Dowagiac’s Memorial Day observance organized by the Masonic Peninsular Lodge 10 starts at 10:30 a.m. Monday in front of City Hall, with the parade stepping off about 11.

 

Guest speaker will be Lt. Col. Decker B. Hains, who became a professor of military science at Western Michigan University last June 15.

 

LTC Hains was commissioned in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers upon graduation from the U.S. Military Academy in 1994.

 

Previous assignments include: platoon leader and executive officer, 23rd Engineer Company, Fort Richardson, Alaska; Battalion S4, Special Troops Battalion, Fort Richardson; Assistant Brigade S3, Engineer Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Camp Howze, Korea; Commander, C Company, 2nd Engineer Battalion, Camp Casey, Korea; Assistant Professor, Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering, U.S. Military Academy, West Point, N.Y.; chief, Military Transition Team, Baghdad, Iraq; Deputy District Commander for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Walla Walla District, October 2009-August 2011; and Design Engineer for the 555.

 

LTC Hains earned a bachelor of science degree with a civil engineering major in 1994 from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point; a master of science degree in arctic engineering from the University of Alaska-Anchorage in 1998; a master of science degree in civil and environmental engineering from the University of Missouri-Rolla in 1999; and a doctor of philosophy in civil engineering from Lehigh University in 2004.

 

His military awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal; the Meritorious Service Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters; the Army Commendation Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters; the Army Achievement Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters; the National Defense Service Medal; the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal; the Iraq Campaign Medal; the Korean Defense Service Medal; the Overseas Service Ribbon with numeral 3; the Parachutist Badge; and the Air Assault Badge.

 

LTC Hains was also awarded the Bronze deFleury Medal by the U.S. Army Engineer Association.

 

A native of Greensburg, Pa., and Boca Raton, Fla., LTC Hains and his wife, Caroline, live in Kalamazoo with their daughter, Madeline, 2, and their dog, Bogey.

 

LTC Hains’ oldest two daughters, Claire, 10, and Grace, 7, live in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

 

He is also an avid basketball and soccer official.