Purple Heart group honors fallen veteran
Photos: See photos from dedication
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Springfield, Ohio — The former tin and paper marker and flag didn't seem permanent enough to Jim Pinkerton.
So the past commander of the Military Order of the Purple Heart Chapter No. 620 asked the group to install a bronze plaque to honor Marine Sgt. David Christoff at Reid Park Golf Course.
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Christoff died during foot patrol in Iraq May 22, 2006.
"The tin and paper would wear away," Pinkerton said. "We don't want to forget any veterans. They are in our hearts forever."
The order held a memorial service for Christoff and unveiled the new bronze marker on the golf course Wednesday, May 21.
Christoff, a 1999 Shawnee High School graduate, often played and worked at Reid Park Golf Course with friends Matt Aker and Branden Skabla.
They shared good memories there, Aker said, and Christoff was dedicated, hardworking and patriotic.
"I consider myself very lucky to have such a great friend for all those years," Aker said.
Christoff would appreciate the plaque, Skabla said, as his family and friends do.
"He's my brother from another mother," Skabla said. "He's missed."
The marker from the Purple Heart order is a tremendous honor, Christoff's stepfather Jim Hogan said.
It's important to remember soldiers, he said.
"Our everyday lives are really dependent upon the efforts of those really brave young men and women who fight every day to make sure we have the freedoms we enjoy," Hogan said.
Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0363 or ssommer@coxohio.com.
