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Zombies in red shirts surrounded Amy Tiemeyer. "This should be fun," she said to a group of about 35 soldiers who had been made up to look like zombies. The soldiers represented the 56th Multi-functional Medical Battalion (MMB), the 551st Medical Logistics Company (MLC) and the 47th Combat Support Hospital (CSH). "We all
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The recognition of a soldier who served for a brief time at Camp Lewis before going to war in 1918 begins with one of his dog tags. In 2001, a French archeologist looking for World War I souvenirs in the Charlevaux Ravine in the Argonne Forest found a dog tag that
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Waller Hall adds a distinctive element to Joint Base Lewis-McChord's history. It is the cornerstone of support for soldiers. Named in 1998 to honor Lt. Gen. Calvin A.H. Waller, it is the welcoming and departing center for all JBLM soldiers. Waller twice commanded Fort Lewis from August 1989 to November 1990 and then
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Steilacoom High School student Dnydra Scott could not stop smiling. After reaching down and picking up a small, yellow, rubber football from a plastic bucket, she paused for a moment and then rifled a spiraled pass through a small hole. Tom Brady could not have done it better. "This is fun," Scott, a
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The John "Bud" Hawk Education Center is a building with a history. "His life personifies the values of education and dedication to service," said Col. Thomas Brittain, then commander, Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM), to an audience that included local dignitaries and four Medal of Honor recipients at the center's dedication ceremony
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Sean Quillin was a problematic student when he watched a helicopter touch down during an event to interest youngsters in the military. "That's when I knew I wanted to fly," he said to a group of high school students last week. "I have wanted to be a pilot since I was twelve
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To take a knee means to pause to rest or make adjustments to a course of action. It also means to honor the fallen. Memorial Day presents an opportunity for the Joint Base Lewis-McChord and surrounding communities to take a knee and reflect on the service of those who gave the last
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The military is steeped in tradition, and funerals are no exception. One of the more somber of military traditions is the symbolism surrounding a funeral with military honors. The rendering of military funeral honors for an eligible veteran is mandated by law, free of charge, and conducted by an honor guard comprised
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Cremation is rapidly becoming the preferred choice for families in Washington state. About half a century ago, nearly all who died in the United States were buried and only about four percent were cremated. Since then, economic, societal and religious perspectives have changed from burial to cremation services. According to the latest data
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Sgt. 1st Class Dan Figuracion was recently laid to rest at Mountain View Funeral Home. His passing marks the end of an era. A decorated World War II veteran who served with the 26th Regiment Cavalry in the Philippines, Figuracion and other Philippine Scouts conducted the last horse-mounted charge against an enemy
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A part of Camp Lewis, Fort Lewis and now Joint Base Lewis-McChord, the field takes its name from Master Sgt. Travis Earl Watkins. The eldest of three sons, Watkins was born in 1920 in the small town of Waldo, Arkansas. In time, his family moved to the slightly larger town of Troup,
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A significant part of America's story is discovered in the nation's military history. Within this history - within the workings of who did what, with what and when - the public begins to understand and appreciate the past events and sacrifices that have shaped the present. "We are the American people's museum,"
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One of the definitions of the word arsenal is that it is a collection of things that achieve a particular purpose. The purpose of the Washington National Guard Museum on Camp Murray, otherwise known as the Arsenal, is to educate the public and those who serve in the Washington National Guard
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SSgt. Melvin Correa Lopez knows what it feels like to be first. On May 12, he became the first soldier to graduate from City University of Seattle through its partnership with Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM). The institution, also known as CityU, is a private not-for-profit institution based in Seattle. CityU offers a School
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A memorial honoring the 91st Division stands silent at the western edge of Watkins Field at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. The field honors the heroic actions of MSgt. Travis Watkins during the Korean War. Dedicated on May 30, 1930, the monument, which features six statues and a 40-foot tall obelisk, honors the
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Fog covered the top of the two nuclear cooling towers at the abandoned SATSOP Nuclear Power Plant outside of Elma, WA. For the past several days, the towers and the surrounding buildings had served as training sites for Operation Dragon Fire, a joint American/German hazardous response exercise. With soldiers from 2nd Battalion,
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Three "boys in blue" were remembered last Saturday afternoon during an hour-long Union Civil War Veterans' Headstone Dedication Ceremony at the Western State Hospital Cemetery in Lakewood's Fort Steilacoom Park. "These men answered the call to serve their nation," James Dimond, a research historian with the Department of Columbia, Sons of
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Legend has it that Mrs. O'Leary's cow kicked over a lantern in a barn that caused the Great Chicago Fire in October 1871. Following the conflagration, reconstruction began in earnest and from the ashes arose lasting economic development. That sense of perseverance in the face of adversity continues today in the presence
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Several Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny" biplanes flew from what would become Sand Point Naval Air Station in Seattle to a grass airfield at Camp Lewis. Those bumpy landings in October 1921 began a race between the Army and the Navy to see which site would be the area's primary military airfield. In 1922,
Military Life
Lenny Coffey beamed as he stood in a small space underneath the Madigan Army Medical Center and talked about the five 16-cylinder generators he and his team maintain. "These can generate 5.5 million watts of power in case of an emergency," he said. "The last time there was a power outage,