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Fort Leavenworth reflects, remembers with Survivor Tree of Honor

By Prudence Siebert-Fort Leavenworth Lamp EditorDecember 12, 2024

Combined Arms Center Command Sgt. Maj. Shawn Carns and CAC and Fort Leavenworth Commanding General Lt. Gen. Milford Beagle Jr. add names of area fallen service members to the Survivor Outreach Services Tree of Honor Dec. 10, 2024, in the atrium of...
1 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Combined Arms Center Command Sgt. Maj. Shawn Carns and CAC and Fort Leavenworth Commanding General Lt. Gen. Milford Beagle Jr. add names of area fallen service members to the Survivor Outreach Services Tree of Honor Dec. 10, 2024, in the atrium of the CAC Headquarters building at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Each year Gold Star families decorate a Tree of Honor in the Center of Valor and Remembrance in the Fort Leavenworth Resliency Center, but this year the additional Tree of Honor in CAC HQ reminds visitors of the sacrifices of the fallen and to think of their families this holiday season. Photo by Prudence Siebert/Fort Leavenworth Lamp (Photo Credit: Photo by Prudence Siebert/Fort Leavenworth Lamp) VIEW ORIGINAL
The Survivor Outreach Services Tree of Honor — decorated by Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation employee Magdalena Fritz, Army Community Service staff members and the Combined Arms Center Command Team — is adorned with the names of area...
2 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – The Survivor Outreach Services Tree of Honor — decorated by Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation employee Magdalena Fritz, Army Community Service staff members and the Combined Arms Center Command Team — is adorned with the names of area fallen service members. The tree is on display at CAC HQ at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, for visitors to reflect and remember the fallen and their families. (Photo Credit: Photo by Prudence Siebert/Fort Leavenworth Lamp) VIEW ORIGINAL
Combined Arms Center and Fort Leavenworth Commanding General Lt. Gen. Milford Beagle Jr. adds the name of a fallen service member to the Tree of Honor Dec. 10, 2024, in the atrium of the CAC Headquarters building. Photo by Prudence Siebert/Fort...
3 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Combined Arms Center and Fort Leavenworth Commanding General Lt. Gen. Milford Beagle Jr. adds the name of a fallen service member to the Tree of Honor Dec. 10, 2024, in the atrium of the CAC Headquarters building. Photo by Prudence Siebert/Fort Leavenworth Lamp (Photo Credit: Photo by Prudence Siebert/Fort Leavenworth Lamp) VIEW ORIGINAL
Combined Arms Center and Fort Leavenworth Commanding General Lt. Gen. Milford Beagle Jr. adds the name of a fallen service member to the Tree of Honor Dec. 10, 2024, in the atrium of the CAC Headquarters building at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas....
4 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Combined Arms Center and Fort Leavenworth Commanding General Lt. Gen. Milford Beagle Jr. adds the name of a fallen service member to the Tree of Honor Dec. 10, 2024, in the atrium of the CAC Headquarters building at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Photo by Prudence Siebert/Fort Leavenworth Lamp (Photo Credit: Photo by Prudence Siebert/Fort Leavenworth Lamp) VIEW ORIGINAL
Survivor Outreach Services Coordinator Greg Bailey Sr. and Army Community Staff members watch Combined Arms Center and Fort Leavenworth Commanding General Lt. Gen. Milford Beagle Jr. add a name to the top of the SOS Tree of Honor, which bears the...
5 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Survivor Outreach Services Coordinator Greg Bailey Sr. and Army Community Staff members watch Combined Arms Center and Fort Leavenworth Commanding General Lt. Gen. Milford Beagle Jr. add a name to the top of the SOS Tree of Honor, which bears the names of area fallen service members, while trimming the tree Dec. 10, 2024, in the CAC Headquarters building at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Beagle asked that a duplicate tree to the one decorated each year by families of fallen service members in the Center of Valor and Remembrance be placed in CAC HQ for everyone who enters the building to remember the fallen and their families. Photo by Prudence Siebert/Fort Leavenworth Lamp (Photo Credit: Photo by Prudence Siebert/Fort Leavenworth Lamp) VIEW ORIGINAL

Each year at Christmastime, Gold Star families from the Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and surrounding area gather at the Center of Valor and Remembrance in the Resiliency Center to remember their fallen service members and support one another, as well as receive support from Survivor Outreach Services, while trimming a Tree of Honor with the names of their lost loved ones.

This year, an additional SOS Tree of Honor has been decorated in glittering gold ornaments and adorned with the names of fallen service members and placed in the foyer of the Combined Arms Center Headquarters building.

“The reason why I wanted to bring a tree here… as many people as come in this headquarters every day, it’s going to cause you to stop, to see and to get your arms around understanding that loss, that name,” said CAC and Fort Leavenworth Commanding General Lt. Gen. Milford Beagle Jr. “You see it — it’s going to cause that curiosity to see the name, whether you know them or not, and then reflect, and now it gets us closer to that understanding for those who have lost someone.”

Beagle said he has witnessed and participated in the annual tree-trimming tradition with survivor families, and he wanted to share the impact of that special tree with others this season.

“The intimacy of the (SOS tree-trimming) event that happens — and I’ve seen it the last couple years and at other places in our SOS Valor Center with those families — only they get to see it,” Beagle said. “When you think in terms of what you see and what you understand, they both see it and understand it every single day, because they’ve lost a loved one. So, when they look at a picture, that picture will never be the same as it was in the past, because there is somebody missing. When they sit down, as we all do for holidays and everything else, the picture is different because somebody is not in the space they’re normally in, so they see it every day.

“Part of my intent was to get a tree here, because we may think about it, we may see it, but we may not have the full extent because that void is not being created for us. Sometimes we don’t need the reminder, but I think the reminder is helpful, so I appreciate all of you for hanging the names,” he told the Army Community Service staff members assembled to help hang the names on the tree.

The names on the Tree of Honor represent 433 active-duty service members who have died in the Fort Leavenworth community — many lost in combat, but that number also includes those who have died in accidents or by suicide, since Sept. 11, 2001. The tree also holds at least one name of fallen service members from every conflict from World War II to present, including the name of WWII service member whose family is actively involved in the SOS program. About 500 area survivor families are currently active in the SOS program. SOS has served about 1,000 area survivor families since the program’s inception nearly 20 years ago.

“In our staff meetings, I will often say the number of active Gold Star families, our survivor families that we have, and I’m confident that all our staff know that number, but even as they were putting (the name ornaments) on today, they were like ‘Oh gosh, I didn’t realize it was this many,’” SOS Coordinator Greg Bailey Sr. said.

In addition to the tree in CAC HQ, visitors can view the original SOS Tree of Honor in the Center of Valor and Remembrance, located in room 161 of the Resiliency Center, from Dec. 16, 2024, through the first week of January 2025.

“Additionally, visitors are welcome to visit the Center of Valor and Remembrance where we pay homage to our fallen heroes and their families via photos, memorial books and mini shadow boxes bearing each fallen service member’s date of birth, date of transition, rank, name and a folded flag of honor,” Bailey said.

CAC Command Sgt. Maj. Shawn Carns thanked the ACS staff members present Dec. 10 for their help placing the names of the fallen on the tree.

“Thank you all for being here to remember. It touches all of our hearts, because all of us have experienced it throughout the years, whether you have a survivor, you know a survivor, or you are part of those families that have the ones who have passed away during our combat,” Carns said. “Thank you very much for everything you all do in being here to remember our fallen.”

In addition to the glittering ornaments and the names of the fallen, a framed explanation for the SOS Tree of Honor also adorns the tree.

“This holiday remembrance tree celebrates the lives and sacrifices of our Fort Leavenworth fallen heroes,” the framed sign reads. “It stands as a symbol of gratitude and enduring remembrance for the brave soldiers who gave all. This tree helps to ensure their names, sacrifices and memories live on in our hearts during this holiday season.”

Bailey asked that the community remember the families of fallen service members this holiday season.

“Please continue to keep our Gold Star and survivor families in your thoughts and prayers, especially during the holiday season when life’s circumstances can sometimes feel more challenging than other times of the year, for everyone,” he said, urging community members to take care of themselves as well.