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Grand Slam team honor those who serve, have served

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Kia Atkins
  • 379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
AL UDEID AIR BASE, Qatar --  

Coalition partners, deployed here, honored those who serve and have served during joint Remembrance and Veteran’s Day ceremonies, Nov. 11.

                Brig. Gen. Darren Hartford, 379th Air Expeditionary Wing commander, presided over a Veteran’s Day retreat ceremony, in honor of servicemembers.             

“Today we gather to remember and pay our respects to those who have served, both past and present,” Hartford said. “Millions of Veterans from the United States, and our partner nations represented here on base, have bravely worn their nation’s colors and made a commitment to defend their principles even to the point of paying the ultimate sacrifice.”

During his speech, Gen. Hartford thanked coalition partners for attending the retreat and other remembrance events throughout the day and also thanked them for their service.  Servicemembers from the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia, the Netherlands and Denmark attended the ceremony and other joint Veteran’s and Remembrance ceremonies held here. 

                At the British Enclave, here, the Royal Air Force’s 83rd Expeditionary Air Group, 901st Expeditionary Air Wing hosted a joint Remembrance ceremony.

During this ceremony, red poppy wreaths were laid and a book of remembrance was presented. The red remembrance poppy has become a familiar emblem of Remembrance Day due to the poem “In Flanders Fields”.  These poppies bloomed across some of the worst battlefields of Flanders, Belgium, in World War I; their brilliant red color became a symbol for the blood spilled in the war.

                “In this, our Act of Remembrance, we take time to remember the fallen, to be in awe of their selfless actions, and to reflect on why they made the ultimate sacrifice,” said Air Cdre Al Gillespie, 83rd Expeditionary Air Group UK Air Component Commander and Air Officer Commanding. “Our armed services exist to defend our nations, their common interests and to strengthen international peace and stability. It is the use of force in military operations that sets us apart from all other professionals. The consequences of succeeding or failing are profound: the difficulties, risks and demands on our people make our task unique.”