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Do you ever wonder why an installation or building bears a certain name?
Hammonds Barracks in Seckenheim, Germany, for instance, was named in honor of Pfc. Robert Hammonds who was killed in action on April 11, 1945.
Since the installation is being closed, Scott Ramich, a lead management analyst with the 409th Contracting Support Brigade, is returning the memorabilia to Private Hammonds’ relatives.
“I consider myself the caretaker of it all. It is an honorable task, and I am going to make sure the family gets everything back,” Mr. Ramich said.
When the 409th CSB relocated to Kaiserslautern, no one knew whether the family wanted a new building dedicated to Private Hammonds or how to best use the memorabilia. Nicole McAbee, a management service specialist with the 409th CSB, initially recieved the task of finding a suitable solution, Mr. Ramich said.
“I wanted to do what is right. I read through all the letters and documents, and Hammonds seemed like a genuinely nice guy. He loved his mama — and that’s what I really liked about him,” Ms. McAbee said.
Ms. McAbee was extremely busy and Mr. Ramich volunteered to take on the project. He, too, researched Private Hammonds’ history and also contacted the family. Thus, he learned that though Private Hammonds’ relatives did not want another building named in his honor, Private Hammonds’ great-nephew was interested in the belongings.
“My son, Hayden, has developed quite a love for military history. It began shortly after the dedication of Hammonds’ Barracks and continues today. Often we have thought we may not have donated the items if we had known that Hayden would develop such a strong interest,” Theresa Wheeler, Private Hammonds’ niece, wrote in a letter to the 409th CSB.
Therefore, Mr. Ramich archived every item. He also grouped documents, arranged them into several collages and had them custom-framed before preparing everything to be shipped to Oklahoma.
And so the legacy of the 19-year-old Soldier from Wickliffe, Ky., which includes his burial flag, Silver Star, Purple Heart and even the pillow sham he slept on during basic training, will be on its way to Oklahoma.
Private Hammonds, a wireman with Company G, 1st Battalion, 397th Infantry Regiment, had courageously volunteered to reconnect a field telephone line severed by an explosion during house-to-house fighting during World War II. He left cover and had just completed his task when he was mortally wounded by a sniper’s bullet. For his bravery he was posthumously awarded the Silver Star, and in 1948 Loretto Kaserne was renamed Hammonds Barracks in his honor.
At the time, Maj. Gen. Withers Burress, the commanding general of the 100th Infantry Division, in his condolence letter, promised Hammonds’ mother that her son’s “devotion to duty and his courage will not be forgotten, and will serve to inspire us to better efforts.”
However, until 10 years ago, there was no record of any formal dedication, historical marker or visible record to reveal who the installation was named for and why.
Then, in June 2000, with Private Hammonds’ brother and sister-in-law, as well as his sister and niece in attendance, Hammonds Barracks was rededicated.
During the ceremony, a bronze plaque detailing Private Hammonds’ act of valor was unveiled.
Now, the plaque and the U.S. flag last flown on Hammonds Barracks will be returned to Private Hammonds’ great nephew, Hayden.
