Fort Sam honors Independence Day

By Esther GarciaJuly 9, 2009

Shell Casing
1 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Sgt. Kevin Rose, center left, and members of the Guns and Flags Platoon, Headquarters Company, U.S. Army Garrison, present cannon shell casings to City of San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, center, designating him an honorary member of the cannon crew ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Cannon Fire
2 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Surrounded by the fifty state flags, the Guns and Flags Platoon, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, U.S. Army Garrison, fired the cannons fifty times in succession, one for each state, during the 4th of July Cannon Salute at the Fort Sam Houston ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Wreath presentation
3 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Headquarters and Headquarters, U.S. Army Garrison, 1st Sgt. Rosalba Chambers (left) and 1st Sgt. Jeffery DeGarmo, Army Medical Department Center and School, participate in the wreath presentation ceremony with the U.S. Military Veterans Parade Associ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Little Girl
4 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas -- Cannon blasts and smoke filled the air, July 4th, at the post flagpole celebrating the 233rd anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

A cannon salute was fired for each of the fifty states in the order on which the state joined the Union. The salute began with Delaware, the first state, which joined Dec. 7, 1787, and ended with Hawaii, the Aloha State, which joined Aug. 21, 1959.

Prior to the salute, special guest, City of San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro and Maj. Gen. Russell Czerw, commanding general, Fort Sam Houston and Army Medical Department Center and School, joined the salute battery assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, U.S. Army Garrison, to inspect and test fire the cannons.

Following the inspection, Sgt. Kevin Rose and the salute battery presented Castro with an inscribed shell casing and the recently fired shell casing pronouncing him an honorary crewmember of the salute battery.

The Sons of the American Revolution rang a ceremonial bell commemorating each of the original 13 Colonies which first formed the United States of America. The National Society of the SAR, founded in 1889 and chartered by the U.S. Congress in 1906, promotes patriotism and reaffirms the values on which our country was established.

Led by Chief Warrant Officer Douglas Paarmann, the Army Medical Command Band entertained the approximately 200 guests with a selection of patriotic music.

"It is a great way to spend a weekend, to be out here with the military community. This was the reason we came from Houston, to attend a patriotic ceremony," retired Army Staff Sgt. Mario Rodriguez said. He was at FSH with his wife Donna.

Earlier, the Order of Granaderos y Damas de Galvez celebrated Spain's contributions to the American Revolution on the hollowed grounds of the Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery.

"It is fit and proper that we honor all our Soldiers, especially those who have lost their lives, for it is they who have kept our country free," said Joel Escamilla, master of ceremonies and past governor, Order of Granaderos y Damas de Galvez.

The patriotic ceremony began with a symbolic "shot heard round the world" musket shot fired by the Granaderos Fife & Drum Corps and Firing Party, followed by a solemn procession to the cemetery flag circle by military, civilian and veterans organizations presenting floral tributes honoring the founding patriots who lost their lives so that we may continue to live free.

"As we celebrate our independence and freedom today, let's always be mindful that freedom isn't free. It was bought for at a very high price of human lives when a rag tag Army of colonists took on the tyranny of one of the most powerful nations in the world, and won," Czerw said.

He talked about the signers of the Declaration of Independence and the hardships they endured. "They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor," he said.

But the American colonists did not do this alone. Czerw said in 1779 the King of Spain directed Gen. Bernardo de Galvez, the governor of Louisiana, to establish an Army and a Navy to conduct a campaign against the British. Without the continuous flow of weapons, ammunition, medical and military supplies from Spain, the colonists might not have emerged victorious.

The ceremony included a musket volley by the Granaderos Fife & Drum Corps and Firing Party, dressed in period uniform, as a roll call of the 13 Colonies was read.

First Sgt. Jeffery DeGarmo, Army Medical Department Center and School, sang the National Anthem. William Trower, director, Fort Sam National Cemetery welcomed everyone to the cemetery. The Military Services Detachment provided a three-volley salute and taps in honor of the men and women who gave the ultimate sacrifice.

Czerw paid tribute to those that could not be with us on this day and to the Families for supporting their loved ones who have been called to duty.

"There are many servicemen and women who can't be with us or with their Families, enjoying the traditional barbecues and Family gatherings or attending parades today because they are deployed, doing their duty and letting us rest easy tonight. Hopefully, in their own way, they are celebrating the 4th of July as we are and they return safely," he said.