Photo By Grant Sattler | The 11th Airborne Division Commander Maj. Gen. Brian Eifler, veteran of the 11th ABN...... read more read more
FORT WAINWRIGHT -- The 11th Airborne Division Commander Maj. Gen. Brian Eifler and Command Sgt. Maj. Vern Daley conducted a commemoration ceremony on Fort Wainwright June 8 in the physical fitness center, naming the facility the Fryar Fitness Complex in memory of Medal of Honor Recipient Pvt. Elmer E. Fryar.
Earlier in the week, the 11th Airborne Division Headquarters building on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson was commemorated in honor of Division Medal of Honor Recipient Pfc. Manuel Perez Jr.
Fryar was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously for actions during combat in the Pacific while assigned to the 511th Parachute Infantry, 11th Airborne Division, in World War II.
An excerpt from his citation reads as follows:
"Seeing an enemy platoon moving to outflank his company, he moved to higher ground and opened heavy and accurate fire. He was hit, and wounded, but continuing his attack he drove the enemy back with a loss of 27 killed. While withdrawing to overtake his squad, he found a seriously wounded comrade, helped him to the rear, and soon overtook his platoon leader, who was assisting another wounded. While these four were moving to rejoin their platoon, an enemy sniper appeared and aimed his weapon at the platoon leader. Pvt. Fryar instantly sprang forward, received the full burst of automatic fire in his own body and fell mortally wounded. With his remaining strength he threw a hand grenade and killed the sniper."
Speaking before assembled soldiers, dignitaries and veterans of the 11th ABN DIV and their families, Eifler explained the significance of the memorialization.
“A year ago this week we reactivated the 11th Airborne Division, which lay like a sleeping giant for about fifty years. It is really something to remember the history of the Division,” Eifler said.
Eifler noted most jump-qualified soldiers of the last half-century have jumped onto Fryar Drop Zone in their final week of the United States Army Airborne School training at Fort Benning, now called Fort Moore, without knowing the story of Pvt. Fryar for whom Fryar Field is named. “We aim to change that,” he said.
The Fryar Fitness Complex includes the existing gymnasium, weight and fitness spaces and ice rink, with the addition next summer of a $24-million aquatics center currently under construction. The complex will also include the new fitness annex, now in design and with anticipated completion in 2026, that will have an elevated running track.
“It is fitting that this complex, and really the future complex, where all soldiers and families will walk through, bears his name. It will be very clear who Pvt. Fryar was and what he did,” Eifler said. “We can’t forget the history of what this Division has done.”
Concluding his remarks to the assembled group, Eifler said, “In our Division song it says ‘It’s a gory road to glory.’ That may have been written tongue in cheek by the troopers way back in World War II, but it is true. As Pfc. Perez and Pvt. Fryar have done, they said that last line… ‘But we’re ready, here we go!’”
The commemoration was a key event in the Division’s celebration of the first anniversary of its reactivation in Alaska. Soldiers and families celebrated the first Arctic Rendezvous Week June 5-9 with ceremonies, airborne and air assault demonstrations, sports competitions and recreational activities at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson and Fort Wainwright.
| Date Taken: | 06.09.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 06.09.2023 15:48 |
| Story ID: | 446644 |
| Location: | FAIRBANKS, ALASKA, US |
| Web Views: | 277 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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