MICHEAL MONSOOR, Navy SEAL patrolling in Iraq (Defense Department photo).

The home football season for Garden Grove High School will start next week with an historic significance and observance.

On Friday, Sept. 8 at 6 p.m., the Garden Grove Unified School District will hold a special dedication ceremony at the district’s new Michael A. Monsoor Memorial Stadium at GGHS, 11271 Stanford Ave.

The new state-of-the-art stadium will be introduced to the community, and the event will honor the life and memory of Petty Officer Second Class (SEAL) Michael A. Monsoor, a 1999 Garden Grove High School graduate and posthumous Congressional Medal of Honor recipient.

U.S. NAVY MEDAL of Honor, along with SEAL crest (Navy photo).

The dedication ceremony will honor Monsoor’s military service with former Navy SEALs from the Patriot Parachute Team skydiving onto the field, a military flyover, and presentation of the U.S. flag by a crew member of the guided missile destroyer USS Michael Monsoor (DDG-1001).

Petty Officer Monsoor was an elite Navy SEAL who sacrificed his life in 2006 while serving in Iraq by jumping on a live grenade to save two of his SEAL teammates.  In 2008, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest award for valor, which President George W. Bush presented to Sally and George Monsoor, to recognize their son’s conspicuous gallantry.

The keynote speaker at the stadium dedication will be Jason Booher, the founder and first commander of the Navy SEAL unit in Ramadi, Iraq, where Monsoor gave his life.  Booher will speak to the impact of Monsoor’s heroic actions and his legacy in the SEAL community.  A small gift will be presented by Garden Grove Unified School District high school athletes to the Monsoor family.

Tickets for the stadium dedication are $8 and include the football game of GGHS vs. Woodbridge High School following the ceremony.  It will be the first game played at the stadium, which is the home of the GGHS Argonauts, Los Amigos High School Lobos, and Santiago High School Cavaliers.

The state-of-the-art stadium features 4,000 seats, synthetic turf field, a nine-lane synthetic track, energy-efficient lighting, LED scoreboard, well-appointed press box, new restrooms, ticket booths, and a concession stand that honors Michael A. Monsoor with a plaque describing his heroic actions.