{"id":720,"date":"2023-03-31T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-03-31T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=720"},"modified":"2023-03-31T15:10:47","modified_gmt":"2023-03-31T15:10:47","slug":"daf-senior-leaders-pay-respects-at-vietnam-veterans-memorial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=720","title":{"rendered":"DAF senior leaders pay respects at Vietnam Veterans Memorial"},"content":{"rendered":"
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WASHINGTON (AFNS) — \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Department of the Air Force senior leaders visited the Vietnam Veterans Memorial<\/strong><\/a> in Washington, D.C., to pay their respects on National Vietnam War Veteran\u2019s Day, March 29.<\/p>\n

Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall<\/strong><\/a>, accompanied by Office of the Surgeon General Director of Medical Operations Maj. Gen. Sharon Bannister<\/strong><\/a>; Air Force Chief of Gen. CQ Brown, Jr.<\/strong><\/a>; and Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Ram\u00f3n \u201cCZ\u201d Col\u00f3n-L\u00f3pez<\/strong><\/a>, accompanied by Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force JoAnne Bass<\/strong><\/a>, marked the 50th anniversary of U.S. troop withdrawal from Vietnam by paying special tribute to specific service members killed in action during the conflict with whom they have personal or service-related connections.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis 50th anniversary of Vietnam Veterans Day is an important milestone,\u201d Kendall said. \u201cIt\u2019s far enough for historians to render objective observations but close enough that those of us who took part in or were touched by the war still vividly feel it\u2019s affects.\u201d<\/p>\n

While visiting the memorial, senior leaders conducted traditional paper rubbings of the engraved names of Staff Sgt. William H. Pitsenbarger, Lt. Col. Rodney H. Smith, 1st Lt. William F. Ericson II, Capt. Lance P. Sijan, Chief Master Sgt. Richard L. Etchbeger, Capt. Mary T. Klinker and Capt. Steven A. Rusch.<\/p>\n

Pitsenbarger was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor<\/strong><\/a> for his actions as an Air Force pararescueman, mortally wounded while aiding and defending wounded Soldiers from a pinned-down Army infantry unit. He was initially posthumously awarded the Air Force Cross<\/strong><\/a>, which was later upgraded to the Medal of Honor. He was the first enlisted recipient of the Air Force Cross, awarded in 1966 for extraordinary heroism.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe believed he could make a difference if he could make it to the ground,\u201d Kendall said. \u201cHe was right and saved lives through his heroic effort.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith was a combat engineer unit commander killed in action during a helicopter crash. Kendall received an award in Smith\u2019s honor upon his graduation from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point<\/strong><\/a> in 1971.<\/p>\n

Ericson was an infantry platoon leader. His platoon’s position was attacked by an enemy force of unknown size. Ericson was the first to detect enemy movement and alerted his platoon, causing the enemy to prematurely initiate the assault. Following the assault, Ericson led a patrol to locate the withdrawn enemy force, during which, his platoon came under fire again. Ericson charged the enemy position alone and was fatally wounded. Ericson was Kendall\u2019s regimental cadet commander during his first year attending the academy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI recognized fellow West Point graduates at the wall,\u201d Kendall said. \u201cMy memories of these teammates are etched into me, as well as the moment when we learned of their full sacrifice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sijan, a pilot who was the first and only Air Force Academy<\/strong><\/a> graduate to receive the Medal of Honor, was also awarded posthumously.<\/p>\n

\u201cFifty years ago today, the last American troops left Vietnam,\u201d Brown said. \u201cCapt. Lance Sijan evaded capture, plotted escape, battled illness and underwent torture \u2013 he never quit, never gave up but he did not return home. His incredible spirit will forever serve as an inspiration.\u201d<\/p>\n

Klinker was posthumously awarded the Airmen\u2019s Medal<\/strong><\/a> and Meritorious Service Medal<\/strong><\/a>. She was the only member of the U.S. Air Force Nurse Corps and only female Airman to be killed in the Vietnam War. Klinkner was participating in \u201cOperation Babylift<\/strong><\/a>,\u201d assisting with the evacuation of Vietnamese children, including orphans. Her flight out of Saigon crashed due to a mechanical malfunction, killing her and many of the others aboard. Children that she helped evacuate survived the crash and were relocated to the U.S.<\/p>\n

Bannister said she coincidentally met one of the evacuated children, now an adult, at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on a separate occasion. The evacuee was there to pay her respects to Klinker, whom she personally credited with her rescue.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are few opportunities as sacred as this one,\u201d Bannister said. \u201cThis is not only a way for us to stay connected and carry on the legacy of those we lost. It’s one way we can honor all the men and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice while serving our country in Vietnam.”<\/p>\n

Bannister also etched the name of Rusch, her father, an F-4E Phantom II<\/strong><\/a> pilot, who was shot down during a ground strike mission.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Maj.] Gen. Bannister shared her story and experience with me,\u201d Kendall said. \u201cHer resilience at such a young age was moving. Her dedication to her father\u2019s legacy is an example for us to study and appreciate. As Maj. Gen. Bannister prepares for retirement, she can be proud of her path. She treated and healed many through her dental skills and sustained the memories of the fallen through her volunteerism and community service.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we mark this important anniversary, let us remember not only the fallen but the sacrifice of all who served and our continued efforts to account for the missing and bring them home,\u201d Kendall said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON (AFNS) — \u00a0 Department of the Air Force senior leaders visited the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., to pay their respects on National Vietnam War Veteran\u2019s Day, March 29. Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall, accompanied by Office of the Surgeon General Director of Medical Operations Maj. Gen. Sharon Bannister; Air Force […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":722,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-720","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\/720","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\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=720"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/720\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":723,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/720\/revisions\/723"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/722"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=720"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=720"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=720"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}