Remember with me

  • Published
  • By Col. Richard Ayres
  • 17th Training Wing Commander
As Memorial Day approaches, I ask one thing of the men and women at Team Goodfellow: remember with me.

Memorial Day is a time for remembering the fallen, those who have given their lives in the cause of freedom, and so I ask that you remember our fallen with me.

Remember Airman 1st Class Elizabeth Jacobson, one of our own from the 17th Security Forces Squadron, who died when her convoy was struck by a roadside bomb. Airman Jacobson was the first security forces member and the first female Airman to be killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom, but more importantly, she was an Airman in the United States Air Force and a part of Team Goodfellow. Remember her.

Remember with me the 4,983 Airmen, Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Coast Guardsmen who have fallen in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, like Marine Lance Cpl. Elias Torrez, of Veribest, who died in Fallujah, Iraq, in 2004, and Marine Pfc. Jason Poindexter, of San Angelo, who died due to enemy action in Al Anbar, Iraq later that year. Remember also the 58,209 servicemembers who died in the Vietnam War, and the nearly 2,500 still missing but never forgotten. Remember them.

Remember Lt. Col. Leon Vance, Maj. Horace Carswell and 1st Lt. Jack Mathis, Medal of Honor winners from Goodfellow who gave their lives during World War II. Their uncommon valor paved the way for generations of Airmen to follow. Remember 1st Lt. Mark Mathis, Jack's brother, who also gave his life in World War II. Remember Lt. William Farrow, Goodfellow's Doolittle Raider, who perished in the skies over Japan. Remember all 405,399 U.S. servicemembers who perished in that great conflict that we might know freedom. Remember the more than 30,000 still missing but not forgotten. Remember them.

This Memorial Day, join me in remembering the fallen. Whether you choose to remember them at home with your family, with me at the Tom Green County Courthouse at 6 p.m., or at one of the other Memorial Day ceremonies across San Angelo, take a moment during your well-deserved weekend off to remember the fallen.

Stay safe this weekend, enjoy the company of friends and family and please, remember with me.