Memorial to Honor Hometown Hero
Collins Ceremony Saturday Morning
LOCK HAVEN – As part of this Saturday’s Downtown Lock Haven, Inc. ceremony to recognize Clinton County’s Hometown Heroes, the community is also invited to pay special tribute to a fallen local hero. Lock Haven native and retired Navy SEAL, the late David M. Collins, will be remembered with the unveiling of a memorial panel at Veteran’s Park on Water Street in Lock Haven, across the street from the Clinton County Courthouse.
The memorial panel unveiling will take place around 11:30 a.m., immediately following the 10:00 a.m. Hometown Hero ceremony, which marks the unveiling of a new round of streetlight banners that recognize local veterans and emergency responders. The banner ceremony will be held at the Corman Amphitheatre along the Susquehanna River in Lock Haven, after which, people are invited to cross the street to Veterans Park for the Collins tribute.
The memorial panel, titled American Hero, chronicles Collins’ nearly 25 years of Naval service as an elite Navy SEAL. Developed by local artist and Collins family friend Steve Getz of IF-The Idea Factory, Lock Haven, the idea for the panel was supported by proud patriots and friends of the Collins family, Jim Russo of M&R Contracting, Inc., Dave Harger of Harger Utility Contractors, Inc., and former Lock Haven Mayor Rick Vilello, who now serves as executive director of the Governor’s Center for Local Government, part of the state’s Department of Community & Economic Development.
Following the 10:00 a.m. Hometown Hero ceremony, Mill Hall resident and Air Force veteran Sergeant John MacMillen will play the bagpipes and lead participants from the Corman Amphitheatre to Veterans Park and the Collins memorial panel. Rick Vilello will serve as master of ceremonies for the Collins tribute and offer a welcome, with Chaplin (Major) Kenneth L. Lynn, United States Army, Retired, of Flemington, providing the invocation.
Hometown Hero ceremony speaker, Rear Admiral Craig S. Faller, Chief of Legislative Affairs for the Secretary of the Navy, will also make remarks at the Collins tribute. Representatives from Collins’ family, wife Jennifer and mother, Rose Ann McNerney, are slated to speak, after which Dave’s children, daughter Grace and son Sam, will join their mother and grandmother in the unveiling of the memorial panel.
“I am so humbled by the support and dedication shown by Rick Vilello, the City of Lock Haven and the entire community to honor Dave and his service with this memorial. Dave loved Lock Haven and proudly told people everywhere about his wonderful hometown. For him, service as a Navy SEAL was a calling, not a job. And it was because of the values instilled in him by his family and his community that he was able to answer that calling and protect our freedom in some of the harshest environments around the globe. I hope this memorial inspires future generations to follow their passion and serve our country and communities just like Dave.”
Jennifer Collins, wife of the late David Collins
PHOTO OF THE MEMORIAL PANEL TO BE WITH THIS ARTICLE:
David Collins Panel: The memorial panel, a lasting tribute to the late David Collins, Lock Haven native and retired Navy SEAL, will be unveiled this weekend as part of the Hometown Hero ceremony to be held Saturday morning in Lock Haven.
