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Flyover kicks off Veteran's Day ceremonies
The four F-15E Strike Eagles came low out of the west.
As the reached the crowd of about 350 people gathered to attend the city's Veteran's Day services at Mountain View Cemetery, one of the Eagles suddenly pulled straight up from the formation, streaking up through the clear blue sky on its way to the heavens.
The "missing man" formation flyover of the 391st Fighter Squadron was the first such flyover ever held for a Veteran's Day event in Mountain Home.
A few moments later, a member of American Legion Post 26 slowly and solemnly struck the memorial bell at the cemetery 11 times, initiating a 30-minute ceremony of speeches, the laying of wreaths and the rendering of honors by the Legion's Honor Guard rifle team.
A battalion of volunteer airmen from Mountain Home Air Force Base and the Republic of Singapore stood in formation throughout the ceremonies.
Veteran's Day began in 1919, as Armistice Day, one year after the end of WWI. The armistice ending that war had gone into effect on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, ending four years of a viscous, bloody war that would be described at the time as "the war to end all wars."
It is a day "to remember all our veterans, past and present," said Post 26 Commander Rich McMahon.
"All we have to do is look at the memorials here (in the cemetery) for veterans past. Now look left, look right, look behind you and in front of you. You're looking at veterans present."
Post chaplain Jim Blanton, who always takes time to remember a fallen veteran, recalled his friend, Air Force MSgt. Evander Andrews, who was the first serviceman killed in the wars that followed the 9/11 attacks.
"I shook hands with him just before he left, and told him to be safe and come home." But he didn't, leaving his wife and family to mourn.
He offered a prayer for all veterans, past and present, and for the POW/MIAs. He asked the Lord's blessing for the 90,000 American servicemen deployed overseas, and the 107,000 homeless veterans in the United States.
"From Arlington (National Cemetery) and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, to a little town called Mountain Home, we pray for their peace and comfort."
Col. James McClellan, the new commander of the 366thMaintenance Group at Mountain Home Air Force Base, was the featured speaker at the ceremonies Thursday.
He thanked the veterans, who formed a large part of the crowd on hand, "for your service to our country, and thank you for taking time to reflect and remember.
"Whether you served one day, one year or 30 years, many of you made the conscious decision to volunteer your life, and the lives of your family members, to be part of the greater whole, to don the uniform of your service and serve in your nation's military."
Col. McClellan recognized the nation's former POWs for their service and "for enduring and surviving captivity," adding that the United States government is committed to "obtaining the fullest possible accounting" for the 84,000 Americans held captive or otherwise missing from the nation's wars. "Please keep our missing heroes, and their families, in your thoughts and prayers," he said.
McClellan offered a brief history of the special day, noting that it wasn't until 1954 that Congress renamed the holiday from Armistice Day to Veteran's Day, setting aside as "a day in America when veterans of all wars honored."
He cited two examples from "the Gunfighter History book," of the service provided to the nation by its veterans.
First, was that of Capt. Lance P. Sijan, a member of the 366th Tactical Fighter Wing who's F-4 Phantom was shot down on Nov. 9, 1967, after he'd flown 51 missions in Vietnam.
For 46 days he eluded capture by North Vietnamese forces, eventually being sent to the infamous Hanoi Hilton POW camp. Although often starved and tortured, Sijan made repeated attempts to escape, heartening his fellow POWs. He died in captivity in 1978 and was later awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions while held prisoner.
His second example was that of another Gunfighter, TSgt. Kurt Tull, currently serving at the local airbase.
An Aerospace Medical Technician, while deployed to Afghanistan this year he was treating an Afghan National Army soldier injured by in IED, when he noticed an excessive swelling in the soldier's face. He directed a scan of the soldier's face and discovered a live .50-caliber round embedded there.
"Unhesitatingly," McClellan said, "TSgt. Tull notified the surgeon, Explosive Ordnance Disposal land ensured the hospital was evacuated. The surgeon removed the round and the soldier was able to commence his recovery.
"This sound bite from TSgt. Tull's deployment (is) not unlike many stories you in the audience have.
"It is indicative of our Gunfighters, our Airmen, who are average citizens, place in extraordinary circumstances and perform admirably, and with the utmost commitment -- as you, our veterans, did in your time in uniform."
"Now," McClellan said, "these Airmen are your legacy, ladies and gentlemen, the results of the leadership, loyalty and innovation of your years of honorable service.
"I don't think it too presumptuous to say that we who still wear the uniform of our military, and all who came before us, serve or served this country out of a profound sense of duty -- and with honor -- and with the understanding that the freedoms we have today are secured through our commitment. Those freedoms have been secured by those who came forward and served before us, like Capt. Sijan, like our veterans in the audience today, and it is our hope, no, our expectation, that those who will selflessly volunteer to serve in the military now and in the future will continue to protect our great nation."
On Veteran's Day, he said, "we all share a unique perspective of faithful service to our country and to those who have served before us. We call each other to give thanks for one another and for the time we have together, to pay tribute to those we have lost, and to say prayers for those serving in foreign lands."
Following McClellan's speech, representatives from a number of veteran's organizations and service groups in the area laid wreaths, followed by the rifle team firing a quick, seven-man three-round salute and the playing of "Taps."