Ceremony honors POW/MIA servicemembers

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Jamie L. Coggan
  • 355th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
DAVIS-MONTHAN AIR FORCE BASE --  The base held a ceremony in front of the 355th Fighter Wing headquarters building here Sept. 21 in honor POW/MIA Recognition Day, honored each year on the third Friday of September.

The ceremony opened with posting of colors by the base honor guard and the singing of the National Anthem by Master Sgt. Vaughn Price of the 355th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron here.

Capt. Kim Bowen, the 355th FW Chaplain, gave the invocation, asking everyone to unite their voices and be hopeful for those military members who are still missing.

Col. Kent Laughbaum, 355th FW commander, welcomed the former POWs in attendance and thanked them for their service. The commander then led all the Airmen in the audience in a recitation of the Airman's Creed.

"This is our most holy writ in this creed: 'I am an American Airman. Wingman, leader, warrior. I will never leave an Airman behind,'" said Colonel Laughbaum. "That is our promise to all - I will never leave an Airman behind."

Col. Laughbaum then spoke a little about the heritage of the 355th Fighter Wing as a Fighter Group back in 1942.

"This creed shows who we are and who we have been," he said. "I am honored by our heritage and those who came before us and set the way."

Next, the colonel introduced the guest speaker, retired Army Col. Roy McCaldin. Colonel McCaldin was a B-17 pilot in World War II who earned a Distinguished Flying Cross for his heroic actions on a bombing run over Berlin.

After recognizing all of the other ex POW/MIAs in attendance, Colonel McCaldin went on to talk about his missions, parachuting out of his crashing plane over Russian-controlled territory, and hitchhiking through Poland. Eventually, he ended up flying a "beat-up" bomber from Russia to Italy and was reunited with his American comrades.

Colonel McCaldin said the military members he's met recently share a patriotic pride with the servicemembers he served with in WWII.

"I see the continuity of our military here today, and I am proud or all of you," he said.

Following Colonel McCaldin's speech, Dr. Jayendra Shah, Chief of Staff of the Southern Arizona Veterans Affairs Health Care System, and Colonel Laughbaum then placed the honorary POW/MIA wreath at base of the wing flag pole.

"This wreath is a symbol of our gratitude for the sacrifices made by these American heroes," said Senior Master Sgt. Todd Fuller, superintendent of the 355th Security Forces Squadron here and master of ceremonies for the event.

The honor guard then performed a 21-gun salute, followed by a bugle rendition of "Taps."

Seconds later, four A-10s from the 355th Operations Group here flew over the ceremony in the missing-man formation.

Chaplain Bowen concluded the ceremony with the benediction: "May we serve as warriors of truth."