Fairchild remembers Published May 21, 2013 By Senior Airman Taylor Curry 92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. -- "Let peace be our companion on a walk beside the tree. Our spirits like our banner yet are lifted on the breeze. So pause with us awhile and know that you are not alone. Our hearts will e'er be with you though immortalized in stone." We have our own Fairchild patriots immortalized here on base in a small park between lodging and the chapel. Memorial Grove is a memorial site where service members and families of those who served, can honor and remember the fallen for their courageous service and sacrifice for the cause of freedom. Memorial Grove was established August 2, 1994 in honor of the victims of the hospital shooting on base and the B-52 Stratofortress crash during a practice for that year's air show, both in June 1994. Maj. David Adolf pronounced on the dedication of the memorial, "We are gathered here today to honor our fallen loved ones and to formally dedicate this memorial grove. The trees around us, red leaf maple, crabapple, plum, pear, and cherry, will stand as a living symbol of beauty, strength, diversity and renewal...furthermore, this ceremony formally establishes Memorial Grove as a place to honor deceased members of Team Fairchild." Among the memorials in the park is one for Col. William Ivy, Deputy Commander of Operations, the Safety Observer on Swoon 52. His B-52G Stratofortress crashed in Monument Valley, near Kayenta, Ariz. The aircraft scraped a mesa on the Navajo Indian reservation and crashed Oct. 16, 1984. A memorial for Senior Airman Kenneth D. Mull stands in the park as well. Mull tragically lost his life to a motorcycle crash in October 1995. In January 1999, a memorial near the flightline was established for the victims of a Washington Air National Guard 141st Air Refueling Wing KC-135 Stratotanker crash during a landing approach after a refueling run northwest of the NATO airbase in Geilenkirchen, Germany. Sadly, more than 150 people assigned to Fairchild have paid the ultimate sacrifice for the sake of their country. "Tragically, we will immortalize three more fallen heroes here on base in the future," said Col. Brian Newberry, 92nd Air Refueling Wing commander. "On May 3, Capt. Mark Tyler Voss, Capt. Victoria Pinckney and Tech. Sgt. Herman Mackey III gave their lives 'Fueling Freedom' in a KC-135 Stratotanker crash in Kyrgyzstan. Our immortalized patriots should always be remembered by future generations and Memorial Grove represents a present day lineage to Fairchild's Airmen and the heroes we continue to remember."
