Photo By Sgt. Kenneth Tucceri | All five service flags along with the POW MIA flag circle the track during the POW MIA...... read more read more
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GUANTANAMO BAY Cuba- Friday, Sept. 19 was National POW MIA Recognition Day. To honor our country’s prisoners of war and those missing in action, Naval Station Guantanamo Bay’s community came together to support a 24-hour run that brought a POW MIA flag continuously around Cooper Field’s track and
culminated with a ceremony, led by Navy Capt. John Nettleton, NAVSTA’s commander, at the downtown flagpole. “America’s history shines with patriots who’ve answered the call to serve,”said Nettleton while quoting President Barrack Obama’s proclamation for National POW MIA Recognition Day 2014. “From Minutemen who gathered on a green in Lexington to a great generation that faced down communism and all those in our military today, their sacrifices have strengthened our nation and helped secure more than two centuries of freedom.”
Nettleton went on quoting Obama’s proclamation: “Today we acknowledge that we owe a profound debt of gratitude to all those who have given of themselves to protect our union and our way of life, and we honor them by working to uphold this sacred trust.”
The flagpole ceremony, which ended with the raising of the POW MIA flag by U.S. Naval Hospital Guantanamo Bay’s Color Guard, is an annual event, yet the 24-hour run was inaugural to GTMO.
Air Force Lt. Col. Patrick Miller, commander of the 474th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron, was responsible for setting up the event along with the 474th ECES and the Base Emergency Engineering Force.
“A large part of our squadron is from Joint Base Charleston, and we do a similar 24-hour vigilant run back there. So I asked the question if NAVSTA was open to us sponsoring it, and they were all game, and that’s how it all started.”
The run began immediately after "The Star-Spangled Banner" on Sept. 18. Units and other groups volunteered to fill half hour blocks for the 24 hours.
“The turnout was great,” said Miller. “We’ve got the youth center signed up for a block. It was open to families, retirees, everybody on NAVSTA … So the turnout was good, support was good, and we’ve got all the blocks filled.”
Some units ran with service flags that were available and others brought their unit’s guidon. According to Air Force Staff Sgt. Sara Wade, a member of the 474th ECES, who was at Cooper Field almost the entire time keeping track of mileage, the number of participants and other statistics, said units even injected some friendly competition into the event.
“There were a few Army groups that came back multiple times,” said Wade. “They were battling each other to see who had the most laps ran. I think they were up into the 600s.” She added that was not enough to keep up with the BEEF, as they exceeded 700 laps at that point.
From 6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m., the base’s CrossFit group, with members from a variety of military branches and civilians, signed up to run with the flag, introducing an element relevant to their group’s ethos.
“We will be taking turns with the flag one at a time. While one person is running the rest of us will be doing burpees for the whole hour,” said Army Staff Sgt. Tara Steranko, a member of the 342nd Military Police Company, prior to participation.
At the near conclusion of the 24 hours, a group of service members, representing all five branches, each carried their services flag along with the POW MIA flag and ran down Sherman Avenue to the flagpole to end the run with NAVSTA’s ceremony, appropriately linking the two commemorative activities.
“Our POWs and MIAs went through a heck of a lot,” said Miller. “So there are different ways to say thanks to remember to show appreciation for what they did. This is just an opportunity for folks to keep the POW MIA flag moving around the track out here for a 24 hour period … Just time for some reflection, appreciation, a tribute to what those men and women sacrificed during that period. As we all know, some of them didn’t come home, and this is a way to say thank you and remember what they did.”
According to Wade, approximately 323 runners ran 4,416 laps. The total miles ran, including the service members running the flags to the ceremony, was 1,106.5 miles.
| Date Taken: | 09.26.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 09.26.2014 11:15 |
| Story ID: | 143365 |
| Location: | GUANTANAMO BAY, CU |
| Web Views: | 122 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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