ADA Soldiers Honors the Fallen

5-7 ADA Participates in France’s Memorial Day Tribute to American War Dead
by 2nd Lt. Matthew Hitchler

     On the afternoon of May 25, 2008, Soldiers of the 5th Battalion, 7th Air Defense Artillery, stood proudly upon the Epinal American Cemetery and Memorial grounds in Dinoze, France, to pay tribute to the 5,255 fallen U.S. Soldiers who lay buried the cemetery’s white crosses. Thirty-eight Soldiers’ from Delta Battery, 5-7 ADA, volunteered to travel more than two-and-a-half hours from Kaiserslautern, Germany, to participate in this the cemetery’s annual Memorial Day ceremony.

     When the tasking came down, 5-7 ADA Soldiers did not hesitate to support the Memorial Day event. They practiced for hours at Rhine Ordnance Barracks in Kaiserslautern to get their parts exactly right and passed multiple Class A inspections prior to departure.

     At 1500 hours, the ceremony commenced with Tom Cavaness, the Cemetery superintendent, introducing guest speakers, which included Brig. Gen. William L. Mayville Jr., deputy director, J-5, U.S. European Command, and Christian Poncelet, president of the French Senate. During the introductions, the 5-7 ADA detachment marched in review, along with a color Guard from U.S. European Command and a honor platoon from France’s 100th Mechanized Infantry Regiment. Upon completion of the speaker’s remarks, various organizations laid wreaths. A bugler play “Taps” in remembrance of American Soldiers who gave their lives to promote freedom and liberty. A 21-gun salut and a flyby by a U.S. Air Force C-21 jet marked the closing of the ceremony.

     The 5-7 ADA detachment was led by Second Lieutenant Matthew Hitchler and Sergeant First Class Kevin Elliott. Noncommissioned-officers-in-charge trained and led  the detachment’s individual sections: a honor platoon lead by Staff Sergeamt Juan Cabrera, a firing detail led by Staff Sergeant Charles Alexandre, and wreath bearers led by Sergeant Jimmie Tolbert. Private First Class Matthew Delaphous served as the American flag raiser.

The American Battle Monuments Commission was established by Congress in 1923 to commemorate the service, achievements, and sacrifice of U.S. armed forces serving in Europe since 1917. The ABMC commemorative mission is reflected in 24 overseas military cemeteries that serve as the resting place for almost 125,000 American service members who have died in our nation’s wars; the Tablets of the Missing memorialize more than 94,000 U.S. servicemen and women missing in action; and through 25 other memorials, monuments and markers.