As Veterans Day approaches, citizens are called to honor and remember our veterans. One group that consistently strives to do this is the 179th Airlift Wing Honor Guard, which often provides military funeral honors and participates in color guard events.
Tech. Sgt. Michael Swick of the 179th Airlift Wing, who serves as the non-commissioned officer in charge of the base honor guard, noted, “As far as the base honor guard is concerned, military funeral honors are our primary mission—it’s the reason that we exist.”
He added, “Our secondary mission is the color guard events, which are the events that people are a lot more familiar with seeing. That would be parades and things like the Miss Ohio Scholarship Program, Cleveland Browns games, Cleveland Indians games, those kinds of things.”
“It’s very difficult to be in the honor guard because you have to have discipline,” commented Master Sgt. Rachelle Newson. “I feel, though, that if you do it for the right reasons and have it in your heart and have that passion, then it becomes easier to do because you know why you’re there.”
Having been a member of the military since she was 18, Newson realizes the sacrifice and effort given by veterans, and finds it rewarding to show respect and honor to those who gave their lives for this country.
Her dedication and abundant involvement in the 179th Airlift Wing Honor Guard, along with her work as first sergeant for the mission support group, helped earn her the prestigious Meritorious Service Medal (MSM).
Over the course of three years, she provided 836 services through the honor guard, a large majority of which were funeral honors.
She said of the funeral honors, “Doing it every day was hard because I did it for almost an entire year, Monday through Friday. Every day I buried someone, and that was very difficult because when you think about what you’re actually doing, it hits you hard, because everyday someone is losing someone that they love.”
When providing military funeral honors, said Swick, “We’re not limited to our area of responsibility, but typically our area of responsibility is considered a 50-mile radius. We work in the 70-mile radius of Mansfield a lot…We’ve been known to go further than that, but we try to stay within our own areas of responsibility, and for color guard events we try to do the same thing.”
Last year, the local honor guard participated in 60 color guard events and provided 41 military funeral honors—that’s not to include honors at the Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery, where the guard performs 6-10 honors daily.
A member of the honor guard for the past three years, Staff Sgt. Nick Alexander, commented, “Before an event, we always get there at least an hour early and we’ll go through it up to 20 times.”
Sometimes, the weather at an event is not always favorable, as Newson indicated. “When I was at Rittman [Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery] it was below zero some days, and you’re standing there and you have to motionless, crisp and sharp with everything you do even though it’s cold.”
Despite any challenges they may face, Alexander noted, “A lot of people, especially kids, look up to us,” said Alexander. Alexander often participates in educational events, in which he teaches students about flag history and how to fold a flag properly.
Newson also commented, “Those who fought and served before me deserve the honors that we can provide through the honor guard.”
“I feel, though, that if you do it for the right reasons and have it in your heart and have that passion, then it becomes easier to do because you know why you’re there,” Master Sgt. Rachelle Newson.
