Good morning ladies and gentlemen,

I am honored to have the privilege to share this morning with you. We pause this morning to honor you and your comrades-in-arms who served with great distinction on the fields and skies of battle during one of the greatest battles the world has ever known. Yours is a story of courage, perseverance and tenacity born of those lonely, grim, and seemingly endless days 60 years ago.

I feel blessed that I learned the heroics of your actions at a very early age. You see, my grandfather taught me well the lessons of WWII. He is a proud veteran who fought his way through Europe, the Mediterranean and the Persian Gulf. But more applicable to today’s ceremony were the stories of my cousin, an Irish immigrant named Hutchie Diamond, who fought with you at the Bulge. Another veteran, a close friend of our family, Mr. Benny Moroz, was captured at the Bulge and survived for years as a POW. Benny made it home to tell me his stories. Hutchie died fighting at the Bulge.

As we lay this wreath today, we reflect on the heroics of you and your comrade’s actions. You were incredibly outnumbered, facing 26 German divisions that suddenly plunged into Belgium and Luxembourg, sustaining heavy losses, entire regiments cut off from their units and operating in extremely poor weather conditions. The scene had been set for a monumental military disaster. But you refused to let that happen.

You stood strong against a determined enemy and made them pay for every inch of ground they took. You refused to yield the River Meuse, key terrain the enemy desperately wanted. You members of the Tactical Air Command ignored the terrible and dangerous weather conditions and pressed your attacks relentlessly, destroying hundreds of German armored vehicles and trucks, because you knew your brothers on the ground desperately needed you. These are lessons we never want to forget.

So that we do not forget it is important for us to ask, “what significance do your actions then hold for us today?” You showed us the importance and effectiveness of air and ground forces fighting together. And even though the Army Air Corps would become the U.S. Air Force, you proved that the concept of ground and air assets working together is so vital that it is still applied to all levels of war. We still have not forgotten the valuable lessons you taught us on those cold, foggy weeks 60 years ago. We still fight as a team.

So as we gather to relax and watch the football game this afternoon you will see how this brotherhood between air and ground forces lives on. And although they may be rivals on the field of play, they are brothers on the field of battle, following the example you set for us 60 years ago.

Thank you for your service.

Lt. Colonel Kent P. Cassella
West Point Military Academy
11/6/04