ORONO (AP) – A memorial site consisting of a newly planted red oak, a stone bench and a plaque has been dedicated at the University of Maine in honor of a student from Pennsylvania killed last year in Iraq while serving with the Maine Army National Guard.
National Guard troops, friends and family members gathered Sunday for the dedication near Nutting Hall, where Staff Sgt. David Veverka was studying wildlife ecology.
Veverka, 25, was one of two Maine Guardsmen killed last May when their truck was hit by a roadside bomb.
A senior from Jamestown, Pa., Veverka was awarded a posthumous degree at the university commencement last spring.
His mother and stepfather, Carol and Jeff Polley of Jamestown, were the first to sit on the bench that bears their son’s name.
“I cannot tell you how much this meant,” Carol Polley said. “It’s very sad he’s not with us, but he is in my heart. I am very, very proud of him.”
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