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Show HILLTOP TIMES Hi" TIMES 5 May 28, 2009 Rememberina Those Who Answered the Ca TODD CROMAR/LJ.S. Air Force At left, Army Lt. Col. (Ret.) Randy Watt addresses the audience assembled during a Memorial Day program at the Memorial Chapel. Above, visitors pay tribute to fallen comrades by listening as Pat Gilmore reads "The Casualties Mount" as part of "Letters, Poetry and Inspiration of the Lafayette Escadrille," a Memorial Day program presented by the Pioneer Chapter of the Order of the Daedalians, in the Memorial Chapel. Services recall original U.S. fly-boys and recent Utah combat deaths BY TIM GURRISTER • Standard-Examiner staff tgurrister@standard.net T he first Americans to take to the skies in combat were the focus of a Hill Air Force Base Memorial Day Service. And they did it for the French, forming the Lafayette Escadrille in World War I. Their role was explained during ceremonies at the Hill Memorial Chapel. Army Lt. Col. Randy Watt, currently Ogden's assistant police chief, was the keynote speaker, replacing Sen. Bob Bennett, who had a scheduling conflict. The names of Utahns who died in military service in Iraq or Afghanistan since 2003 were individually tolled by the chapel bells to conclude the ceremony. Speaking on behalf of "ground-pounders like me," Watt, a veteran of both Iraq and Afghanistan, thanked airmen "who put steel on target and protected us. They also flew in and took out my wounded, and, a couple of times, my dead. "Freedom is not free, but is paid for in blood and sorrow." Tyranny must be defeated wherever it "rears its ugly head. For that reason, U.S. servicemen are buried in cemeteries around the world." As to the Lafayette Escadrille, most volunteered for WWI before a neutral America finally joined the fighting. "They were the cadre that became the U.S. Air Force," said retired U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Jeremy "Bear" Taylor, a fighter pilot himself. "They were the first Americans to fight for freedom in and from the air. "Most of them didn't come home. They are buried in 14 cemeteries throughout Europe." Taylor and fellow members of the local Pioneer Flight of the Order of Daedalians, nationwide fraternity of active and retired militarypilots, recalled the Lafayette Escadrille in stories, poems and letters, especially excerpts of the epic poem, ""Riders of the Sky," a 1934 Pulitzer-prize nominated work by Leighton Brewer. Brewer was a member of the group of Americans flying for France in the first world war. "They became knights of the air, to repay the debt of the Marquis de Lafayette" for his assistance in the American revolt against the British, said Col. Pete Miner, retired Air Force pilot. He heads the local chapter of Daedalians, named for the Greek mythical figure Daedalus, whose son Icarus died flying too close to the sun. . Miner read an April 15, 1917, letter from one of the American fly-boys, describing the 600 planes at the flight school where he was training. That compared to 15 planes at the school he attended in the U.S. "At the front," retired Air Force pilot Bill Shepard said, reading from Chapter Four of the Brewer poem, "six weeks is all the time that's allotted for the life of a pilot. After that he's living on borrowed time." In his own words, Shepard concluded his segment of the Utah veterans who gave their lives for us since 2003: Chief Warrant Officer John Daren Smith Staff Sgt James Cawley Lt. Nathan White, USN Staff Sgt. Nino Livaudais Sgt. 1 st Class Randall Rehn, Sgt. Mason Douglas Whetstone, Capt. Nathan Dalley, Spc. David Goldberg, Cpl. Juan Carlos Banuelos, Staff Sgt Clint Ferrin, Lance Cpl. Quinn Keith, Lance Cpl. Michael Allred, Lance Cpl. Cesar Machado-Olmos, Staff Sgt. Alan Rogers, Capt. Bill Jacobsen, Cpl. Matthew Smith, Spc. Rocky Payne, Lance Cpk Tenzin Dengkhim, Sgt. Brandon Thomas, Sgt. Ronald Wood, Sgt. Michael iWrnrlfer, S$ Kenneth Webb (Georgia), Spc. Lex Nelson, Sgt. Tim Boyce, Sgt. Larry Rougle, Staff Sgt. Gregson Gourley, Spc. Ty John Johnson, Cpl. Adam Galvez, Pvt 1st Class Daniel Dolan, 2nd Lt. Scott Lundell, Senior Airman Daniel Miller, Tech. Sgt. Timothy Weiner, Senior Airman Elizabeth Loncki, Spc. Eric Seigler, Sgt. Brandon Parr, Sgt. 1st Class Douglas Stone, Spc, Steve Kowalczyk, Staff Sgt Virgil Chance Martinez, Spc. Michael Pursel, Sgt Jesse Blamires, Ryan Balmer, William Newman, Glade Felix, Nathan Windelf, Nathan Barnes, Rocky Herrera, Jeffrey Ammon and Jordan Thibeault Daedalians' commemoration by reflecting on the reason for Memorial Day services. 'Perhaps we feel guilty that we enjoyed this life on the fruits of their sacrifice." In earlier services at Hill, the late Air Force Maj. Gen. William Creer became the 23rd inductee into the Utah Aviation Hall of Fame, a part of Hill's Aerospace Museum. Creer personally led more than 20 bombing missions into central Europe at the height of World War II, according to Hill news materials. He was part of the inspiration for the Academy Award-winning movie Top, Col. Calvin Williams, 75th Air Base Wingvice commander, addresses an audience attending the Utah Aviation Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony for Maj. Gen. William E. Creer, (Ret.) (Deceased), held at the Hill Aerospace Museum on May 25. Above, Rear Adm. Jeremy Taylor, (Ret.) and James Hansen, former congressman for the •. state of Utah, present the Utah Aviation Hall of Fame Medal to Bettie Marx, accepting on behalf of the Creer family, during the induction ceremony held for Creer at the museum. "IWelve O'clock High." The Spanish Fork native commanded a bomber group that totaled more than 170 missions in the European theater. He also led B-52 missions in Vietnam, set speed records in the B-47, and logged more than 9,000 hours of military flying time in a 34-year aviation career. Some of the best of the Air Force to entertain at Pioneer Park in showcase eventf A ir Force-related displays, demMax Impact 11 a.m.-l p.m. onstrations and music will be • Air Force Honor Guard and Drill among highlights at the site of Team performances 1 p.m.-2 p.m., and "Our Nation's Defenders Showcase," in the Air Force Academy Falcon mascot Pioneer Park in Salt Lake City in con- from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. nection with Air Force Week. • The 75th Security Forces SquadThe park, at 300 West and 300 South, ron will have military working dog will feature displays from 10 a.m. to demonstrations from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. 6 p.m., by the Air Force and its sister The Honor Guard, the official cerservices June 1-3. Some of the highemonial unit of the Air Force, renders lights will include: military honors to Air Force personnel • "Lunch in the Park" concerts by and their families at Arlington National Cemetery. At ceremonies and funerals, the colors unit displays and guards the flags; the bearers escort and carry the caskets to burial sites and fold the flag for family members and the sevenmember firing party fires the 21-gun salute. The Drill Team tours worldwide and performs precision-oriented routines in which they spin, flip and toss 11-pound M-l Garand rifles with fixed bayonets. The military working dog units will feature four dogs and their handlers in the demonstration of the six phases of aggression typical to such security work and show how the dogs locate __; contraband and other devices. The dogs have assisted local law enforcement, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Recruiters will be available at thg£> park for all military services, to an-***1 swer questions and provide informa- J, tion. |