Courtesy Photo | Maj. Hector Martinez, former 311th Quartermaster Company (Mortuary Affairs) commander,...... read more read more
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To commemorate those who lost their lives during the Sept. 11 attacks, the 1st Mission Support Command, U.S. Army Garrison Fort Buchanan, the Puerto Rico National Guard and other federal and local agencies participated in a ceremony at Fort Buchanan on Sept. 11.
Major Hector Martinez, former commander for the 311th Quartermaster Company (QM Co) Mortuary Affairs (MA), was the guest speaker for the commemoration. “Today for the first time, I share with you a brief account of a group of Soldiers from Puerto Rico who were called upon to a mission of National importance,” Martinez said. “Fourteen years ago these Soldiers were “Ready, Resilient and Relevant” as our Soldiers are today,” he added.
Martinez gave examples of how these Soldiers from the 311th QM Co. demonstrated the 1st MSC’s motto of being “Ready, Resilient and Relevant”.
Soldiers were “Ready” as more than 100 members of the 311th QM Co. (MA) reported to their unit and volunteered to deploy. 85 Soldiers were selected to deploy and departed that same day, September 14, 2001 and another 105 Soldiers joined them on September 26.
“Many Soldiers were new to the unit, some had arrived from Basic Training just a month before,” said Martinez. “We had a perfect combination of veteran Noncommissioned Officers (NCOs) and new Soldiers which were key to the rapid integration and mission success on all tasks.”
As described by Martinez, Soldiers were “Resilient”. They said good bye to their families and worked long hours at the Pentagon crash site. Martinez stated, “Our Soldiers are weather proof, they were the only ones that could endure working for prolonged hours in biohazard suits in the hot weather days of September and were also able to endure the winter cold as they continued their mission for the next three months.”
The performance of these Soldiers was always “Relevant”. These Soldiers sifted through ten thousand tons of ruble in search of remains and personal effects. After establishing the Joint Personal Effect Depot, they were able to recover, clean, catalog and return more than 10,000 personal effects to their owners or surviving family members.
Martinez and the Soldiers from the 311th QM CO (MA) served our Country without hesitation and clearly defined themselves as a true “First Class Outfit”. “We are proud to be a part of the 9/11 Generation that has answered our Country’s call,” said Martinez.
In addition to honoring those who are no longer with us as a result of the events of September 11, the ceremony paid respects to members of the military and all first responders who work every day for the protection of freedom, and provided an opportunity for military and civilian community members to reflect on the tragedies that occurred on that day.
As part of the ceremony, four wreaths were placed in front of the 1st MSC Headquarters in remembrance of those who perished during the attack and for those in uniform who have paid the ultimate sacrifice fighting the war on terror. The first wreath was on behalf of the United States Military, the second on behalf of the first responders, the third corresponding to the local community and the fourth representing the Department of Defense.
The ceremony concluded with the tolling of the bell, a 21-Gun Salute, and a bugler from the 248th Army Band from the PRNG playing taps.
| Date Taken: | 09.11.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 09.23.2015 16:17 |
| Story ID: | 177007 |
| Location: | PR |
| Web Views: | 84 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Remembering 9/11 “Ready, Resilient, Relevant”, by LTC Ruth Castro, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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