SPEAKERS
LIEUTENANT COLONEL (LTC) RACHEL MORGAN
Speaker - West Virginia National Cemetery Program
Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) Rachel Morgan is the oldest daughter of Jim and Donna Morgan of Grafton, West Virginia. She was born in San Clemente, California and graduated from Grafton High School in 2003. She received nominations to attend the United States Military Academy from the late Senator Robert Byrd, Senator John “Jay” Rockefeller and Congressman Alan Mollohan. LTC Morgan graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree and subsequently commissioned from the United States Military Academy in May 2007.
She began her Military Police career as a young Lieutenant, serving as a Platoon Leader in the 66th Military Police Company at Fort Lewis, Washington. She deployed her platoon in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom from 2009-2010. During this time her platoon was responsible for training and assisting the Iraqi Police Force across multiple police stations in the Diyala Province. In December 2011 she took command of Echo Company, a One Station Unit Training company in the 14th Military Police Brigade. As the Company Commander she was responsible for turning brand new trainees into highly capable Military Police Soldiers. LTC Morgan relinquished command of Echo Company in August of 2013 and transitioned from Active Duty into the Army Reserve to focus on earning her juris doctorate at the University of North Carolina School of Law.
Upon graduation from law school, LTC Morgan was interested in pursuing a career in criminal law. She began her legal career as an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney for the State of Missouri, handling a wide variety of misdemeanor and felony cases. In January of 2025 she was selected as the Director of Conviction Integrity for the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office. In her role as Director, she reviews claims of actual innocence and advises the Circuit Attorney on policy matters. LTC Morgan continues to serve in the Army Reserve. She recently assumed command of the 327th Military Police Battalion in Arlington Heights, Illinois.
LTC Morgan is a graduate of Airborne School, SERE School, and the Advanced Operations Course. Her awards include the Bronze Star Medal, the Army Commendation Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Army Achievement Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, the National Defense Service Ribbon, the Iraq Campaign Service Medal with Bronze Campaign Star, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, the Meritorious Unit Citation and the Order of the Marechaussee (Bronze).
Director of West Virginia National Cemetery
Richard Colosky
Richard Colosky was named Director of West Virginia National Cemetery effective February 13, 2022. In this role, he is responsible for all burial, maintenance, and administrative operations at the facility.
Prior to this assignment, Mr. Colosky served as the Assistant Director of Dayton National Cemetery Complex, at Marion National Cemetery beginning in August 2021. Also Mr. Colosky served as the Maintenance and Operations Supervisor at Dayton National Cemetery beginning in June 2019. In 2019 Mr. Colosky also received his bachelor’s degree at Southern New Hampshire University in Business Studies and Accounting.
Mr. Colosky joined the National Cemetery Administration (NCA) in January 2017 as a Caretaker for Fort Custer National Cemetery. In August 2017 Mr. Colosky was selected as an Engineering Equipment Operator at Dayton National Cemetery. Mr. Colosky also served as an Engineering Equipment Operator Work Leader in 2018 at Dayton National Cemetery.
Mr. Colosky served for 10 years as a supervisor for two different private landscaping companies and has 15 years serving in the private sector as an Engineering Equipment Operator for various types of construction and operations projects.
Mr. Colosky is a veteran of the United States Army, where he completed four years of active service at the rank of Sergeant and served most of this time as squad leader for the caisson platoon that performed full honors at Arlington National Cemetery.
American Legion Department Commander
Jeff Wisey
Jeff Wisley was born in Sacramento, California, and grew up in the Northern California area until he graduated high school on his 18th birthday in June 1983. In October 1983, Jeff signed a contract to join the United States Air Force Reserve as a Loadmaster on the largest aircraft in the US inventory, the Lockheed C-5 Galaxy. Jeff flew as a Loadmaster in the 312th Military Airlift Squadron at Travis AFB, California, for just over 3 years when he decided to go active duty. In January 1987, he started over as an Airman First Class on Active Duty at Dover AFB. Jeff was stationed in Delaware for around 7 years, becoming a SOLL II Loadmaster (Special Operations, Low Level, Low Light) and an Instructor Loadmaster. He then moved to the schoolhouse for C-5 Loadmasters in Altus, Oklahoma, where he would run the Standardization and Evaluation section in his unit. Assignments followed that led Jeff and his family back to California, Oklahoma, and a 3-year stint in Yokota, Japan, as part of the PACAF TALCE (Pacific Air Forces Tanker Airlift Control Element), where he managed airfield operations and conducted mobile command and control at designated hot spots around the world. When MSgt. Wisley was due to retire from the Air Force in 2010, he was looking for a way to assist Veterans and found an opening in West Virginia for a Veterans Service Representative. He applied, interviewed, took a test, and was offered the job as a Veterans Service Representative in the Huntington Regional Office for the US Department of Veterans Affairs. Jeff has worked for the VA for the past 14 years, where he works today as a Public Contact Outreach Specialist, assisting Veterans with benefits every day. Jeff has held various offices in the American Legion at the Post, District, and Department levels. He is currently also a consultant to the National Veterans Affairs and Rehabilitation Commission. Jeff is also a 2017 graduate of the National American Legion College. Jeff is a life member of the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans, and the 40&8. He and his wife, Donna, have six children and 11 grandchildren living in four states. Jeff and Donna currently call Lavalette, West Virginia, home. They also welcome you to their business in Huntington at any time, “Scratch’s Bar & Grill.”
West Virginia Department of Veterans Assistance Cabinet Secretary Edward Ryan Kennedy
Ryan Kennedy, a disabled U.S. Army Veteran, was appointed by Governor Morrisey to serve as the Cabinet Secretary for the Department of Veterans Assistance in February 2025.
On active duty, Kennedy served as a Chemical Corps Officer and was forward deployed to South Korea. There, he was responsible for maintaining the highest degree of training and readiness among his troops against the potential of a Chemical, Biological, Radiological, or Nuclear attack from North Korea.
Following his discharge from active duty, Kennedy returned to school and earned a Doctor of Law degree from West Virginia University.
For the next twenty years, he worked as a lawyer in several capacities, including criminal litigation, civil litigation, and real estate law. Kennedy’s passion for helping fellow veterans drove him to become accredited as an attorney with the federal VA and represent veterans on claims to the VA pro bono.
Community involvement is something that has always been important to Kennedy. In addition to serving on the Clarksburg city council and serving a term as mayor, he served as President of the Harrison County Senior Citizens Center, a Member of the Sacred Heart Children’s Charity, and a Board Member of the Harrison County Historical Society. He is also a past President of the Rotary Club of Clarksburg, the Kiwanis Club of Clarksburg, and the Harrison County YMCA Board of Directors.
He served as counsel for his church, where he helped form the church’s nonprofit structure, and has assisted other charitable organizations, both religious and secular, in nonprofit law and corporate compliance. Additionally, Kennedy is an FBI Citizens’ Academy Graduate and past Post Chaplain and Adjutant for the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Clarksburg.
Parade Theme Winner Evan Densmore
Evan James Densmore, 10 years old, is the son of Timothy Densmore and Jennifer Prouty of Grafton. He is a 4th grade student at West Taylor Elementary School in Mrs. Halstead’s class. Evan plays the piano and enjoys fishing, hunting, swimming and traveling. He loves spending time with his Aunt, Jamey Knight who is a Master Sergeant in the USAF, currently stationed at the Colorado Springs Air Force Academy. Evan is proud to “celebrate, honor and remember” all the veterans currently serving and those who gave their lives, this Memorial Day
High School Essay Winner Jacob Powell
Memorial Day: Celebrate, Honor, Remember
Memorial Day is a solemn day observed in the US, which commemorates US service members who have died during the service. Established after the Civil War, this day of remembrance incapsulates a profound respect for the sacrifices made by the brave men and women who defended our nation's principles. In West Virginia, this date also resonates on a greater scale as there are several national cemeteries providing one of many final resting places for West Virginia patriot heroes.
The history of national cemeteries in West Virginia, particularly the renowned National Cemetery in Grafton, traces back to the aftermath of the Civil War. The Grafton National Cemetery was created in 1868, and originally intended for use by Union battlefield casualties. It became the first national cemetery in West Virginia and now holds over 5,000 interments. These hallowed places reflect on the story of our country as well as serving as powerful evocations of sacrifice, capability and the indomitable spirit of our freedom fighters.
Memorial Day is celebrated annually on the last Monday of May and has several purposes. Today is an observance of the values of freedom and democracy deeply embedded in our nation. It is also a time for contemplation, in which we can recall and reminisce upon the freedom that we often do not have to remember.
Celebrate, Honor, Remember”—the key to the spirit of this day. Every element of the theme holds great importance and significance. To celebrate is to embrace the values our fallen soldiers fought for, reveling in the freedoms and opportunities they have provided us. It is imperative for us to recognize the sacrifices they have made and their achievements, and continue their legacy and, most importantly, let us keep their courage in our minds. Finally, to remember is a solemn commitment. It is a duty to preserve the accounts of these heroes and to educate new generations on the past so that the culture of admiration and respect towards their service may continue. There is a saying that the American flag does not blow from the wind but from the last breathe of every soldier who died protecting it.
Middle School Essay Winner Reagan Taylor
Each year on the last Monday of May we observe Memorial Day to celebrate, honor, and remember those who served for our country. Our soldiers sacrificed all they had to protect our freedoms. The freedoms that we have today are from their service and sacrifice. If this wasn’t the home of the brave, then we wouldn’t be the land of the free. We underestimate everything that our soldiers did for us, so this Memorial Day let’s celebrate, honor, and remember those who served.
West Virginia has two national cemeteries in the entire state, and Grafton is home to both of them. Both are filled with soldiers and their families, who made the greatest sacrifice for our freedoms. That is the importance of Memorial Day, to celebrate, honor, and remember the men and women that served for our country.
Though it may not seem like there is a lot to celebrate on Memorial Day, we can celebrate the lives of our brave soldiers, and what we won with their sacrifice. While we still have to mourn for their loss we celebrate in the fact that we have these freedoms because of them. We can celebrate because we have the freedom to honor and remember.
On Memorial Day, though we need to celebrate, we also have to honor what our soldiers paid to give us this life we have in the United States. A life where we can do almost whatever we want. We can live religiously, speak freely, and have the freedom of the press. Honoring our soldiers is the least we could do for them. The soldiers we honor on Memorial Day gave their lives for our freedoms.
Just like anyone else, we remember the lives that our soldiers lived. Although, we don’t know every individual soldier, they all have a few things in common. Bravery. They proved why America is called the home of the brave. They risked their lives for the rest of the country’s freedom, and opportunity. Selflessness. An American soldier enrolled in the military, not just thinking of himself, but his country. Everyday the American people should have the selflessness of our military, not thinking of ourselves, but for others. And finally, loyalty. The first line of The Pledge Of Allegiance, is “I pledge allegiance, to the flag.” Our soldiers pledged allegiance, loyalty, to the flag, the country, and to the American people. This Memorial Day let’s remember the bravery, selflessness, and loyalty of the men and women who gave their lives for our country.
The men and women buried at the West Virginia National Cemeteries are described by The Armed Services Ministry as individuals who “were willing to fight and die in service for this country.” The men and women that we celebrate, honor, and remember on Memorial Day are the ones who were willing to die in service for our nation. Let’s celebrate the lives our soldiers lived, honor the sacrifice they paid, and remember the bravery, selflessness, and loyalty of our troops.