Team Vance joins Oklahomans for Memorial Day commemoration

  • Published
  • By David Poe
  • 71st Flying Training Wing Public Affairs
VANCE AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  As Americans assembled worldwide to remember their nation's fallen troops, Vance Airmen joined Oklahomans at Enid Woodring Municipal Airport May 25 to commemorate Memorial Day.

Home of the Woodring Wall of Honor and Enid's Vietnam Memorial Wall, Woodring welcomed approximately 500 guests for the morning event. The annual commemoration, emceed this year by Rep. Chad Caldwell, was organized by the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 990.

As per tradition, the Kiowa Black Leggings Warrior Society honor guard rendered the colors. The group is solely made of Kiowas who have served in the U.S. military.

After a welcome from Enid Mayor Bill Shewey and a keynote speech from retired Navy Capt. Craig Vance, the Oklahoma Disabled American Veterans group commander and an Enid native, Col. Clark Quinn, the 71st Flying Training Wing commander, addressed the audience.

He introduced the names of 12 Vietnam-era troops, who were either added or updated on the local Vietnam Memorial. Seven were troops that had met Department of Defense criteria for addition to the wall as they recently succumbed to wounds sustained during the conflict. The other five names were updated with emblems to signify their statuses were changed from Missing in Action to Killed in Action as their remains were recently repatriated from Southeast Asia.

Quinn said while Memorial Day is about the legacy of all who have gone before, he was reminded of one service member in particular.

"I remember my father," he said. "He enlisted in the Navy less than one month after Pearl Harbor. He served in the Atlantic, and later the Pacific. He remained in the Navy until 1947.

"He very rarely spoke about the war, and it's been my experience that that's the nature of many that served then," said Quinn. "They served because they knew it was the right thing to do, and talking about it was not necessarily required.

"Our veterans, along with fallen Oklahomans, are the embodiment of courage, commitment, and are integral to the heritage of this nation," he said. "We gather today to ensure our nation collectively never forgets."

Tech. Sgt. Denarius Brittain also attended the program and said while she went to honor all who have come before her, she, like Quinn, was reminded of the sacrifices of one service member in particular. She said her grandfather's Korean War stories inspired her to be the first female on either side of her family to wear a military uniform.

"They gave their lives," she said on the 70th anniversary of V-E Day. "When Pearl Harbor happened, they went out on instinct to defend what was theirs - our homeland. We're doing that today. It's what we've learned - it's our instinct."