Photo By Maj. Joshua Page | Citizens and members of the Oklahoma Army National Guard held a closing ceremony for...... read more read more
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POTEAU, Okla. -- Soldiers, veterans and citizens alike gathered for the closure of a long-standing Army National Guard armory during a ceremony in Poteau, Oklahoma, August 6. The closing signifies the transfer of the building from the Soldiers of Bravo Troop, 1st Squadron, 180th Cavalry Regiment, 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team to Carl Albert State College.
“I just want to thank the Poteau community,” said Capt. Roy Newnam, commander of Bravo Troop, 180th Cavalry Regiment. “They’ve always been strong supporters for this unit, from Company I all the way to Bravo Troop.”
The ceremony also paid tribute to Sgt. Buddy “Doc” Hughie, who lost his life providing medical assistance to two wounded Afghan Army soldiers, Feb. 19, 2007. Hughie was a native of Poteau and a medic with Bravo Troop during their deployment in Afghanistan.
An engraved marble memorial in his honor that had its home at the Poteau armory is being replicated and donated to the Leflore County Museum in Poteau. The original will go with the unit to their new home station at the Armed Forces Reserve Center in McAlester, Oklahoma.
Speaking at the ceremony was retired Sgt. Louis Dorey, a Korean war veteran who served as a supply clerk in Company I, 180th Infantry Regiment, the first unit to occupy the Poteau armory.
Among those in attendance were Hughie’s mother, Julie Hicks, and her family, State Representative Rick West of District 3, State Senator Mark Allen of District 4, President of Carl Albert College, Jay Falkner, and the Mayor of Poteau, Jeff Shockley.
The building was opened July 5, 1955, as the home station for Company I, 180th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division, shortly after their return home from the Korean War. Over the years, the 180th has served the nation at war, and the state in crisis. Its battle streamers include World War II, the Korean War, Afghanistan in 2003, 2006, 2008, the war with Iraq in 2008, and Kuwait in 2011. The regiment proudly served during the McAlester Prison Riots of 1973, in the Sinai Peninsula in 2002, and supported recovery operations during Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
In support of Freedom Sentinel, the current Soldiers of Bravo Troop are deploying later this year.
The Poteau armory is the only currently planned armory closing in Oklahoma.
| Date Taken: | 08.06.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 08.07.2017 15:27 |
| Story ID: | 243960 |
| Location: | POTEAU, OKLAHOMA, US |
| Web Views: | 1,671 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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