VFW WI Post 10402

Convention 08: Memorial Service

Posted at 09:40 AM on Tuesday, August 19, 2008 by post10402

ORLANDO, Fla., Aug. 17, 2008--Army Reserve Brig. Gen. Daniel Ivan Schultz, keynote speaker at today’s memorial service, touched on the common thread that binds all veterans together—wearing a military uniform and patriotism. Schultz, commander of the 143rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), based in Orlando, Fla., said it is our duty to remember the fallen in war. He emphasized that it is their “unspoken expectation” that we will do so. “The fallen are here in spirit with us today,” said the VFW member, who served in the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

To illustrate his point about the heroism inherent in service, the general cited several examples of Americans making the supreme sacrifice in military actions such as Somalia and Iraq. For instance, he mentioned Army Delta Force operators Master Sgt. Gary Gordon and Sgt. 1st Class Randall Shughart, who were awarded Medals of Honor posthumously for Somalia, October 1993. He also honored Sgt. 1st Class Paul Smith from Tampa, Fla., who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor after being killed in Iraq in April 2003. Lastly, he told the story of Army Reservist Staff Sgt. Todd Cornell, who extended his tour in Fallujah, Iraq, to be with the men he trained and was killed on Nov. 9, 2004.

“We do not forget those who gave their lives for our country,” said Schultz, who also served a tour in Hungary supporting operations in the Balkans in 1997. “We must exercise the freedoms given to us by those who gave their lives.”

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