{"id":403699,"date":"2025-04-04T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-04T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=403699"},"modified":"2025-04-06T23:42:36","modified_gmt":"2025-04-06T23:42:36","slug":"usag-rheinland-pfalz-honors-gold-star-spouses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=403699","title":{"rendered":"USAG Rheinland-Pfalz honors Gold Star Spouses"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz honored Gold Star Spouses with a recognition ceremony and bench dedication April 2, 2025, on Sembach Kaserne in Sembach, Germany. The new bench, inscribed with the words, \u201cThis bench is dedicated to the Survivors of the Fallen who have sacrificed the most for us all,\u201d stands as a tribute alongside similar memorials at Minnick Field on Smith Barracks in Baumholder and in Pulaski Park on Pulaski Barracks. (Photo by Senior Airman Christian Conrad).
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KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz honored Gold Star Spouses with a recognition ceremony and bench dedication April 2, 2025, on Sembach Kaserne in Sembach, Germany. The ceremony took place just days ahead of Gold Star Spouses Day, observed annually on April 5.<\/p>\n

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\n Col. Tracy Michael, commander of the 68th Theater Medical Command, acknowledges the survivors of the fallen at the Gold Star Spouses Recognition Ceremony and Bench Dedication April 2, 2025, on Sembach Kaserne in Sembach, Germany. The ceremony took place just days ahead of Gold Star Spouses Day, observed annually on April 5. (Photo by Senior Airman Christian Conrad)
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The new bench, inscribed with the words, \u201cThis bench is dedicated to the Survivors of the Fallen who have sacrificed the most for us all,\u201d stands as a tribute alongside similar memorials at Minnick Field on Smith Barracks in Baumholder and in Pulaski Park on Pulaski Barracks.<\/p>\n

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\n Col. Tracy Michael, commander of the 68th Theater Medical Command, along with Gold Star Son, Sgt. First Class Thomas Adams and Gold Star Spouse, Command Sgt. Maj. Andrew DeCola, at the Gold Star Spouses Recognition Ceremony and Bench Dedication April 2, 2025, on Sembach Kaserne in Sembach, Germany. The ceremony took place just days ahead of Gold Star Spouses Day, observed annually on April 5. (Photo by Senior Airman Christian Conrad).
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The term \u201cGold Star\u201d originates from the Service Flag tradition. Families displayed a blue star for each immediate family member serving in the U.S. armed forces during times of war or conflict. If a service member died in service, the blue star was replaced with a gold one, symbolizing the family\u2019s loss and sacrifice for freedom.<\/p>\n

The garrison\u2019s Army Community Service Survivor Outreach Services (SOS) program continues to stand by Gold Star spouses, offering ongoing support through case management, financial counseling, benefits coordination and support groups. The Army recognizes that questions and issues may arise long after a loss and remains dedicated to supporting surviving families.<\/p>\n

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\n Paul Hossenlopp, USAG Rheinland-Pfalz deputy garrison commander, Col. Tracy Michael, commander of the 68th Theater Medical Command and attendees at the Gold Star Spouses Recognition Ceremony and Bench Dedication April 2, 2025, on Sembach Kaserne in Sembach, Germany. The ceremony took place just days ahead of Gold Star Spouses Day, observed annually on April 5. (Photo by Senior Airman Christian Conrad).
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The SOS offices are located on Kleber Kaserne and Smith Barracks. For more information, visit: https:\/\/kaiserslautern.armymwr.com\/programs\/acs\/survivor-outreach-services<\/a> or https:\/\/baumholder.armymwr.com\/programs\/acs<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Sembach Kaserne, one of the garrison\u2019s 28 sites, plays a vital role as a U.S. Army operational hub. It hosts roughly 30 units, including five General Officer\/Senior Executive Service\/Headquarters-level organizations, ten O-6 commands and six joint commands. Approximately 2,000 professionals work on the installation. Key mission partners include the 68th Theater Medical Command, 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command, Medical Readiness Command, DODEA Europe, AFN Europe Headquarters, Sembach Elementary School and USAREUR-AF Vehicle Registration.<\/p>\n

U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz advances the Department of Defense mission to achieve peace through strength as we serve, support and secure the total force community, enabling power projection for the European Theater.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz honored Gold Star Spouses with a recognition ceremony and bench dedication April 2, 2025, on Sembach Kaserne in Sembach, Germany. The new bench, inscribed with the words, \u201cThis bench is dedicated to the Survivors of the Fallen who have sacrificed the most for us all,\u201d stands as a tribute alongside similar […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":403701,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-403699","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403699","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=403699"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403699\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":403706,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403699\/revisions\/403706"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/403701"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=403699"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=403699"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=403699"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}