As we approach the sacred day of Memorial Day in America where we honor and remember our men and women who died in military service, Denise and I, on behalf of our newly elected Association President Mark Rado and our new VII Corps Desert Storm Veterans Association Board, are reaching out to you and your Families to thank you for your own service and your service in VII Corps during Desert Storm.
To remember our own fallen this 25th Anniversary year of our victory in 1991, on 27 February at our VII Corps Reunion Chaplain Col (ret) Wayne Lehrer conducted a military Memorial Service, as he has done each year, where our past Association President MG (ret) John Altenburg read each of the 111 names of our VII Corps Desert Storm Soldiers who in Lincoln’s words, “gave that last full measure of devotion.” One of our former commanders, this year LTG Karen Dyson, gave commander remarks as is appropriate at these ceremonies.
This year in special commemoration following our Memorial Service, CSM (ret) Harold Shrewsberry, Association Vice President and I, accompanied by former division and major unit commanders and CSM, laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown in Arlington National Cemetery to honor and remember our 111 Fallen. We said at the end of Desert Storm 25 years ago that “we will never forget” and we have not forgotten our VII Corps comrades nor as a Nation all those who have fallen in military service.
May we all pause in our own way this Memorial Day 2016 in deep remembrance to honor and remember those Soldiers who gave it all in military service–and their Families. We value our service with each of you and look forward to seeing many of you at our Reunion the weekend of 24-26 February 2017 in Houston, TX.
Fred Franks
Gen, US Army (retired)
Chairman, VII Corps DSVA Board
