2 New Benches at El Dorado County Veterans Monument for Sky Mote and Larry Hyder

The Friends of the El Dorado County Veterans Monument will host the seventh annual Veterans Day ceremony in celebration of our nation’s veterans 11 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 11, at the Veterans Monument at the County Government Center.

Friends of the Veterans Monument will sponsor the annual El Dorado County Veterans Day ceremony  at the El Dorado County Veterans Monument, 360 Fair Lane, Placerville.

The ceremony commences with the call to order and present colors. The singing of the national anthem follows, during which the distant rumbling of vintage radial engines will be heard as a flight of WWII-era war birds approaches the monument. Their radial engines become a thundering sound — felt as much as heard — as they soar over the monument in a fly-by salute to those who have served the cause of freedom.

As part of a special tribute on Veterans Day, two engraved granite benches will be dedicated and placed in the Veterans Monument Plaza:

One honors Marine Staff Sgt. Sky Mote, who was mortally wounded Aug. 10, while serving as an Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Staff Sgt. Mote served as a member of the Marine Special Operations Team 8133 in Company C of the 1st Marine Special Operations Battalion. Marine Special Operations Company teammate Sgt. Brian Jaques will assist the Mote family in the dedication of the bench.

El Dorado Community Foundation Executive Director William “Bill” Roby will officiate over the dedication of the second engraved granite bench which honors those who served in the Korean War. The Foundation administers the Welcome Home Fund that was created to support this project as well as future enhancements to the Veterans Monument in Placerville.

Former Army Lt. Larry Hyder, a Korean War veteran and owner of the Indian Rock Tree Farm, will accept the bench on behalf of all who served in the Korean War. The bench was designed and funded by Hayden Cooksy, Eagle Scout hopeful, as a project for his Eagle Scout badge.