Photo By Lt. Col. Brian Mason | CAMP JOSEPH T. ROBINSON - North Little Rock, ARK. The Family, friends, Soldiers and...... read more read more
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ROBINSON MANEUVER TRAINING CENTER, NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The threat of rain didn’t dampen the spirits of attendees as the Arkansas National Guard celebrated and remembered the lives of its fallen Soldiers May 2, 2021, on the grounds of the Post Chapel.
Roughly 50 military members and eight Gold Star family members of fallen Arkansas National Guardsmen gathered to remember the lives of those enshrined on eight concrete panels that complete the memorial. Eight is significant because the Arkansas National Guard and its predecessor, the militia, have been called to federal service eight times for combat, or when there was a danger for combat. Those eight times are: the war with Mexico, the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, Korean War, Operation Desert Storm, and the Global War on Terrorism.
“We must never forget the sacrifices of those who’ve worn our nation’s uniform have made,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Steven Veazey, the Arkansas National Guard’s senior enlisted leader. “From as far back as America’s war with Mexico to today, those names on those panels on the Arkansas National Guard Fallen Soldier Memorial mean something. They each fought for a cause bigger than themselves. They gave their life for their country, so that you and I can be free. That’s why we come together every May, because we cannot forget. We must not forget, because they didn’t die in vain.”
Complete with a firing party, a bugler for Taps, and a Soldier who rang a bell for each of the 46 names on the eight panels and once more symbolically for all Soldiers who perished in the Civil War, the ceremony ensured Arkansas’ fallen wouldn’t be forgotten.
Sgt. 1st Class Justin Fisher was the ceremony’s keynote speaker. He described in detail the chaos that ensued after the enemy ambushed his small team of Arkansans and Iraqi military at night on Haifa Street in Baghdad, and the events that led to Sgt. 1st Class Troy Miranda’s death at the hands of the enemy. Miranda was part of a rescue team sent to help extract Fisher and his team from danger.
As Miranda’s team navigated the same treacherous path, “an [improvised explosive device] placed in an alley way took Sgt. 1st Class Miranda’s life that night,” Fisher said.
Maj. Gen Kendall Penn, Arkansas’ adjutant general, and Veazey placed a wreath to honor those who had died on the battlefield.
The overwhelming majority of Soldiers remembered on the memorial perished in two conflicts: 21 from the militia in the war with Mexico, and 20 Arkansas National Guardsmen during Operation Iraqi Freedom. An additional three perished in World War II, and three perished in the Korean War.
A recording of the ceremony is available on the Arkansas National Guard’s Facebook page.
| Date Taken: | 05.06.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 05.06.2021 10:30 |
| Story ID: | 395802 |
| Location: | NORTH LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS, US |
| Web Views: | 275 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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