Twitter
Facebook
Signs of autumn were visible everywhere when members of the KMC gathered Sept. 9 on Panzer Parade Field to honor the service of two new retirees and pay homage to the victims of 9/11.
The 21st Theater Sustainment Command’s retreat and retirement ceremony, “A Decade of Remembrance,” marked 10 years since 9/11. The ceremony was also a special commemoration for all those who died while making the ultimate sacrifice for freedom. A name was also added to the 21st TSC memorial.
The guest speaker for the event was, Col. Mitchell Brew, the chief of staff for the 21st TSC.
On Sept. 11, Brew was working at the Pentagon and assisted with the rescue effort.
“We are gathered here to honor the victims of those attacks, to keep the faith for their families, and to express appreciation to our troops and families who now have been at war for 10 challenging years,” said Brew during his remarks. “Today we specifically recognize the sacrifices of Spc. Barun Rai and also remember the 28 others on the memorial behind me, and the over 6,000 who have paid the ultimate price for the service of our country since 9/11.”
Rai, 24, of Silver Spring, Md., died Aug. 3 in Logar Province, Afghanistan, from injuries sustained during a vehicle rollover. He was assigned to the 54th Engineer Battalion, 18th Engineer Brigade located in Bamberg, Germany.
Brig. Gen. Aundre Piggee, the commanding general of the 21st TSC, and Command Sgt. Maj. James Spencer, the command sergeant major of the 21st TSC, laid a wreath of flowers at the 21st TSC memorial during the ceremony as the names of the 21st TSC’s fallen warriors were read out loud.
The retirement portion of the ceremony highlighted the service of Command Sgt. Maj. Clifton Lewis, the former command sergeant major for the 21st TSC Special Troops Battalion, and Sgt. 1st. Class Amonty Cochran, the senior chaplain’s assistant noncommissioned officer for the 21st TSC.
Piggee thanked both retiring Soldiers for their dedicated service with certificates of appreciation signed by the president, a certificate of retirement, a retirement pin and the U.S. flag.
“I am grateful to be given the opportunity to be a part of something that is much greater than me. I am appreciative for the Army and the 21st TSC for allowing me to be able to go back to civilian life and be productive,” said Lewis about his retirement after more than 27 years of dedicated service.
The ceremony concluded with the singing of the 21st TSC March and the Army song.
