WIESBADEN, Germany -- A ceremony was held at the Strong Europe Café on Clay Kaserne June 14, in celebration of the 241st Army birthday.
Service members and Department of Defense civilians gathered at the dining facility to listen to a speech from Col. Bill Williams, U.S. Army Europe's deputy chief of staff, and an official cake cutting performed by Williams alongside Staff Sgt. Lenard Romine, the hosting dining facility's assistant dining manager and the oldest service member in attendance, and Pvt. Donte Edwards, an aviation operations specialist assigned to Company Echo, 1-214th Aviation Regiment and the youngest service member in attendance.
After the ceremony, Edwards said that the moment was a special one for him as he approaches the one-year-mark of his Army career.
"It was exciting because I did not know I was the youngest Soldier so when they told me I was surprised," said Pvt. Donte Edwards, an aviation operations specialist assigned to Company Echo, 1-214th Aviation Regiment and the youngest service member in attendance. "At the same time I understood because I am fresh out of high school, fresh out of AIT (Advanced Individual Training) and this is my first duty station."
Though the young aviator may be the youngest here, he reminds us of why we are celebrating today.
"Being a Soldier means being able to hold yourself at a level not many people can. Not many people can say 'I am a U.S. Soldier.'"
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About us: U.S. Army Europe is uniquely positioned in its 51 country area of responsibility to advance American strategic interests in Europe and Eurasia. The relationships we build during more than 1,000 theater security cooperation events in more than 40 countries each year lead directly to support for multinational contingency operations around the world, strengthen regional partnerships and enhance global security.
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