The Derry/Londonderry Rail Trail Veteran Memorial Bench Project was established by 60-year American Legion member and Marine Corps veteran Bill Manning, who built and installed a memorial bench in honor of his childhood friend, PFC John W. McGuire, who was killed in the line of duty in Vietnam. Once Manning finished the bench for his friend, he went on to build benches for five additional veterans who also fell in Vietnam as well as one for Medal of Honor recipient Brian Thacker, who survived the war. Manning has since added eight more benches to honor local veterans who have fallen in conflicts since Vietnam, bringing the total number to 15.
Each spring, Manning, along with Sons of The American Legion member John Kellaway, cleans the area around each bench and makes repairs as needed. They go on to apply fresh coats of sealer before posting two new American flags on each bench. For Veterans Day, Manning and Kellaway again clean the area around the benches and post fresh flags.
The 15 service members honored along the Derry/Londonderry Rail Trail are listed below in casualty date order. For Lt. Brian Thacker (living), the date reflects his Medal of Honor award date.
• PFC Vernon Milton Greeley, Marine Corps, 07/06/1967
• Major Albert Linwood Page, Air Force, 08/06/1967
• PFC Joseph Agustus Durling III, Marine Corps, 09/07/1967
• PFC John Winchester McGuire, Marine Corps, 02/03/1968
• PFC David Alan Ackerman, Army, 06/06/1968
• CPL Thomas Joseph Vezeau, Marine Corps, 02/25/1970
• Lt Brian Miles Thacker, Army, 03/31/1971
• LCpl Peter Joseph Sora, Marine Corps, 05/04/2004
• SPC Adam Michael Kuligowski, Army, 04/06/2009
• PFC Eric Dennis Currier, Marine Corps, 02/17/2010
• LCpl Michael Erick Geary, Marine Corps, 12/08/2010
• 2nd Lt Peter Alexander Sohm, Air Force, 04/17/2011
• 1st Lt Paul M DeMeo, Army, 05/14/2013
• SFC Mark Gerald Gulezian, Army, 10/10/2014
• SPC Brandon T Martinez, Army, 06/19/21
