Active-duty troops join British, U.S.
veterans in honoring those who died
Story and photos by Ron
Jensen, U.K. bureau
Wreaths are handed from
active-duty servicemembers to representatives of several veterans' organizations Sunday
during a Veterans Day service at Cambridge American Military Cemetery in Madingley,
England. |
MADINGLEY, England — Ivor Hunter came Sunday to the same place he has come to on
the same date for the past 25 years: The Cambridge American Military Cemetery.
The retired English schoolteacher comes each Nov. 11 for one reason. He honors the
memory of 1st Lt. James McKenna, an American aviator during World War II who befriended
Hunter’s older sister and was later killed in combat.
"I come every year. I never miss," said Hunter, 67.
Each year, he places a small wooden cross adorned with a poppy below McKenna’s
name on the Wall of the Missing. He’s not sure, he admits, if that is the same James
McKenna who courted his sister. Something about the unit carved on the wall doesn’t
ring true. But he comes just the same.
"I’ve said to myself, ‘Does it matter? Does it really matter who I come
for?’" Hunter said.
Hunter was joined by more than 200 people Sunday — American and British, young and
old — at the cemetery three miles west of Cambridge for a short service for Veterans
Day. The RAF Alconbury High School band played the national anthems of both nations.
Ivor Hunter of
Dillington, England, has attended the Veterans Day ceremony at Cambidge American Militay
Cemetery in Madingley for 25 years. |
"Our American veterans came from different walks of life," said Lt. Col.
Michael Kucsera, medical flight commander for the 423rd Air Base Squadron, who provided
the service’s key remarks. "They served their country in different ways."
Yet, he said, they shared a common love of country and love of freedom.
More than once, speakers noted in prayers and remarks that another war is raging now.
And, they said, once again the Americans and British are allies.
"Thank you for all you’ve done for us," said U.S. Navy Capt. Tony
Cothron, commander of the European Command Joint Analysis Center at RAF Molesworth.
The British call the day Remembrance Day, which they have marked since the armistice
ending World War I was signed at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. It is
common practice to sport an artificial poppy during this time and many did Sunday.
The poppy grows only in soil that has been disturbed. It can lay dormant for years
before springing to life. During World War I, fields were often blanketed with the bright
red wildflowers after a battle had raged and tore up the ground where poppy seeds had
lain.
Poppies adorned several of the wreaths laid at the cemetery’s Wall of the Missing,
which contains the names of 5,126 servicemembers whose remains were never found.
An honor guard from RAF
Alconbury, England, marches along the Wall of the Missing. |
"There but for the grace of God … " said Jim Walter of Hot Springs
Village, Ark. He was a gunner on a B-24 Liberator flying from England during World War II.
He finished 30 missions before the war’s end.
"I’m so thankful my name isn’t on that wall," he said.
One name on the wall belongs to Lt. Col. Leon R. Vance Jr. It is trimmed in gold,
signifying him as a recipient of the Medal of Honor, America’s highest combat honor.
His cousin, Jane Vance Shankwiler of Hot Springs Village, Ark., was at the service on
Sunday.
"Like crying," she said when asked how she felt.
Her cousin had lost a foot during an attack while flying a B-24 on a mission. He looked
after his crew before concerning himself with his own safety. He survived the mission, but
was killed when a hospital airplane taking him and other wounded troops to the United
States was lost at sea.
People attending Sunday's
ceremony bow their heads during a moment of silence. |
The veterans mixed with the active-duty troops who attended. Most came from RAF
Alconbury and RAF Molesworth, about 25 miles from the cemetery.
Asked why he would spend a gray, cool, Sunday morning at the service, Staff Sgt. Scott
Ashley of RAF Molesworth replied: "Look at the names on the wall. That’ll tell
you right there."
Senior Airman Charles Barbee of RAF Alconbury said Americans must support their own,
especially during this time of crisis and the ongoing war on terror.
"We have to show unity, which the whole world will see," he said.
Those in uniform attending were only a tiny part of the active-duty U.S. forces in
England. Several thousand servicemembers are stationed less than an hour’s drive from
the cemetery. Yet only about 40 attended.
"I think it should be mandatory," said Senior Airman James Moser of RAF
Alconbury.
Said Senior Airman Brandi Vellar of RAF Alconbury: "It’s the least we can
do."
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