Remember fallen warriors

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Seraiah Hines
  • 17th Training Wing Public Affairs
SAN ANGELO, Texas --  Members of Goodfellow Air Force Base, Texas, and the community of San Angelo participated in several events during Memorial Day, May 28. Memorial Day was originally established in 1968 as a day to remember all of the American military members who have fallen in times of war.

The events started at Old Fort Concho with Lt. Col. Abraham Salomon, 17th Training Support Squadron commander, giving a speech regarding honor and why individuals serve.

“Since World War I, we’ve had over 645,000 who have died in the line of duty, for us,” said Salomon. “Some may ask, ‘Why we do it? Why do we do this?’ We all enlisted and we all took an oath for various reasons, but I boil it down to one common theme, I think it’s because of the people. It’s the people that make a nation.

“At the end of the day, some of us will come back from our deployments, and we will still hear the battles of war. It resonates, for what is more painful than the silence of our friends that don’t make it home. The battles of war we can live with, but it’s the silence of our friends and family that haunt us.”

During another event at the Vietnam Memorial near the San Angelo Regional Airport also known as Mathis Field, Col. Ricky Mills, 17th Training Wing commander, reminisced on the various times he has served overseas.

“In other countries they have Remembrance Day, held on the same day as our Veterans Day,” said Mills. “What really blew me away while I was serving in other countries, is they always pay tribute to American military members as well.”

One of the last events of the day was a ceremonial wreath laying at the memorial in front of the courthouse. Lt. Col. Yukio Kuniyuki, 344th Military Intelligence Battalion commander, spoke about the history of honoring those who have fallen in war.

“If you look into the history, it goes back more than 2,500 years,” said Kuniyuki. “When the people of Athens would honor their fallen. Something that I want to leave with you is to make a difference. It is up to each and every one of us to make the choice to make a difference.”