The World War II veterans who went on the Gahanna Honor Flight to Washington, D.C., this year will be the guests of the Gahanna veterans memorial committee.

"This year's theme is the Honor Flight," committee member Bob Fickle said.

Fickle said he hopes all WW II veterans and their guardians who went with them on the trip to the WWII memorial and other sites in Washington would attend the ceremony.

Tony Collins, Gahanna's parks and recreation director, will serve as master of ceremonies and will introduce the three principal speakers, including Gahanna resident the Rev. Donald "Don" Swift. The WWII Navy veteran flew PBY flying boats in the South Pacific during the war.

Gahanna Lincoln High School senior Blake Swanson also will speak. Swanson was a guardian on the trip. Each veteran had a guardian to help him with either mobility issues or just to keep him company. Swanson also works backstage at the Gahanna Community Theatre, is an Eagle Scout and is involved with WGLH-TV -- the Gahanna Lincoln High School broadcast station.

Bill Richards, a Navy veteran who served two tours in Vietnam aboard the USS Chicago, will be the third speaker. He teaches history at Hastings Elementary School in Upper Arlington and is a co-director and vice president of the Columbus Honor Flight.

Fickle said Richards has a major announcement about the Honor Flight program that he plans to make during the Memorial Day ceremonies. He declined to elaborate.

The rest of the program will be as follows:

• Presentation of Colors, by VFW Post 4719 and American Legion Post 747.

• The national anthem and "God Bless America," sung by GLHS graduate Zach Boor.

• Invocation and benediction by the Rev. Ronald Lokhorst, pastor at Mifflin Presbyterian Church.

• Pledge of allegiance and placement of the wreath by Boy Scouts Troop 781, which is sponsored by the Gahanna Lions Club.

• A rifle volley by the honor guard of the combined American Legion and VFW.

• Taps and echo taps will be played by Kelly Shellhammer, director of jazz band at Gahanna Lincoln and a student.

• "Amazing Grace," performed on a bagpipe by John McCullough, Army veteran of 25th Division and the First Cavalry during the Vietnam War.

The memorial pavers were installed last week, Fickle said.

"There were 44 new bricks added to the memorial," he said.

The veterans memorial committee allows those who want to memorialize a loved one to buy one or more pavers in the memorial. They are dedicated twice a year: on Memorial Day and Veterans Day.

An inscribed paver of three lines with 19 characters on each line costs $25 per brick. For $2 more, the buyer gets a certificate of notification about the placement of the paver.

For more information about pavers, call the Gahanna Parks and Recreation Department at 342-4350 or visit www.gahanna.gov or www.gahannavets.org. Applications for pavers are available on the Web sites or at city hall, 200 S. Hamilton Road.

gvickers@thisweeknews.com