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One of the most important responsibilities the Army has is to remember and continue to support the families of Soldiers who have made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. Baumholder has taken this responsibility to heart and created a Remembrance Room that serves to honor and remember Baumholder Soldiers who have given their lives for their country and their surviving family members.
The room officially opened Nov. 6 and features 92 photographs with brass nameplates of Baumholder Soldiers who have died in combat, in an accident or while training.
On the hallway wall next to the room’s entrance is a mural honoring the 92 Soldiers and their families. The mural reaches from the floor to the ceiling and is about 15 feet long. Dog tags are featured in the upper left and right sections of the mural. These tags will soon bear the names of the immediate family members of each Soldier.
“That’s one of the ways we are tying the families to the Soldiers honored in this room,” said Basil Forrest, an employee of Army Community Service. It was Forrest who came up with the idea to create such a room The mural was the brain child of Pfc. Tonya Waters and Pfc. Veronica Cerros, who spent numerous weekends researching a design and making their idea a reality on the hallway wall.
“One of my biggest worries as we continue to see different conflicts come to an end is that we as a society will forget. We’ll forget the sacrifices. We’ll forget the motorcades. We’ll forget the funerals. We’ll forget the flag covered caskets,” said Lt. Col. Mike Sullivan, U.S. Army Garrison Baumholder commander. “More importantly, we shouldn’t forget the families that continue on every day.”
The remembrance room is in Bldg. 8870, next to the Service Credit Union, and is open to everyone.
“The room is a good representation of those that died and gave their lives for our country and the things that we believe in, and I hope that we all would continue to remember them and continue to remember why they made this sacrifice,” said Blonza Graves, VFW commander, Post 2566. “This is an incredible way for us to never forget, not only those Soldiers that have given their lives for our country, but more importantly to remember the survivors and to let them know that we are here for them.”
“In my opinion that is the most important mission that we have as a military as we continue to move forward — to remember and to take care of the survivors,” Sullivan said.
