of the Quality Assurance/Utilization Review staff at the Department of Veterans Affairs located in Dallas.

She is currently assigned to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as a regulatory officer. She was the first team leader of the Northeast Region Regional Incident Support Team (RIST) when it was established in 2009 and continues as an active member of the team. Each RIST is capable of responding to the many immediate public health emergencies and urgent health needs arising from a major disaster or other event. The RIST provides rapid assessments and initial incident coordination of resources and assistance to state, tribal, and local health authorities within defined regions of the United States in response to public health needs.

Other duty assignments include chief pharmacy officer at the U.S. Bureau of Prisons and TDY pharmacist at Indian Health Service. In addition, Murphy served as the pharmacy officer for the National Institute of Health (NIH) Ebola Research Pharmacy Team in Liberia.

Among her many awards are the Surgeon General Exemplary Service Medal, Crisis Response Service Award, Field Medical Response Badge, Global Response Service Awards and Ebola Campaign Medal, Commendation Medals, Achievement Medals, PHS Citations, Outstanding Unit Citations, Foreign Duty Awards, Unit Citations, Hazardous Duty Award, and Special Assignment Awards.

Murphy and her husband, Dan, live in West Hartford and have two daughters and two grandsons.

About the American Legion

The American Legion was founded in 1919 on the Four Pillars of a Strong National Security, Veterans Affairs, Americanism, and Youth Programs. With a current membership of over 2 million veterans, Legionnaires work for the betterment of their communities through more than 14,000 posts across the nation. Recently, there has been a change in the rules of the National Service Act (LEGION Act), signed by the president, that allows for millions of additional veterans to access American Legion programs and benefits, for which they previously had not been eligible.

Prior to this signing, only veterans of war-time periods, as defined by Congress, were qualified for membership. The gaps in the war eras were largely during the Cold War, a time when threats to U.S. national security was real, especially to the men and women serving in uniform. Recognizing the eligibility for the service of these “peace-time” veterans for their efforts now qualifies them for membership in the American Legion.

About the Connecticut Veterans Memorial

The Connecticut Veterans Memorial West Hartford is a unique testimonial dedicated to all members of the Armed Services who served the United States beginning with the earliest conflict in our country’s history, the King Philip War, up to the present Global War on Terror.

This veterans memorial is a sculptural expression of time and emotion that commemorates the history of all wars. The memorial is a circular Wall of Peace that salutes those who gave their lives for our country. The wall is constructed of blocks of polished black granite in the form of a circle. At each point along the wall when our Armed Forces went into conflict, the smooth circular wall is violently broken, and the names of the West Hartford veterans who gave their lives during that conflict are engraved on the Wall of Peace.

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