MAY 22, 2026 – Fort Rucker honored the valor of our brave Service Members who made the ultimate sacrifice to defend our country and the ideals we hold dear during the annual Memorial Day ceremony at Veterans Park, May 21.
What once began as Decoration Day honoring specifically those that died in the Civil War evolved after World War I to honor all American military personnel who died in any conflict. In 1971 Congress passed the official change to Memorial Day to be observed on the last Monday in May.
Brig. Gen. Kenneth C. Cole, Aviation Center of Excellence and Fort Rucker deputy commanding general, welcomed attendees to include Gold Star Families, and spoke at the ceremony before the ceremonial wreath laying.
“We are here to honor the men and women who gave their last full measure of devotion. We do not gather in the spirit of gloom, as the chaplain said, but in the spirit of gratitude, and to tend the flame, recognizing that the peace and sacred liberty we enjoy this morning was purchased at an incalculable price,” said Cole.
Cole spoke on the history that remains imprinted at Fort Rucker. The names of the buildings our flight school students learn in and the names of the streets we drive on daily, telling the story of Sergeant First Class Rodney Yano.
“Over the jungles of Vietnam, Sergeant First Class Rodney Yano, acting as a crew chief, observed a grenade, in the back of his aircraft went off” along with other ammunition on board.
“Acting quickly and decisively, Sergeant First Class Yano began by hand to get the ammunition that was already on fire and pieces of the burning grenade out of the aircraft. Saving his aircraft and his crew members, but unfortunately his life was extinguished that day. This is the standard of the American Soldier and the Army air crew member,” said Cole.
Yano was among the 4800 air crew members who lost their lives in the jungles of Vietnam. Fort Rucker named Yano Hall to honor his selfless service and personal courage.
Cole shared a personal story from his time serving as a battalion commander in Korea and the relationship he shared with his Korean helicopter commander counterpart. At the Korean battalion commander’s change of command, Cole presented him with a folded American Flag and shared its importance.
Cole said, “The American flag is mounted proudly on the inside of our U.S. Army aircraft. After our aircraft lands on air assaults and helicopter landing zones, it’s the last thing our infantry soldiers will see as they go out on their mission, and it’s the first thing they see when we go to pick them up, and they get back in the aircraft.”
“It flies in front of our schools, our museums, our government buildings, and above the cemeteries of our fallen. It covers the coffins of our fallen and is presented to the families of our fallen at Memorial ceremonies and grave sites. It is the most precious and meaningful thing I could have given him, and I told him that, and I could see that it moved him,” added Cole.
“Our flag, to my left and to your front, calls us to remember our fallen in combat. We must always be worthy of such men and women,” said Cole.
Chief Warrant Officer of the Aviation Branch, CW5 Robert S. Slider and Command Sgt. Maj. Ruben A. Davila, command sergeant major of the Aviation Branch, joined Cole to lay a wreath with Lt. Walter C. Harper in honor of those who have perished in our nation’s service.
To capture the sentiment of the ceremony, Col. Daniel P. Kersey, Aviation Center of Excellence and Fort Rucker Chaplain, in his prayer referenced the words of President Ronald Reagan who said, “That on this day, words are even more feeble than usual, for the peace we enjoy was purchased at such cost. We cannot obtain it on our own without assistance of those who have gone before us. But we can keep it, and we can pass it on, and we can make it worth the price that was paid.”
Courtesy story by Capt. Alexandra Williams