An official website of the United States government Here's how you know

Fort Gregg-Adams community ponders identity, Army heritage

By Chad MenegayJune 7, 2024

Fort Gregg-Adams community ponders identity, Army heritage
1 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Soldiers from Tango Company, 266th Quartermaster Battalion help present the history of the United States Army from the American Revolution through the modern force of today by wearing artifact uniforms provided by the U.S. Army Quartermaster Museum June 6, the 80th anniversary of D-Day, at the Beaty Theater, Fort Gregg-Adams, Va. The Combined Arms Support Command presented the Fort Gregg-Adams 2024 Army Heritage Month Observance, hosted by the 23rd Quartermaster Brigade, which also featured a Purple Heart recipient as guest speaker. (U.S. Army photo by Chad Menegay) (Photo Credit: Chad Menegay) VIEW ORIGINAL
Fort Gregg-Adams community ponders identity, Army heritage
2 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Guest speaker Ben King, a Purple Heart recipient and the Virginia War Memorial Operations Director, pauses during a speech to a crowd of Fort Gregg-Adams community members, Soldiers and veterans as part of the Fort Gregg-Adams 2024 Army Heritage Month Observance June 6, the 80th anniversary of D-Day, at the Beaty Theater, Fort Gregg-Adams, Va. After having been awarded the Purple Heart, King said that in his post-war experience—after a 2006 deployment during the Iraq surge that included injuries received from an IED explosion—he took a deeper look into what it meant to be a modern warrior. “Who we are as defenders of freedom requires generation after generation to stand up and be ready to defend that which is required for us to be free,” King said. (U.S. Army photo by Chad Menegay) (Photo Credit: Chad Menegay) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT GREGG-ADAMS, Va. (June 6, 2024) —The Combined Arms Support Command presented the Fort Gregg-Adams 2024 Army Heritage Month Observance, hosted by the 23rd Quartermaster Brigade.

The event featured a historic uniform presentation by era and a Purple Heart recipient as guest speaker June 6, the 80th anniversary of D-Day, at the Beaty Theater.

“The best way to preserve history is to understand the land from which it springs forth,” said keynote speaker and Virginia War Memorial Operations Director Ben King, speaking about the United States. “As we continue in our history of who we are, this land continues to define us.”

King told a crowd of Fort Gregg-Adams community members, Soldiers and veterans they and other past and present Virginia residents are defenders of freedom.

“Now in this modern era, we are faced with a new series of understandings of who we are and where we came from,” King said.

After having been awarded the Purple Heart, King said that in his post-war experience—after a 2006 deployment during the Iraq surge that included injuries received from an IED explosion—he took a deeper look into what it meant to be a modern warrior.

“Who we are as defenders of freedom requires generation after generation to stand up and be ready to defend that which is required for us to be free,” King said.

To exhibit this generation-after-generation defense of freedom, Soldiers from Tango Company, 266th Quartermaster Battalion presented the history of the United States Army from the American Revolution through the modern force of today by wearing artifact uniforms provided by the U.S. Army Quartermaster Museum.

The demonstration included artifacts from the following conflicts: American Revolutionary War, The War of 1812, The American Civil War, World War I, World War II, The Korean War, The Vietnam War, The Gulf War, and The Global War on Terror.

“Who we are as a nation and who we are as a fighting force is built upon the backs of people that stood up, put their sacred honor on the flag and marched forward into the hardest times,” King said. “We are a part of that.”

The purpose of the observance and Army Heritage Month is to promote the Army Values, foster a culture of equity and inclusion in the Army, recognize diversity within the Army as a strength and force multiplier, promote unit cohesion, Esprit de Corps, and recognize and celebrate the Army's Birthday and its heritage during the month of June.