1st Battalion (Expect No Mercy), 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, remembers Soldiers in twilight ceremony

Photo By Command Sgt. Maj. Ryan Matson | Lt. Col. Doug Gabram, Commander, 1st Battalion, 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, speaks with Soldiers during the battalion's twilight Memorial Day program.  

TIKRIT, IRAQ

06.01.2006

Courtesy Story

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CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE SPEICHER, IRAQ -- Throughout the Army, probably hundreds of ceremonies were held on Memorial Day to honor America's fallen Soldiers. A small, personal ceremony was held by 1st Battalion, 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, to honor Soldiers of the past.

At 8:45 p.m., just as the sun was falling behind the desert sand, 1st Battalion held a formation outside the battalion's Tactical Operations Center. The gathering was a chance for Lt. Col. Doug Gabram, the battalion commander, to address his Soldiers.

"I just want to take a few minutes and talk about this day and what it means to me and what it should mean to all of you," he told the group.

Gabram has deployed with 1st Battalion three times " once as a company commander with the battalion in Operation Desert Storm, now, as their battalion commander for a second time to Operation Iraqi Freedom. "I've been to too many memorials, and heard taps too many times - I don't want to hear it anymore," he said.

He said that the Soldiers who are completing their first deployment will forever have a new perspective on the day when they return, especially those who have lost friends. He also encouraged the Soldiers to stay focused and continue to work harder as the deployment draws closer to an end.

"I can see it in all your eyes, you're tired," he said. "But we have to continue to push hard and not grow complacent, from the Soldiers in the motorpool to the guys flying the aircraft."

He also reminded the Soldiers of the threat that they face.

"The enemy will want to kill you more on your last day here than on your first," he said. "They would throw our flag on the ground right now if they could and burn it. Since we started this deployment, my job has been to get you home safely and I will be focused even harder during our last days here. But we've got several hundred missions to go, and we can't let complacency get in our way."

In a final thought on the day, Gabram said, "We need to think about all those who made that ultimate sacrifice, because freedom is not free, as inscribed as the wall of our headquarters. Only one percent of our country's population is in the military, so for those who are, that's something to be proud of."

Following Gabram's talk with the Soldiers, he instructed 1st Sgt. Brian O'Leary, the first sergeant of Company D, to read the poem, "No, Freedom Isn't Free" by Kelly Strong, and taps was played. The poem ended with the lines,


"I thought of all the children,
Of the mothers and the wives,
Of fathers, sons and husbands
With interrupted lives.

I thought about a graveyard
At the bottom of the sea
Of unmarked graves in Arlington.
No, freedom isn't free!!"

• Date Taken: 06.01.2006
• Date Posted: 06.01.2006 14:36
• Story ID: 6633
• Location: TIKRIT, IQ