TIMONIUM — Petty Officer First Class Dakota B. Collison of Rock Hall is among 17 fallen service members with ties to Maryland who will be honored Monday, May 25 at Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens.
The ceremony, held within the Circle of Immortals section of the Field of Honor, is a traditional patriotic gathering to honor all Marylanders who “have paid the highest price in defense of our nation,” as stated on the Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens website.
This year’s Memorial Day observance will include music performed by the 229th Army Band of the Maryland Army National Guard, a wreath placement, tributes to the honorees, a military bugle call of taps and a 21-gun salute.
Brig. Gen. Craig M. Hunter, director of joint staff with the Maryland Army National Guard, will deliver the keynote address.
Also presenting a memorial address will be Michael Farlow, survivor outreach services coordinator at Aberdeen Proving Ground.
Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens is located at 200 East Padonia Road in Timonium.
The United States flag will be flown at half-staff from sunrise until noon, per Memorial Day protocol.
The ceremony, which is open to the public, will be held rain or shine, beginning at 10 a.m.
Dakota B. Collison passed away suddenly at the age of 27 on April 9, 2025.
He served in the U.S. Navy as an ITR1 [information systems technician] serving aboard the USS Santa Fe, USS San Juan and COMSUBPAC [Commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet]. He was stationed at Groton, Connecticut; Kittery, Maine; San Diego, California and Honolulu, Hawaii.
Before making the decision to serve his country, Collison served his community as a volunteer firefighter. As a teenager he joined the Rock Hall Volunteer Fire Company and remained an active member. Briefly, he also was a member of the Chestertown Volunteer Fire Company.
Collison “served his country and community with honor, courage and an unwavering sense of duty,” his obituary states.
Also to be honored on Memorial Day is 2nd Lt. William A. Wyman, U.S. Army, of Elkton, who passed away unexpectedly at Fort Bliss in Texas on July 28, 2025. He was 23.
Wyman was born in Chestertown.
He graduated cum laude in 2024 from The Citadel, Military College of South Carolina, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in nursing with a minor in military science. He served in the 4th Battalion Romeo Company and Palmetto Battalion Army ROTC.
Upon graduation, Wyman was commissioned a 2nd lieutenant in the U.S. Army Nursing Corps and became an active-duty nurse at William Beaumont Army Medical Center.
Wyman’s choice to serve in the Army, a lifelong ambition, “exemplified his desire to defend the values that make this nation great and lead with duty, honor and respect,” according to his obituary.
