{"id":165661,"date":"2024-05-02T17:13:00","date_gmt":"2024-05-02T17:13:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=165661"},"modified":"2024-05-02T18:45:27","modified_gmt":"2024-05-02T18:45:27","slug":"nsa-souda-bay-memorializes-nmcb-14","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=165661","title":{"rendered":"NSA Souda Bay memorializes NMCB-14"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cOur ceremony today is to stop, pause, and honor our Seabees who lost their lives, so we all can live in a country with the freedom we all cherish,\u201d said Utilitiesman 2nd Class Brian Torres, NAVFAC EURAFCENT. \u201cToday, we remember Seabees who lived by our core values of honor, courage, and commitment. We stop for a few moments, so we always remember the enormous price our brothers and their families have paid so we \u2013 and all Americans \u2013 can enjoy the freedom we have been given.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ceremony memorialized seven NMCB-14 Sailors who paid the ultimate sacrifice and 35 who were wounded in 2004 while the battalion was serving in Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Throughout Iraq and Afghanistan, Seabees built bridges, conducted convoy operations, and built forward-operating bases alongside Marines, embodying their motto of \u201cWe Build, We Fight.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cThere is a difference between being ready and being prepared,\u201d said retired Senior Chief Construction Mechanic Francisco Landrau, event coordinator for the ceremony. \u201cWe were ready, but nothing can prepare you for the horrors of war. We coped and made sense of reality by shrugging it all off, and all the other close calls by laughing and commenting to each other, \u2018it was just not our time, not our day.\u2019 This was our war, and that was my fight. I retired and no longer wear the uniform. Today our battlefield and the face of our enemy has changed and continues to evolve.\u00a0 We all have our Mission \u2013 master yours \u2013 and never forget our fallen.\u201d<\/p>\n

NMCB-14 made history as the first reserve battalion to assume command from an active-duty battalion since WW2.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is important to make time, like today, to step back and remember why we wear this uniform those that have built our legacy, and reflect on what we will do to carry that legacy forward,\u201d said Lt. Cmdr. Matthew Riege, public works officer, NSA Souda Bay. \u201cI have one ask for everyone here today: we figure out what each one of us will do to carry forward the legacy and carry on for these seven Seabees.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Seabees from the NAVFAC EURAFCENT laid a wreath as the master of ceremonies read the names of the fallen Sailors:
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