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U.S. Flags Salute Wounded Warrior Athletes
(May 3, 2010) |
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| WASHINGTON, April 29, 2010 – The American flags raised over
five military installations don't look any different from
the one raised over the U.S. Capitol on any given day, but
there is one distinct difference.
These flags will bear the well-wishes of servicemembers
stationed around the world for injured soldiers, sailors,
airmen and Marines and veterans competing in the inaugural
Warrior Games in Colorado Springs, Colo., next month.
With the help of the Defense Media Activity and the USO,
five American flags found their way to Afghanistan, Germany,
Hawaii, Iraq and South Korea, where they were raised over
military points of interest. One flew above the USS Arizona
in Hawaii, and another over Korea's demilitarized zone. A
third was raised above Germany's Landstuhl Regional Medical
Center. Flags flew over Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, and
Joint Base Balad, Iraq, as well.
Each flag-raising was filmed and will be broadcast with
special messages from deployed servicemembers during the
Warrior Games opening ceremonies.
For one recipient of a flag, what began as a routine
assignment to organize and film the flag-raising turned into
much more, especially after he called the Landstuhl public
affairs office and explained the project.
“Their response was overwhelming,” said Air Force Tech. Sgt.
Leigh Bellinger, who serves with Detachment 4, Air Force
News Agency, at Ramstein Air Base, Germany.
The public affairs team in Germany organized a joint-service
detail to raise and lower the flag. The detail practiced for
more than an hour the day before the actual flag-raising,
Bellinger said.
“It was the afternoon of the actual ceremony that it all hit
home,” he said. “As I stood in front of those soldiers,
Marines, sailors and airmen talking about the flag and the
Warrior Games, it hit me -- the importance of what we were
doing. This was for our brothers and sisters taking part in
the Warrior Games.”
Troops injured in overseas combat zones receive treatment at
Landstuhl Regional Medical Center before transport to
stateside medical facilities. Landstuhl, therefore, “has
special significance for every single wounded warrior taking
part in the games,” Bellinger said. “More than likely, they
passed through on their way back home from Iraq or
Afghanistan.”
Army Staff Sgt. Clinton Carroll, the operations
noncommissioned officer in charge for American Forces
Network Afghanistan, said the request to fly an American
flag wasn't so unusual.
“Because we are in a combat zone, we are asked to fly lots
of American flags for different reasons,” he said. “Each of
them has meaning and importance for someone we don't usually
know. This one is unique, because it's flown specifically
for our brothers and sisters in arms and in honor of the
sacrifice they have made, some of them here in Afghanistan.”
Carroll asked soldiers of the 82nd Airborne Division if
they'd be willing to participate in the ceremony to raise
this special flag.
“Not only did they want to do it, but because they are the
82nd, they wanted to do it big,” Carroll said. “They had no
issue finding servicemembers to help out with the flag
raising ... because of the significance of the event. They
also wanted to have a formation spelling out ‘USO' to thank
everyone for their dedication to the Warrior Games.”
Carroll had a message for the athletes participating in the
Warrior Games, as well.
“I would say to them, regardless of what branch of service
they are in, they are heroes to us all,” he said. “I want to
wish all the warriors good luck, but I want to especially
say, ‘Go Army!'”
Bellinger offered the warrior athletes his best wishes, in
the form of “a slow, sharp salute for all my brothers and
sisters taking part.”
Nicholas Tovo, DMA's Hawaii bureau chief, enlisted the help
of two wounded warriors who will participate in the Warrior
Games to raise the flag over the USS Arizona. Tovo offered a
special thanks to everyone who made the flag-raising a
success.
“I especially want to thank the servicemembers for
participating and everything they have done, and will do, to
support our country,” he said.
Once the five flags are back in the United States, members
of the Rolling Thunder motorcyclist's organization will
transport them to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado
Springs in time for the Warrior Games opening ceremonies,
scheduled for May 10.
Rolling Thunder works to draw attention to prisoner-of-war
and missing-in-action issues and veterans causes. The ride
will begin May 5 at the site of the Sept. 11, 2001,
terrorist attack in New York City, with stops at the
Pentagon and Shanksville, Pa., to honor all 9/11 victims.
The Warrior Games begin May 10 and continue through May 14. | |
By Samantha L. Quigley,
USO
American Forces Press Service
Copyright 2010
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