Army Chief Jackie Key arrived Tuesday for a free Martha’s Vineyard vacation arranged by the Daughters of the American Revolution.

With blaring sirens, waving flags and shouts of welcome, Master Sgt. Gerard Thomas and his wife Antonya arrived Friday for their first visit to the Vineyard.

Last week Doris Clark of Vineyard Haven became the first African American to lead the Martha’s Vineyard Seacoast Defense chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

The Marthas’s Vineyard Seacoast Defence Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), sponsored the wreath-laying ceremony in front of the Edgartown courthouse Monday.

The closing ceremony for the yearly American Heroes Saltwater Challenge had passed, but there was still one more award to hand out.