The Long Lake American Legion Post #650 will be hosting the Long Lake Memorial Day Parade on Monday, May 28 in Long Lake, NY. The parade starts at 8:30 a.m from the Long Lake Town Hall, 1204 Main Street, Long Lake, NY. The Honor Guard will march to the Long Lake Bridge to commemorate those lost at sea and then return to the Doughboy Monument and Town Hall. At 9 a.m. the parade will re-commence and go to the Long Lake Cemetery for a ceremony and speech continuing on to the Vietnam Memorial at South Hill Road and Deerland Road.
The guest speaker for the Long Lake Memorial Day ceremony is Colonel Clair A. Gill.
Colonel Clair Gill commands the 10th Mountain Division’s Combat Aviation Brigade. He is a 1994 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point. He previously served in leadership positions from platoon to battalion command, including tours in Korea, the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, and the 101st Airborne Division (as both a company and battalion commander).
He served in the joint special operations community for ten years deploying over a dozen times to Iraq, Afghanistan, and other global contingency and combat operations. He deployed 4-101 Aviation Regiment “TF Wings” to FOB Shank in Afghanistan in 2014 supporting operations in the eastern provinces. In November 2017, COL Gill returned from another deployment to Europe in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve deterring foreign aggression and reassuring NATO of our commitment to the Alliance.
Colonel Gill is a graduate of the Joint Advanced Warfighting School (JAWS) at the Joint Forces Staff College, and the US Army War College Fellowship at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
He earned the Combat Action, Military Free-Fall Parachutist, Master Army Aviator, Air Assault, and Airborne badges. His awards and decorations include the Presidential Unit Citation (1 OLC), Meritorious Unit Citation, Bronze Star Medal (3 OLCs), Defense Meritorious Service Medal (2 OLCs), Meritorious Service Medal (OLC), and the Air Medal with numeral 2.
Colonel Gill and his wife, Fran (Army Veteran/Emergency Room Physician), have one son, Joshua.
He relinquishes command of the 10th CAB on 29 June, 2018 and will report to the Pentagon next.
In the event of rain the ceremony and speech will be held at the Long Lake Town Hall, 1204 Main Street, Long Lake, NY 12847.
