80th Anniversary of WWII's End Celebrated by Recognizing Local Vet
At the original USO building in Fredericksburg, now the Dorothy Hart Center, Richard Toye was the guest of honor as citizens remembered the end of the war that defined the Greatest Generation.
By Sue Sargeant
GUEST CONTRIBUTER
On Saturday morning the Historic Fredericksburg Foundation held an open house commemorating the 80th anniversary of World War II’s end.
Titled “Victory & Valor,” the event took place in the original USO building located at the Dorothy Hart Community Center on Canal St. WWII vehicles including a Red Cross van and military jeep lined neighboring streets.
Richard E. Toye Sr. was the guest of honor. A local, Toye was a Seaman First Class US Navy during World War II and immediately re-enlisted for 4 additional years in the U. S. Navy Reserve.
He was escorted into the building by Lt. Colonel David James, who is also HFFI President, and Moe Petway, president of the Spotsylvania branch of the NAACP.
Delegate Joshua Cole HD65 presented Mr. Toye with a letter of commendation. A representative of Abigail Spanberger hand delivered a similar document. The Honorable Carlos Del Toro, the 78th Undersecretary of the Navy called Mr. Toye to thank him for his service.
“Of Courage and Valor” was performed by the Enduring Freedom Honor Team, which honors the Greatest Generation by performing patriotic, World War II, and ‘40s nostalgia music.
The event was sponsored by FXBG Parks and Recreation and HFFI.
Local Obituaries
To view local obituaries or to send a note to family and loved ones, please visit the link that follows.
Support Award-winning, Locally Focused Journalism
The FXBG Advance cuts through the talking points to deliver both incisive and informative news about the issues, people, and organizations that daily affect your life. And we do it in a multi-partisan format that has no equal in this region. Over the past year, our reporting was:
First to break the story of Stafford Board of Supervisors dismissing a citizen library board member for “misconduct,” without informing the citizen or explaining what the person allegedly did wrong.
First to explain falling water levels in the Rappahannock Canal.
First to detail controversial traffic numbers submitted by Stafford staff on the Buc-ee’s project
Our media group also offers the most-extensive election coverage in the region and regular columnists like:
And our newsroom is led by the most-experienced and most-awarded journalists in the region — Adele Uphaus (Managing Editor and multiple VPA award-winner) and Martin Davis (Editor-in-Chief, 2022 Opinion Writer of the Year in Virginia and more than 25 years reporting from around the country and the world).
For just $8 a month, you can help support top-flight journalism that puts people over policies.
Your contributions 100% support our journalists.
Help us as we continue to grow!
This article is published under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND. It can be distributed for noncommercial purposes and must include the following: “Published with permission by FXBG Advance.”