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FORT GEORGE G. MEADE, Md. (AFNS - 4/26/2012) -- An Air Force
guitar is making its rounds across the U.S. with rock band Lillian
Axe after an Airman and the band's lead guitarist collaborated on a
way to honor nine Airmen who were killed April 27, 2011, at the
Kabul International Airport in Afghanistan.
Maj. Henry Cecil, an Air Force representative to the Federal
Aviation Administration in Fort Worth, Texas, and Steve Blaze, the
band's lead guitarist and song writer, teamed up with guitar maker
John Guilford to have the guitar made. After Lillian Axe tours with
the guitar, Cecil and the band plan to raffle it off with the
proceeds going to the Air Advisor Memorial.
Maj. Henry Cecil (right) talks to the audience about the background of why the Air Force guitar was built as Lillian Axe lead guitarist Steve Blaze looks on April 21, 2012, at the Riverside Warehouse in Shreveport, La. Cecil and Blaze collaborated with guitar maker John Guilford to build the guitar to honor nine Airmen who were killed April 27, 2010, at the Kabul International Airport in Afghanistan. After Lillian Axe tours with the guitar, it will be raffled off with the proceeds going toward the Air Advisor Memorial. Cecil is an Air Force representative to the Federal Aviation Administration in Fort Worth, Texas. U.S. Air Force photo
by Tech. Sgt. Chris Powell |
"I served in Afghanistan in 2010 as an air advisor in
Kabul," Cecil said. "I knew three of them very well, and
(Capt. Nylander) happened to be my roommate for the last
five or six weeks I was there."
Losing his fellow
Airmen had a huge impact on the major, and he said he was
inspired to raise money for the families of the Airmen by
past movements that raised millions of dollars.
"One
day, Steve and I were talking on the phone, and I asked him
if he thought we could get John Guilford to build an Air
Force guitar that we could raffle off to help raise money
for the families," Cecil said. "Steve didn't even let me
finish the sentence before he said yes. Then, I called John,
and he jumped in with both feet, and it was very fun to work
with him because I could hear his excitement over the phone.
"(The design of the guitar) evolved; it just wasn't one
idea and there it is," he explained. "We worked together
over many and many phone calls. If he ran into a problem or
wasn't quite sure about something, we solved it over the
phone. The guitar is exactly what I envisioned."
The
front of the guitar includes a portion of Cecil's Airman
Battle Uniform that he wore while deployed to Afghanistan
and has the words "U.S. Air Force" on the fingerboard in
mother-of-pearl inlay.
"We have a great appreciation
of our military at all levels, from the guy at the desk to
the guys in the field, for what they've done for this
country," Blaze said. "When he asked me, I thought it was an
honor, and I thanked him for the opportunity."
The
back of the guitar has the names of the Airmen who were
killed: Lt. Col. Frank D. Bryant Jr., Maj. Philip D. Ambard,
Maj. Jeffrey O. Ausborn, Maj. David L. Brodeur, Maj. Raymond
G. Estelle, Maj. Charles A. Ransom, Capt. Nathan J. Nylander,
retired Lt. Col. James Mclaughlin and Master Sgt. Tara R.
Brown.
"It's as much a work of art as it is a musical
instrument, and I can't think of a finer way to honor those
(Airmen)," said Guilford, who performed all the labor on the
guitar for free. "It's a beautiful opportunity."
The
major said he's been following Lillian Axe for more than 24
years, but his and Blaze's friendship didn't blossom until a
few years ago.
"I talked to Steve for a minute or
two at numerous shows over the years, but our friendship
really didn't come about until I was deployed, and in
September (2010), they came out with a new album called
'Deep Red Shadows,' Cecil said. "I finally got the copies in
and opened them up all excited and started playing it on my
computer. I opened up the liner notes and was flipping
through them when I saw on the last page a song (titled
'Take the Bullet') dedicated to the military."
It was
then that Cecil knew he had to contact Blaze to thank him,
so he emailed him and told him he was a longtime fan and
that one of his CDs made it to the warzone. He wanted to
show his appreciation to the band, so he flew a flag on all
the Afghan air force airframes and had pilots sign the CD's
artwork.
"He sent me the American flag, some
wonderful coins, pictures of the mission and even Gen. David
Petraeus' autograph on one of my CDs," Blaze said. "I
thought it was so cool, and then we started developing a
friendship, and he came down when he was back in the States
and met the band, and now he's like part of the crew."
After Guilford completed work on the guitar, he drove it
from his shop in Glasford, Ill., to unveil it at the Dallas
International Guitar Festival in Dallas on April 19 before
Blaze took it on stage for his first performance with it
April 21 at the Riverside Warehouse in Shreveport, La.
Blaze, who plans to only use the Air Force guitar when
he plays "Take the Bullet," has a message for the people
thinking of buying a raffle ticket or just donating money to
the Air Advisor Memorial.
"Don't worry about the
guitar, let's go out and donate the money (to help) these
families and 32 kids who lost a parent who were taking care
of other people," Blaze said. "You could win an amazing
guitar, but more importantly, you're helping out in a big
way."
To donate or to find more more information, go
to
www.airadvisormemorial.org.
By USAF Tech. Sgt. Chris Powell, Defense Media Activity
Air Force News Service
Copyright 2012
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