FORT DRUM, N.Y. -- Fort Drum Soldiers, Family Members, Civilians and invited guests gathered Thursday in Memorial Park on post to reflect on the patriotism and selfless sacrifices of service members during the annual Veterans Day ceremony.
"This day serves as a sobering reminder of the immense commitment and sacrifice made by the troops, both past and present, who have answered their country's call to service," said Maj. Gen. Jeffrey L. Bannister, 10th Mountain Division (LI) and Fort Drum commander.
Bannister recognized two distinguished veterans in attendance at the ceremony. The first was World War II veteran Charlie Smith, who Bannister described as one of the original "Mountaineers."
"He fought this division's first and most defining battles," Bannister said. "He served under Maj. Gen. George Hays, he scaled the allegedly -- and notice I said 'allegedly' -- impassable terrain of Riva Ridge, he assaulted Mount Belvedere against heavily fortified German defenses, and he set the example of what we constantly strive for as 'Mountain Tough,' which is engrained into our Summit 6 training."
Bannister also welcomed another guest, retired Col. Michael Plummer, who he described as "a hidden hero of Fort Drum."
"I first met Col. Plummer in 1981 when I was a young paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division and he was the chief of staff of the 82nd," Bannister said. "At the end of the Cold War, Col. Plummer saw a gap in the Army's ability to fight contingency operations, and he argued for a more rapid light infantry unit in the Army. He saw a capability gap and he went after it."
Bannister said Plummer helped stand up the 10th Mountain Division (LI) at Fort Drum, and he became the division's first chief of staff when it reactivated. After retiring in the North Country, Plummer has continued to support the division through his involvement in the 10th Mountain Division Association, the Association of the United States Army, and with his Adopt-a-Unit initiative to support deployed Soldiers.
Bannister also introduced the guest speaker of the ceremony, F. Anthony Keating, civilian aide to the secretary of the Army, who reflected at length on World War II photographs he discovered online that resonated deeply in his mind.
"Two of those photos haunted me, stuck in my psyche," he said. "And when I looked at them, they filled me with sadness and regret."
Two photos in particular depicted service members killed in action on two different battlefields, in two different countries during World War II. He couldn't stop thinking about those images, and Keating said he went back on the website later to further contemplate their significance.
"I began to think about the world as those fallen Soldiers and Marines knew it back during the initiative to take Normandy and Iwo Jima," he said. "The previous 10 years of their lives, a veil of tyranny had descended over many areas of the world and subjugated the people who lived in those regions."
Keating said that it was on that tragic day in 1941 -- the attack on Pearl Harbor -- when Americans realized the possibility that their own homeland could be enveloped by tyranny and determined not to let that happen. He also realized that those fallen service members in the photographs were not only heroes, but winners.
"They had accomplished their mission," he said. "It was their battle buddies who raised those colors in victory, owing -- in no small measure -- the sacrifices that they and others who fell during those assaults had made to victory."
Keating said he regretted not knowing the names of those fallen service members in the photos, but he was comforted in the knowledge that he knew of them and what they had done for their country. Although they remain nameless, he said, they will always be recognized as American veterans.
After the ceremony concluded, many 10th Mountain Division (LI) Soldiers sought out the veterans mentioned during the ceremony to give their warm regards on a particularly cold afternoon. Smith, 93, clearly enjoyed meeting the line of troops who greeted him. Smith was accompanied by his brother, Warren, and daughter, Darlene, who said that he lit up with genuine joy upon receiving the invitation to make another trip to Fort Drum.
"I'm so happy to be invited here," Smith said. "It's a great honor."
Social Sharing