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Hawaii Officials Honor Fallen War Heroes
(April 1, 2010) |
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A member of the Joint Base Hickam-Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, honor guard salutes during a rifle volley and the playing of "Taps" by a Marine Corps bandsman to honor 28 fallen servicemembers being presented the Hawaii Medal of Honor posthumously during a special ceremony March 23, 2010, at the State Capitol in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Hawaii Medal of Honor was created in 2005 to recognize the heroism of those members of the U.S. armed forces with links to Hawaii who are killed in action while serving our country as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom in Iraq and Afghanistan. |
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HONOLULU (3/29/2010 - AFNS) -- The Hawaii
State Senate and House of Representatives
convened an afternoon joint session March 23
here to award the Hawaii Medal of Honor to
recognize military servicemembers who have made
"the ultimate sacrifice".
Among the 28 servicemembers posthumously awarded
the medal was 1st Lt. Roslyn Schulte, the first
female graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy to
be killed by an enemy combatant.
Lieutenant Schulte was an intelligence,
surveillance and reconnaissance operations
officer assigned to the 613th Air and Space
Operations Center at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam,
Hawaii. She died last May in Afghanistan when an
improvised explosive device struck her vehicle
while en route to a Bagram Airfield meeting.
During the ceremony, Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle
offered words of encouragement to the families
at the session.
"We wanted you to know that from our
perspective, although your loss can never be
healed completely, your family members were not
lost in vain," said Governor Lingle. "The fact
that we believe that, does not take away your
pain, but future generations will look at these
family members as heroes." |
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Governor Lingle extended gratitude on behalf of the people
of Hawaii.
"All of you will remain in the hearts and thoughts of the
people of Hawaii," said Gov. Lingle. "We all owe you,
along with the rest of America, a tremendous debt of thanks
and gratitude." |
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| Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle offers words of encouragement to family members, friends and co-workers of 28 fallen servicemembers who were posthumously presented the Hawaii Medal of Honor during her remarks at a special ceremony March 23, 2010, at the State Capitol in Honolulu, Hawaii. |
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Also attending the ceremony, were various commanders,
friends and co-workers of those being recognized.
Lieutenant Schulte's supervisor, Lt. Col. Christopher
Sartorius, assigned to 613th Air and Space Operations Center
at JB Hickam, accepted the medal on behalf of the Schulte
family.
"It is an honor and a pleasure to accept the Hawaii Medal of
Honor on behalf of Lieutenant. Roslyn Schulte and her
family," Colonel Sartorius said. "I want to thank the Hawaii
legislature for honoring Lieutenant Schulte with the Medal
of Honor and for such a beautiful ceremony."
The Hawaii Medal of Honor was created in 2005 to recognize
the heroism of those members of the U.S. armed forces with
links to Hawaii who are killed in action while serving
during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring
Freedom in Iraq and Afghanistan. |
Article and photos by USAF TSgt. Jerome S. Tayborn
Pacific Air Forces Public Affairs
Copyright 2010 |
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Reprinted from
Air Force News Service
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