Photo By Seaman Apprentice Christine Walters | The Navy Medicine Training Support Command held a memorial service for Hospital...... read more read more
JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO- FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas - The Navy Medicine Training Support Command (NMTSC) honored Medal of Honor recipient, Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class John T. Fralish during a memorial ceremony held here on Feb. 6, 2026. The ceremony, attended by the command’s leadership, Chief Petty Officer Mess, students and veterans, served as a solemn reminder of the dedication required by those who serve.
Born Sept. 27, 1975, in Lynchburg, Virginia, Fralish was working in the food service equipment industry when the attacks of September 11 occurred. Driven by a profound need to serve, he joined the Navy in 2002. Fralish’s dedication led him to the front lines of the War on Terror in northeast Afghanistan, where he was killed in action on Feb. 6, 2006.
“I, like many others in attendance, never had the honor to know Petty Officer Fralish,” said U.S. Navy Capt. Richard Lawrence, NMTSC’s commanding officer, as he addressed the audience. “He was reported to be an individual, that regardless of who you asked, was always going to be someone special. He started his Navy career as many other sailors do: a person that had mixed experiences but shared a common goal just as the students here now - to be a Hospital Corpsman.”
The students in attendance are currently enrolled in the Hospital Corpsman Basic (HCB) course at NMTSC, which serves as the "quarterdeck of the Hospital Corps." As the largest "A" School in the Navy, this 14-week program transforms over 2,400 Sailors annually into entry-level medical professionals that serve Marines, Sailors and their families across the world.
In reflection of Fralish’s dedication and heroic actions, Lawrence emphasized the life-saving skills taught at HCB telling the students, "The knowledge imparted here will become very important, when you least expect it."
The first official memorial ceremony honoring Fralish was held in April 2011, which included the formal opening and dedication of "Fralish Hall," a barracks building for HCB students. Ever since then NMTSC has remembered the hero annually.
This year’s ceremony included the presentation of Colors and the singing of the National Anthem and remarks by Lawrence and retired U.S. Navy Senior Chief Hospital Corpsman Jerod Napier.
“When I see our national ensign flying between these buildings, I would like to offer that it does not wave because the wind moves it. It waves because of the last breath of each military member, like Petty Officer Fralish, who died protecting it,” said Lawrence as he closed.
The ceremony concluded after a reading of Fralish’s biography, a wreath presentation, and a final roll call.
| Date Taken: | 03.03.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 03.03.2026 15:30 |
| Story ID: | 559311 |
| Location: | TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 17 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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