Photo By Tech. Sgt. Rebeccah Woodrow | Members of the 724th Air Mobility Squadron participate in a memorial run at Aviano Air...... read more read more
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AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy – Members of the 724th Air Mobility Squadron held a Port Dawg memorial run, June 18, 2020 at Aviano Air Base, Italy.
The memorial run is held annually throughout the career field as a way to honor those members that have fallen while serving as a ‘Port Dawg.’ Port Dawgs are air transportation specialists serving at aerial ports around the world and consider themselves a tight-knit group, comparable to a family.
Airman 1st Class Juan Pedraza Cupido, 724th AMS aircraft services technician, said, “This run symbolizes our deep feelings for our fallen brothers and sisters. Every step is a symbol dedicated to the hard work that our fallen members put in every single day on and off the job.”
Names of the fallen members were read as cargo tie-downs, that symbolize each person to be remembered, were passed out to some the runners. The runners hold on to the tie-downs throughout the run until returning back and placing the tie-downs onto a chain.
“It’s an event every Port Dawg looks forward to every year,” said Pedraza Cupido.
This year, 724th AMS members ran on the flightline and honored nine fellow Port Dawgs:
• Senior Airman Shawn A. McKeough Jr., 19th Logistics Readiness Squadron, Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark.
• Staff Sgt. Michael G. Gibbons, 437th Aerial Port Squadron, Joint-Base Charleston, S.C.
• Senior Master Sgt. John B. Briggs, 164th LRS, Memphis, Tenn.
• Senior Airman Dane T. Johnson, 728th Air Mobility Squadron, Incirlik Air Base, Turkey
• Airman 1st Class Carl M. Otto, 62nd APS, Joint-Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.
• Senior Airman Kayli S. Jefferson-Henkel, 921st Contingency Response Squadron, Travis AFB, Calif.
• Staff Sgt. Allyssandra C. M. Powers, 74th APS, Joint-Base San Antonio, Texas
• Senior Airman Sydni R. Barnes, 19th LRS, Little Rock AFB, Ark.
• Staff Sgt. Eric J. Poole, 94th APS, Robins AFB, Ga.
“This year’s run hit home for me,” said Pedraza Cupido. “One of the fallen members, Senior Airman Shawn McKeough, was a ‘big brother’ figure for me at my first base (Osan AB, Korea). Shawn personally came up to me on my first day on the job and showed me around the base, even though he wasn’t even my sponsor. After hearing about his heroism in a gas station, everyone who knew him, knew that his heroics is something he would’ve done naturally.”
Pedraza Cupido went on, “The Port Dawg community is a community of family. Each and every Port Dawg is imbedded with a sense of belonging. The logistics world can get very busy, but at the end of the day, Port Dawgs always prevail.”
| Date Taken: | 06.18.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 06.18.2020 04:53 |
| Story ID: | 372353 |
| Location: | AVIANO AIR BASE, IT |
| Web Views: | 79 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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