MEMORIAL DAY SERVICE
10:00 a.m. Monday, May 29 - Poppy Field
Hosted by Llano Cemetery Association & Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1475
Speaker – Sgt. Maj. Ben Bitonel
Flags will be distributed to be placed on graves.

PLACE A FLAG BY PHONE
Those who cannot come to the cemetery on Memorial Day are invited to phone or e-mail the cemetery and request a flag be placed on a grave. Please know the name of the deceased for whom you are requesting a flag. We will locate the grave.

Telephone requests may be made by phoning 376-4538. E-mail requests may be made by clicking here..

All flags will remain throughout Memorial Day and will be removed the following day.

ABOUT OUR MEMORIAL DAY SPEAKER - SGT. MAJ. BEN BITONEL

Sgt. Maj. Ben Bitonel, Jr., is currently assigned to Co. B, 5th BN, 19th Special Forces Group Airborne, Fort Carson, CO. He joined the U.S. Army Special Forces, Green Berets, upon graduation from Dumas High School in 1978. Bitonel completed Special Forces Qualification and the Medical course in 1979 and was assigned to 5th Special Forces Group in Ft. Bragg, NC. He served six years active duty on a Special Forces “A” Team in the capacity of the Medical NCO.

Upon completion of active duty service Bitonel joined 12th Special Forces Reserve Group in Amarillo in 1985. He served as the Medical NOC, Intelligence NOC and Team Sergeant until the deactivation of 12th Group in 1994. He then immediately joined 19th Special Forces Group of Colorado where he served as Team Sergeant and is now serving as Company Sergeant Major.

He has a total of 28 years of military service with two combat tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. He has been awarded the Bronze Star Medical, Meritorious Service Medial, Combat Infantry Badge, Combat Medical Badge, Military Outstanding Volunteer Medal and other awards. He has attended numerous military and civilian schools and holds a certification in Counter-Terrorism.

Bitonel has resided in Amarillo since 1984 with his wife Gay. They have been married 21 years and have five children, Ashley, Jacob, Victoria, Toby and Marco. He is employed by the Department of Energy (DOE) through Paragon Technical Services, Inc. as a Tactical Operations Specialist, testing the level of security for DOE facilities.