FORT BELVOIR, Va. -- The U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM) honored those who have paid the ultimate price in service to the nation during a Memorial Day Ceremony at its Nolan Building headquarters here, May 22.
The official party, led by Col. Paul S. Oh, INSCOM chief of staff; Chief Warrant Officer 5 Jeremy M. Sager, INSCOM command chief warrant officer; retired Chief Warrant Officer 4 Alan L. Lindley; and INSCOM Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC) 1st Sgt. Jesse L. Mitchell, presided over the ceremony.
Attended in-person by members of the command and honored guests, this year’s ceremony was dedicated to honoring, remembering, and reflecting on the men and women who gave their lives while serving in the Army Security Agency (ASA), later becoming INSCOM.
Oh began his remarks by welcoming Lindley, a Vietnam veteran who served in the ASA and INSCOM as a Soldier and civilian.
“This command is built on the shoulders of the ASA,” said Oh. “We are thankful for you and those who served with you, especially as we remember the ultimate sacrifice of so many.”
Oh expressed the importance of remembering those who died while serving in the U.S. military.
“Memorial Day is a day of mourning and reflection,” Oh said. “It’s a day we acknowledge that we are in an inherently dangerous business. We acknowledge that life can be fleeting. And we acknowledge that we have much to be thankful for.”
The ASA and INSCOM memorials are inscribed with 67 names of the Soldiers who died while serving ASA and INSCOM.
Oh reminded us that those we honor today were not unlike ourselves.
“As we reflect on their lives, we come to see that they were not so different from us,” Oh said. “They had similar hopes, similar dreams, similar challenges, similar setbacks. They were our brothers, our sisters, our fathers, our mothers, our sons, our daughters.”
Oh’s words painted a picture of ordinary individuals who, through service and sacrifice, became extraordinary. It was a reminder that heroism is not born in grandeur, but in the quiet, courageous choice to serve.
In his closing statement, Oh encouraged everyone in attendance to remember and reflect.
“Through their sacrifice they made ASA, INSCOM, and our country stronger,” said Oh. “So, we mourn today. We reflect. But most of all, on this Memorial Day, we give thanks for the men and women in uniform who sacrificed their lives to make our nation stronger.”
The event concluded with Sager reading off the names on the monuments, the playing of “Taps,” by INSCOM’s Sgt. Marvin Lopez and a wreath laying ceremony by the official party.
Oh and Mitchell laid a wreath at the INSCOM Memorial, which is made of three granite pillars, honoring those who gave their lives in support of the INSCOM mission.
Sager and Lindley laid a wreath at the ASA Memorial, with a statue of a lone Soldier atop its base, honoring those who gave their lives in service to the country.
First observed after the Civil War in 1868, Memorial Day was initially called “Decoration Day” because families gathered to remember their loved ones by decorating gravesites with flowers or flags. This tradition continues across America Today.
INSCOM executes mission command of operational intelligence and security forces; conducts and synchronizes worldwide multidiscipline and all-source intelligence and security operations; and delivers linguist support and intelligence-related advanced skills training, acquisition support, logistics, communications, and other specialized capabilities in support of Army, Joint, Coalition Commands and the U.S. Intelligence Community.
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