Fort Polk remembers fallen heroes during ceremony

Photo By Chuck Cannon | Sgt. 1st Class Antonio Turegano (left), Command Sgt. Maj. David W. Bass, JRTC and Fort Polk command sergeant major (center) and Brig. Gen. Patrick D. Frank place the installation wreath during the Memorial Day ceremony May 23.  

FORT POLK, LA, UNITED STATES

05.23.2019

Story by Chuck Cannon 

Fort Johnson Public Affairs Office

FORT POLK, La. — Family members, friends and fellow Soldiers gathered for a Memorial Day ceremony May 23 at Fort Polk’s Warrior Memorial Park to honor the memory of those who gave their lives in the defense of freedom.
Brig. Gen. Patrick D. Frank, commander, Joint Readiness Training Center and Fort Polk, told those who gathered on a warm, humid Louisiana morning that their attendance was appreciated as the installation honored the sacrifices of the Soldiers, Marines, sailors and airmen who dedicated their lives to defending the nation.
Franks said at last year’s ceremony he spoke about the National Cemetery at Arlington, Virginia. He said he was asked after the May 22 daily retreat was sounded in front of the Fort Polk Headquarters Building, why he waited in place for seven minutes while the honor detail took down and folded the American flag.
“By regulation, I could have left as soon as the flag was down,” Frank said. “The reason is straightforward — when you have saluted a fallen Soldier’s flag-draped casket on the back of a U.S. Air Force C-17 that is en route to the United States from locations like Kandahar, Baghram, Baghdad and Mosul, then you can easily wait for seven minutes and render honors to our nation and its fallen.”
Frank gave a brief history of Memorial Day, first observed as Decoration Day on May 30, 1868, to commemorate the sacrifices of Civil War Soldiers.
“Now, 151 years later, Memorial Day is as real for our generation as it was for the Civil War generation in 1868. It is not decades removed — we have lost Soldiers from our own formations during the last 17-plus years of combat operations.”
The crowd reflected on the 96 names inscribed on the Fort Polk Global War on Terrorism Memorial — Fort Polk Soldiers lost since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in New York, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C. — Frank said few of them are buried in Arlington.
“The C-17 that I described in Kandahar, Afghanistan departed for the United States and Dover Air Force Base, but for the vast majority of our fallen Soldiers, they return to their hometowns for their final resting place,” he said. “In these hometowns across America, our Gold Star Families are embraced by the communities that share the values of duty, honor and country.”
Frank said that recently, the former battalion commander, company commander and first sergeant visited the hometown of one of their Soldiers, Spc. Alexander Missildine, 710th Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, the 96th name on the monument.
“It was an emotional meeting with his Family, who described their home as the house that Alex built in the land that he defended,” Frank said. “These are the sacrifices of our fallen Soldiers and their Gold Star Families — lost birthdays, weddings, births and anniversaries; neighborhood walks with the Family; and dreams for the future.
“It is the intersection of pride in the military service of their Soldier and the embrace of patriotic hometown values that provide the most comfort and ensure these American heroes will always be honored.”
Frank said Soldiers from Fort Polk will continue to engage the enemies of the United States, just as combat formations on the installation have done since World War II, Korea and Vietnam.
“Our Soldiers remain on point for our nation, deployed throughout the Middle East, Africa and Europe, providing security for the United States and our allies,” Frank said.
One of those Gold Star Family members in attendance was Betty Keaton, whose husband, Capt. Everett Keaton, Delta Company, 9th Infantry Division, was killed in action in Vietnam Jan. 20, 1970.
“My husband had a new man walking point and decided to go out with him to make sure the new man knew what he was doing,” Keaton said. “The point man triggered a booby trap and my husband pushed him away, taking the full brunt of the blast.”
Keaton said her husband was posthumously awarded the Silver Star for his actions.
“It happened just four days after his 29th birthday,” she said. “It’s still fresh in memory; I still think about him every day.”
Another Gold Star Family member who attended the event was Sandra McCoy, the mother of Staff Sgt. Donisha Stroman.
Stroman survived a deployment to Iraq only to be killed by a hit and run driver in Lake Charles, Oct. 29, 2016.
“It’s important for me to attend these ceremonies, to help keep her memory alive,” McCoy said. “It’s not fair. She was 25 years old. She was my baby. It was devastating.”
After Frank’s address, the 96 names on the Global War on Terrorism monument were read as a bell tolled after each name. That was followed by a 21-gun salute fired by Bravo Battery, 5th Battalion, 25th Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd BCT, 10th Mtn Div.
After the salute, Spc. Terry L. Turner Jr. sounded Taps and Spc. Corry D. Cullins raised the national colors. The two Soldiers are members of 32nd Hospital Center.
Chap. (Maj.) William J. Glenn began the ceremony with the invocation. Frank, Command Sgt. Maj. David W. Bass, JRTC and Fort Polk command sergeant major, and Turegano then placed the installation wreath at the base of the Global War on Terrorism monument.
Frank closed by thanking those who attended the ceremony for taking time to honor and remember the Soldiers, Marines, sailors, airmen and National Guardsmen who gave their lives to protect freedom, liberty and the American way of life.
“May we never forget how special it is to live in a nation that has brave citizen volunteers step forward to become members of the world’s greatest military force,” he said.

• Date Taken: 05.23.2019
• Date Posted: 05.24.2019 10:30
• Story ID: 323876
• Location: FORT POLK, LA, US