Airmen unveil Camp Cunningham sign

Published June 9, 2011
By Capt. Korry Leverett
455th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan -- The 455th Air Expeditionary Wing paid tribute to an Airman who lost his life nearly nine years ago by unveiling a new sign that marks the entrance to Camp Cunningham here June 7.

The sign was refurbished by Airmen in the 455th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron structures shop who donated their valuable free time to not only support the 455th AEW but to contribute to the legacy of Senior Airman Jason Cunningham.

"I salute the Airmen who volunteered their personal time to refurbish the sign, said Chief Master Sgt. Craig Adams, 455th AEW command chief. "These professionals stepped-up without hesitation and did an absolutely wonderful job."

The original sign that marked the entrance to Camp Cunningham was slowly deteriorating and in desperate need of repair.

"Some of the letters from the words 'Camp Cunningham' had fallen off the sign and needed to be repaired," said Tech. Sergeant Chris Edelen, 455th ECES structures non commissioned officer in charge and native of Coxs Creek, Ky. "Basically, I made a new frame for the sign and planed it down to a nice finish, then repaired the letters and replaced the front sheet of Plexiglas. Once that was finished I shot a couple coats of polyurethane on the frame completing the project."

According to Sergeant Edelen, the project itself probably took somewhere between 16 and 20 hours to complete but was stretched over a period of about two week. The challenge wasn't necessarily the task itself but fitting it into mission requirements.
"I was only able to work on it for a few hours at a time because we stay fairly busy over here working mission requirements," he said.

For Sergeant Edelen, who refurbished the sign, and Staff Sgt's Colman Martin and Justin McPherson, who ensured it was hung, it's not just a sign but a memorial.

"Airman Cunningham displayed actions that far surpassed expectation," said Sergeant Colman Martin, 455th ECES structures technician. "Without regard, he placed himself in imminent danger multiple times while being fired upon, saving the lives of several individuals. It is because of his actions that others survived and were able to return home, it's important we remember that."

On March 4, 2002 Airman Cunningham was the primary Air Force combat search and rescue medic assigned to a quick reaction force in Afghanistan. The force was sent to rescue two American servicemen evading capture in austere terrain occupied by al-Qaida and Taliban forces. In the end, his distinct efforts led to the successful delivery of 10 gravely wounded Americans to life-saving medical treatment.