Photo By 1st Sgt. Jessica Barnett | Maj. Gen. Joseph Martin, 1st Infantry Division and Fort Riley commanding general,...... read more read more
In a ceremony held at 1st Infantry Division headquarters on Fort Riley, Kansas, Aug. 20, the division claimed the honor of being the first yet again as they celebrate 100 years of victory during Victory Week.
Soldiers carrying the colors of each unit belonging to the 1st Inf. Div. formed a line behind the Commanding General’s Mounted Color Guard in the garb of World War I Soldiers, representing the beginning of the lineage of the “Fighting First.”
Bowing their heads for the invocation, the audience listened to Chap. (Lt. Col.) Shmuel L. Felzenberg, 1st Inf. Div. deputy chaplain. The prayer emphasized a celebration of the organization coming together to fulfill a mission of national need.
“These units individually may seem to share little in common,” Felzenberg said. “They seamlessly have come together time and again in the true national spirit of ‘E Pluribus Unum’ – creating out of many, one. The unmatchable ‘Big Red One.’”
A booming report “Old Thunder,” a replica of a Revolutionary War-era canon, fired by a team led by Sgt. Steven Underwood of the 1st Infantry Division Artillery, signaled the start of the ceremony and the arrival of the official party.
As the official party reached their seats, Maj. Gen. Joseph M. Martin rendered salute to the commander of troops with a 13-round volley from the guns of the DIVARTY salute battery, led by Staff Sgt. Miguel Ramirez.
As the smoke began to clear, the 1st Infantry Division Band played the national anthem and honors.
“The story of America’s first division is the story of the nation over the last 100 years,” said Sgt. 1st Class Rob Frazier, 1st Inf. Div. Public Affairs operations noncommissioned officer. “It is the story of conflict and peace; of service and sacrifice; of honor and duty; of leadership and victory.”
Soldiers carrying the colors of the eight regiments that made up the First American Expeditionary Force during World War I marched to position behind the color guard. As the lineage of World War I was completed, they returned to their place among the line of colors that have been a part of the 1st Inf. Div.
This process repeated with the lineage being read from every major conflict to the present day. Each of the division’s regiments was honored and their accomplishments read off.
Thunderous applause hailed the end of the reading of the lineage as Maj. Gen. Joseph Martin, 1st Inf. Div. and Fort Riley commanding general, took the podium.
“This post, this team of teams, knows how to build readiness like no other in the United States, I’ll just call it — I guess I’m a little bit biased,” Martin said. “There’s people out there that want to do harm to the people of this county. So if our Soldiers can deploy somewhere, execute their warfighter competencies to the highest standard as its always done, then whatever region that they were in will be safer. If that region is more stable than I can guarantee you, our supporters, our families, will be safer.
“This is the third time that I have served in this division. That gives you, as someone who’s had the honor to do that, understanding of the hard work, sacrifice and commitment to prepare an organization to do what this team of teams has done repeatedly over time.”
Victory Week is an annual event that encourages re-embrace and esprit de corps for Big Red One Soldiers and supporters.
“Don’t ever forget what had been done,” Martin said. “It needs to be your rallying call as you move forward, as leaders, as Soldiers, as supporters, as spouses.”
| Date Taken: | 08.21.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 08.23.2017 19:44 |
| Story ID: | 245712 |
| Location: | FORT RILEY, KS, US |
| Web Views: | 40 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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