An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Article Display

Team MDL hosts first joint retiree appreciation day

  • Published
  • By Pascual Flores
  • Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Public Affairs
JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. --  Joint Base community members welcomed more than 700 retirees to its first Joint Retiree Appreciation Day held here for veterans from all military branches March 25, 2015.

Retirees from the Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, Navy and Coast Guard, attended this monumental event proudly wearing caps, jackets and pins depicting their branch of service and the time in which they served their country. For some, their hats displayed military service beginning during World War II.

Accompanied by music played by Soldiers from the Jazz Trio, 198th Army Reserve Band, from Rochester, N.Y., the ceremony was followed by the posting of the colors from a joint color guard, the singing of the national anthem and an invocation.

Opening remarks were provided by Air Force Col. James Hodges, Joint Base commander.

"On behalf of the entire Joint Base and all the leaders present today, I would like to welcome each of you to the inaugural JRAD," said Hodges. "It is more than just a Saturday celebration in April, it's more of a celebrations of freedom and those that have served to promote it. "We cannot forget those who served before us."

This year's keynote speaker was New Jersey Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, who discussed military member's contribution to the state, including the approximately 400,000 veterans residing in New Jersey.

"Thank you, your experience, your sacrifice, your comradery, your strength, your fearlessness, your courage is what gives us strength every day to go out to work to represent you, thank you for your service," said Guadagno to the attending retirees. "Today it is about us serving you."

Guadagno also recognized three exceptional veterans in attendance retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Bob Hansen, retired U.S. Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Howard Brooks and retired U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Robert Yancey Sr.

Hansen, a 93-year-old veteran pilot of both World War II and the Korean War flew his B-24 Liberator over Omaha Beach during the Normandy invasion. Hansen served for 30 years on active duty and continued serving the Air Force and his fellow veterans in the Retiree Activities Office for an additional 30 years before retiring.

Brooks served aboard the heavy cruiser U.S.S. Houston (CA-30) during WWII until the Houston was sunk in the Java Sea and lost many of its crew. Brooks spent three days in the water before being picked up by the Japanese and spent three and a half years as a prisoner of war. Brooks, along with thousands of British, American and Dutch POWs, were subjected to forced labor worked on the rail lines linking Burma and Thailand.

Yancey is a veteran of three wars and joined the Navy in 1943, as a cook, seeing action in Leyte, Luzon and Okinawa. At the start of the Korean War, Yancey joined the Army and trained at what was then Fort Dix before shipping out with the 24th Infantry Regiment to Pusan, Korea. Yancey continued in the Army and served in Vietnam from 1967 to 1969 before retiring in 1971.

"It was good to see all those older soldiers who served before me," said retired U.S. Army Sergeant 1st Class Ernest Robinson Jr. a 30 year veteran from Franklinville, N.J. "This is the first time I have attended a RAD ceremony and it gave me a lot of valuable information. It was good to receive recognition for serving in the military."

Retirees were able to speak to representatives from military treatment facilities, the passenger terminal, veterans outreach, legislative affairs, insurance providers, state and county veteran programs, and several other agencies providing benefits.

In the past, the Air Force and Army each conducted their own RAD and communicated with their services' retirees individually. This year, the new joint committee consolidated efforts, sending out more than 50,000 invitations for the event.

"This is the first time ever that we had retirees from the Marine Corps, Coast Guard and Navy," said retired Air Force Lt. Col. Robert Hodges, Retiree Activity Office from Forked River, N.J. "We received numerous comments from retirees that the subjects were on target and we picked the right topics."