The City of Platte City is joining the Platte Purchase Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 4055, Boy Scout Troop 1351 and the Platte City Lions Club for the 2022 Memorial Day Ceremony on Monday, May 30 at 10 a.m. at the Platte City Cemetery, 4th and North Streets.
The Lions Club will provide doughnuts, juice and coffee starting at 9 a.m. in the Platte City Community Building, immediately across from the cemetery entrance.
Mayor Tony Paolillo announced this year’s guest speaker will be Col. James “Jimmy” Watts, United States Army, Command Surgeon at the US Army Combined Arms Center, Fort Leavenworth.
“The relationship between Platte City and Fort Leavenworth continues to be a strong partnership,” said the mayor. “As we move past the immediate impacts of the COVID pandemic, it is gratifying to know that the city’s connection to the Garrison and the Combined Arms Center has been reconstructed and will continue to grow stronger into the future. It is a great honor to have a staff member from the Combined Arms Center present to celebrate Memorial Day 2022 with the Platte City community.”
Colonel Watts is a 1998 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point. He is also a graduate of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, the US Army War College and the Carlisle Scholars Program at Carlisle Barracks, Pa.
He completed graduate medical education at Madigan Army Medical Center, Brooke Army Medical Center, and Massachusetts General Hospital. He is board certified in cardiovascular medicine and advanced heart failure and cardiac transplantation.
His current assignment is as the Command Surgeon at the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center, and senior medical observer controller/trainer for the Mission Command Training Program at Fort Leavenworth, Kan.
He is the current consultant to the surgeon general for cardiovascular medicine and a fellow of the American College of Cardiology.
Previous assignments include: Division Surgeon, 3rd Infantry Division; Chief of Cardiology, Brooke Army Medical Center; Associate Program Director, General Cardiology Fellowship, SAUSHEC, Chief of Medical Services, 47th CSH (FWD), OPERATION NEW DAWN (Iraq), Chief of Internal Medicine Clinic, Bayne Jones Army Community Hospital.
Colonel Watts’ awards and decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal (two Oak Leaf Clusters), Army Commendation Medal (five Oak Leaf Clusters), Army Achievement Medal, and the Basic Parachutist Badge.
Other participants in this year’s Memorial Day Ceremony include:
The color guard from Boy Scout Troop 1351 of Platte City; a rifle detail and ceremonial music from VFW Post 4055 and the Platte Purchase Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, who will lead the Memorial Day wreath laying ceremony.
All area residents, especially veterans and those whose family members have served in the armed forces, are encouraged to attend and participate in the ceremony, Monday, May 30 at 10 a.m. at the Platte City Cemetery, 4th and North Street.
In the event of inclement weather, the ceremony will be moved inside the Platte City Community Building (former Lions Club building) directly across from the cemetery entrance.
“I encourage everyone to attend and honor members of the Platte City community who have served and sacrificed for their country,” Paolillo said. “It is a pleasure to follow up last year’s ceremony as we continue to return to the city’s long tradition of in-person community ceremonies after two difficult years.”