Photo By Senior Master Sgt. Cohen Young | Service members and civilian personnel bow in prayer while at the Hickam Main Chapel,...... read more read more
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JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii -- Soldiers, sailors, airmen and civilian personnel gathered at the Hickam Main Chapel, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii on Jan 14 to celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in recognition of the holiday named in his honor, Jan. 17.
King was the chief spokesman for non-violent activism in the civil Rights movement, which successfully protested racial discrimination in Federal and state law. Former President Ronald Reagan signed a proclamation for there to be a holiday in Dr. King’s honor in 1983, and it was first observed, Jan. 20,1986.
King spoke often of a unified world where color would have no barrier and those sentiments were echoed by Air Force Chaplain, Capt. Anthony Wiggins during the recognition ceremony.
“We are here on a joint base, in a joint effort in different colored uniforms representing different branches of the military made up of multi-colored people showing the strength of diversity, which is a great way to reflect Dr. Kings vision of different colors serving together,” said Wiggins, the native of Sawyerville, Ala.
The holiday means a lot to many people, but to those that are from the southern area, it tends to mean that much more. “The holiday is very meaningful to me since I grew up in Alabama and I’m aware of the changes that came about as a result of Dr. King’s efforts,” said Wiggins.
Excerpts of King’s, I Have A Dream Speech” were played during the ceremony, along with reenactments of famous moments that occurred during the Civil Rights Movement to include when former President Ronald Reagan signed the proclamation making King’s birthday a federal holiday and the scene of the “I Have A Dream Speech.”
Joint Base Commander U.S. Navy Capt. Richard Kitchens presented community service awards. Captain Kitchens recognized the Hickam Top Three, Hickam’s Company Grade Officers Organization and the members of the Crommelin for their outstanding volunteer and community work in Hawaii as well as abroad.
Members of the USS Crommelin performed various community projects when deployed to Cambodia, Malaysia and the Philippines.
“It’s really nice for our crew to be recognized for some of the work we do when we’re deployed,” said USS Crommelin administration officer Lt. Luke Adams. “We get the chance to really help people that need it when we’re deployed…some of the areas that we’ve been to are among the poorest and we’re honored to do our part.
| Date Taken: | 01.14.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 01.17.2011 18:46 |
| Story ID: | 63703 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, HI, US |
| Web Views: | 62 |
| Downloads: | 6 |
This work, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is means more than A Holiday, by SMSgt Cohen Young, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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