McALESTER, Okla. -- Leaders and residents of this quiet town nestled in southeastern Oklahoma gathered for the 63rd consecutive year to commemorate the service and sacrifices of Soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines to the nation.
With the theme -- Oklahomans Preserving Freedom -- McAlester kicked off its annual Armed Forces Day festivities with a luncheon at the McAlester Army Ammunition Plant here May 3.
Members of Oklahoma Army National Guard's Troop C, 1st Squadron, 180th Cavalry Regiment presented the colors for the luncheon.
Before introducing guest Speaker Brig. Gen. Hopper T. Smith, assistant adjutant general, Oklahoma Army National Guard, Col. Timothy D. Beckner, commander, McAlester Army Ammunition Plant, asked all active duty, reserve, National Guard, retirees, and anyone else who has served in the profession of arms to stand. Nearly half of the attendees were standing when applause filled the room.
Smith's remarks paid homage to the National Guard's 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team and all past and present Oklahomans who have served the nation.
The general said the 45th IBCT's lineage is forever linked to the Oklahoma Army National Guard's 45th Infantry Division that earned the nickname -- the "Fighting 45th" from Gen. George S. Patton during World War II.
He said Patton reluctantly accepted a National Guard division among the three he was given for the amphibious landing at Sicily on July 10, 1943. Smith said Patton reportedly insisted on leading with the division to test its mettle -- and that it was perhaps the division's 180th Infantry Regiment from southeastern Oklahoma that was at the tip of the spear.
The general said the division went on to do "great things" -- making subsequent amphibious landings at Salerno, Anzio and Southern France. The division received seven distinguished unit citations and eight campaign streamers during the conflict.
When the Korean War began, Smith said the 45th Inf. Div. was one of two National Guard units to be activated. The division again distinguished itself in combat -- receiving four campaign streamers and one Presidential Unit Citation. Sgt. Charles George -- a Cherokee -- was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.
Smith said members of today's 45th IBCT continue that tradition of service to the nation. In recent weeks, many of its members have returned from a nine-month deployment to Afghanistan that tragically claimed the lives of 14 Oklahomans.
"We have Soldiers [who] come from great stock and we know these histories because they're part of the units we enlisted in," the general said about the unit's lineage that dates back to 1923. "We've read about some of the great leaders from our past and we know that is the measure that we have to live up to."
He cited the leadership of Jack Montgomery - a Cherokee from Sallisaw - who received the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions in combat near Padiglione, Italy, Feb. 22, 1944.
While wearing the division's Thunderbird patch -- a Native American symbol -- 1st Lt. Montgomery from the 180th Inf. Regt. single-handedly accounted for 11 enemy dead, 32 prisoners and an unknown number of wounded, according to the citation for the Medal of Honor that he received nearly one year later.
The general said Montgomery was one of eight division Soldiers to receive the nation's highest medal for valor in combat. He said the Oklahoma Army National Guard continues that tradition of strong leaders today and that some have paid the ultimate price since 9/11.
"When we were listening to the National Anthem and a little bit of Amazing Grace, I was thinking about the 19 fallen comrades, some of whom I knew," he said with his voice cracking as he fought back his emotions. "I was reminded of the lyrics from America the Beautiful."
He pointed out that each verse "elevates the level of our humanity" and that he always gets choked up with the third verse. It reads:
O beautiful for heroes
proved in liberating strife.
Who more than self their country loved
and mercy more than life!
America! America!
May God thy gold refine
Till all success be nobleness
And every gain divine!
"I really appreciate the recognition of all 123 Oklahomans and the thousands who have died to preserve our freedoms and help keep this country the greatest place on earth," the general said to conclude his remarks.
He was presented a food basket and a miniature UH-1H handcrafted from mahogany by Lester Wray from the local Vietnam veterans organization, as tokens of appreciation.
Earlier in the luncheon, McAlester Mayor Steve Harrison paid tribute to the nation's service members by explaining the missing man table that was meticulously prepared at the front of the banquet hall. It is designed to call attention to the Soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines who are absent, fallen or still listed as missing in action.
Among the other distinguished guests who attended the luncheon were U.S. Congressman Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., Oklahoma state Sen. Larry Boggs, R-Red Oak, Oklahoma State Rep. Brian Renegar, D-McAlester, David Keith, chairman of the McAlester Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture and McAlester Regional Health Center CEO, and Upton Shimp, Ph.D., director, Defense Ammunition Center.
The Armed Forces Day Luncheon and the parade and fly-in events held the following day were organized by the McAlester Armed Forces Day Committee. The committee was led by U.S. Army Col. (ret.) Gerald Kleager, former MCAAP commander from July 1993 to July 1995. It also included members from the city, chamber of commerce, civic organizations and the plant.
McAlester Army Ammunition Plant is the Department of Defense's premier bomb and warhead loading facility, and is one of 14 industrial facilities in the Joint Munitions Command. It is vital to ammunition stockpile management and delivery to the joint warfighter for training and combat operations.
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