Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Shane Hamann | Soldiers assigned to the 3rd General Support Aviation Battalion, 126th Aviation...... read more read more
Soldiers assigned to the 3rd General Support Aviation Battalion, 126th Aviation Regiment (3-126th GSAB), Massachusetts Army National Guard, conducted a ruck march honoring fallen service members on May 28-29, 2023 at Camp Buehring, Kuwait. The 3-126th GSAB is deployed as part of the 185th Expeditionary Combat Aviation Brigade, Mississippi Army National Guard to support aviation operations for Operations Inherent Resolve, Spartan Shield, and New Normal.
The GSAB Soldiers mirrored an annual event in Massachusetts called Vest Up for the Fallen, a memorial event that 1st Sgt. Hercules Lobo, the senior enlisted advisor of Company E, 3-126 GSAB, has participated for the last three years.
Vest Up for the Fallen is a 65-mile walk that started in Boston, Massachusetts to honor the victims of the Baton Death March after Allied forces surrendered to the Japanese in the Philippines during World War II. It has since grown to honor all service members that have been lost, said Lobos.
Lobos became involved with the Vest Up for the Fallen organization after attending a Yellow Ribbon event that connects service members and families with post-deployment services such as financial and health services. It includes Post Traumatic Stress Disorder awareness and treatment. Lobos previously suffered a personal loss when his friend and colleague committed suicide after their deployment together to Afghanistan in 2010.
“We were ambushed in Afghanistan,” said Lobos. “I was the gunner, and he was the [truck commander] when we were hit. If not for him, I wouldn’t be here today.”
Lobos began walking in the Vest Up for the Fallen ruck march to honor his friend. He developed a special fondness for the event in honoring the memory of all fallen service members. After participating the last three years he did not want to miss one. He approached the event organizers about sponsoring a satellite event at Camp Buehring.
“I told her that I would be making an effort to mirror the event from Kuwait, but it would be different because of the heat and safety precautions,” said Lobo.
Lobo began planning an event at Camp Buehring shortly after arriving in April even though it was short notice and not 65 miles to endanger anyone’s safety. Lobo mapped out the route, conducted a Deliberate Risk Assessment, and organized medical and logistical support to conduct the march safely despite the high temperatures of the Kuwait desert.
Word of mouth spread the news of his endeavor. Other Soldiers in the brigade volunteered to walk with him. On the evening of May 28, after the temperature cooled to tolerable 94 degrees, Lobos and 11 other Soldiers stepped off to start their memorial walk. It lasted into the morning of May 29, Memorial Day.
“It’s done every Memorial Day for a reason,” said Lobos. “They are no longer with us. They don’t have the ground under their feet and we do. It’s to keep their memory and sacrifices alive.”
Lobos is working with the base support battalion and the Moral, Welfare, and Recreation department at Camp Buehring to organize a larger event in November to coincide with Veterans Day.
| Date Taken: | 05.29.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 06.01.2023 08:04 |
| Story ID: | 445934 |
| Location: | CAMP BUEHRING, KW |
| Web Views: | 326 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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