Conway’s chairman, Jack Conway, a Navy veteran of World War II, will make the award on a podium flanked by the general’s personal military flag, and a flag flown by Captain C.J. Stevens on his Chinook helicopter during battle in Afghanistan. Stevens is the son of Conway’s relocation director, Dawn Stevens.
“The war in Iraq is over and many members of our Massachusetts National Guard are among the 4,500 US soldiers who will not return home,’’ Conway said. “We owe a huge debt of gratitude to General Tom Sellars and his troops for their support of our state and our nation.’’
Sellars, who attended Stoughton public schools, joined the National Guard on his 17th birthday in 1974, working his way up through the enlisted ranks and later as an officer, from second lieutenant to brigadier general.
He served as commander of the Joint Force Headquarters of the state Guard, where he was responsible for more than 8,000 soldiers and airmen.
“I am privileged and honored to have served with the great men and women of the Massachusetts Army National Guard for the last 37 years,’’ Sellars said at his retirement ceremony on Salem Common, held on the 10-year anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. “It is through their dedication and sacrifice that I found the example of selfless service.’’
Sellars, 54, and his wife, Nancy, have a son, Jason, a member of the Massachusetts National Guard who recently returned from Iraq. There have been three generations of the Sellars family in the National Guard.
The retired brigadier general has received many military awards for meritorious service in his career, including the Legion of Merit, Global War on Terrorism Medal, and the Joint Service Meritorious Unit Award, and is still an assistant adjutant general/executive officer of the Massachusetts National Guard.
