Armed Forces Day: Troops, Veterans Honored at Armed Forces Day Ceremony By SHANNON COLLINS - As the last notes of “Taps” echoed off the stones of the Tomb of the Unknowns today, service members representing the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard and veterans from World War II and the Korean War slowly dropped their salutes.

Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Michael Stevens steps forward to pin a medallion representing the Navy on a wreath honoring members of the armed forces during Armed Forces Day ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, May 16, 2016.
Photo by SHANNON COLLINS

Tour groups of people visiting Arlington National Cemetery witnessed the changing of the guard, followed by honor guards from each of the service branches marching up in file and rendering honors as the colors were posted.

Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Bryan B. Battaglia, senior enlisted advisor to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was joined by all five senior enlisted service advisors in a wreath-laying ceremony at the tomb to mark the 65th annual Armed Forces Day. Afterward, the U.S. Army Concert Band performed patriotic music at a free concert.

‘We Celebrate … with the Fallen’

The wreath will be on display for the day at the Tomb of the Unknowns to honor those who gave the last full measure, “but Armed Forces Day honors all service members past and present,” Battaglia said.

“We celebrate Armed Forces Day with the fallen,” the sergeant major said.

“What better place for us to thank those who played such an integral role in protecting America’s freedom and liberty? Like many national burial grounds across the globe, here are harbored and housed America’s heroes, the hundreds of thousands of men and women who have, for more than 240 years, proudly and courageously worn the cloth of our nation,” he said.

“At Arlington today, we are encircled by those brave and courageous men and women, past and present, active, reserve and National Guard, living veterans and our fallen, all who have proudly served and continue to serve our country,” Battaglia said.

Veterans Remember

For Marine Corps veteran Brian Long, who served four years as a mortarman during the Beirut Conflict with the 2nd Battalion, 6th Marines, Armed Forces Day was a reunion with his unit and with Battaglia.

“I haven’t seen this group of Marines since 1980,” said the former sergeant. “It was an opportunity to renew some acquaintances and regain some familiarity. [Battaglia] worked for me as a young lance corporal, and 35 years later, he’s the senior enlisted advisor. We’re very proud of him.”

Long said he was honored to be at the event because he has had a member of his family serve in the armed forces in one conflict or another since World War I through Vietnam and into Afghanistan and Iraq.

“My father was a World War II veteran,” he said. “We lost him a number of years ago, but he was a [prisoner of war] who fought in Europe. It’s special to be here surrounded by what it means to be an American and to be able to share this with brothers from all of the armed forces. It’s an honor to be here for Armed Forces Day.”

Vietnam veteran Clifford Barnes arrived at Arlington via an Honor Flight from Austin, Texas. He served in the Army for 41 years and said the event was indescribable.

“You just can’t describe what it feels like to be here,” he said. “The hair on the back of my neck was standing up. I was getting butterflies. I really enjoyed it. It brought back all of the worthwhile things I’ve done.” - More...
Saturday PM - May 16, 2015

Southeast Alaska: Alaska high school students win top national honors for research - Two Alaska high school students won top honors in a national competition held in Hunt Valley, Maryland for original scientific research with first place going to a Petersburg High School student.

Left to right: West Valley High School science teacher Gregory Kahoe, Petersburg High School student Ian Fleming, West Valley student Michael Kaden-Hoffmann and Alaska Statewide High School Science Symposium director Abel Bult-Ito.
Photograph Courtesy UAF

Ian Fleming, of Petersburg, earned first place and a $12,000 scholarship for his research on the negative effects of a common herbicide on coho salmon eggs.

Fleming, from Petersburg High School in Southeast Alaska, won first place for his research and how he presented it in the competition category of “Environmental Science.” He said he wanted to see how coho salmon eggs would fare when exposed to different amounts of the common herbicide Roundup because it “was important to me, my family and the state.” At one point, he said, there was a proposed plan to use herbicides in Petersburg to control vegetation along roads that often cross over or run alongside streams where coho salmon and other species spawn.

Fleming said he entered ASHSSS as part of his AP Biology class, which required all the students to develop a research project for the symposium. His mentor was his father, Doug Fleming, who commercially fishes after a career as a fishery biologist in Alaska. Ian Fleming said the project helped him learn about the scientific method.

“I think it’s important to learn about the scientific method early on, because it doesn’t really change as you move through the different levels of education,” he said. “If you get exposed to it early, you can build off of it, become more precise at it and gain a greater understanding of how it works.”

Michael Kaden-Hoffmann, of Fairbanks, won fourth place and $300 for a poster detailing research that supports the recognition of three and not just two species of the plant dwarf rosebay (Therorhodion), which grows in Alaska. - More...
Saturday PM - May 16, 2015