Army Capt. Benjamin Sklaver to be added to wall of honor

HARTFORD — A Hamden man is one of the five state soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan in the last year who will be added Thursday to the Wall of Honor in the State Capitol complex.
The public is invited to the ceremony, which will be attended by family members of the five new honorees and many of the 44 soldiers alraedy on the wall. The ceremony will begin at 4:30 p.m. in the atrium of the Legislative Office Building, 300 Capitol Ave.
The wall includes a framed color portrait of each service member, and a podium displaying a brass plate bearing their name, hometown, branch of service and the year and location of their death.
The five new honorees are:
Army Capt. Benjamin Sklaver, 32, of Hamden: 2009, Afghanistan; Army Staff Sgt. Ronald Spino, 45, of Waterbury: 2009, Afghanistan; Army Sgt. Edward Kramer, 39, of Southington: 2009, Iraq; Marine Cpl. Xhacob LaTorre, 21, of Waterbury: 2009, Afghanistan; and Marine Lance Cpl. Tyler Griffin, 19, of Voluntown: 2010, Afghanistan.
The ceremony will include the reading of the names of all Wall of Honor service members by the American Legion Post 79 Military Funeral Honors Squad of Madison.
The event co-chairman will be Comptroller Nancy Wyman and radio host Brad Davis.

For more information, call Steve Jensen in the Office of the State Comptroller at 860-702-3308 or 860-539-9298.

Editor's note: the photo shows Hamden Middle School students and a sign they made and held as Sklaver's funeral procession passed by the school last year. Photo courtesy of Guy Ortoleva