Honoring the fallen

The sign for the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific greets visitors as they enter the cemetery in Honolulu. Members of the 15th Medical Group visited the cemetery Dec. 6, 2013, to pay respects to a fallen service member, Cpl. Vincent J. Kechner, who was killed at Hickam Field during the Dec. 7th, 1941 attacks on Oahu military installations. The medical group Airmen laid a U.S. flag and a lei at the gravestone of Kechner. Also in attendance were observers and volunteers who brought flags and leis for the gravesites of the 91 other service members killed in the attacks whom are buried here. The 72nd Remembrance Ceremony commemorating the attack on Hickam Field is Dec. 7 and begins at 7:55 a.m. at the Hickam Field Flag Pole. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Alexander Martinez)

Honoring the fallen

Staff Sgt. Ashley Dean, 15th Medical Group Bioenvironmental Engineering Flight, plants a U.S. flag at the gravestone of Cpl. Vincent J. Kechner, who was killed at Hickam Field during the Dec. 7th, 1941 attacks on Oahu military installations Dec. 6, 2013, at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. Dean and three other 15th MDG representatives, including Col. Virginia Garner, 15th MDG commander, visited the cemetery to pay respects to Kechner, one of their medical field comrades. “It’s an honor and a privilege to come out and pay our respects to people who have lost their life trying to save others,” Garner said. “I feel it’s important to understand and honor our medical heroes.” Kechner’s was scheduled to depart the island the day after the attacks. The 72nd Remembrance Ceremony commemorating the attack on Hickam Field is Dec. 7 and begins at 7:55 a.m. at the Hickam Field Flag Pole. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Alex Martinez)

Honoring the fallen

Col. Virginia Garner, 15th Medical Group commander, places a lei at the gravestone of Cpl. Vincent J. Kechner, who was killed at Hickam Field during the Dec. 7th, 1941 attacks on Oahu military installations Dec. 6, 2013, at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. Garner and three other 15th MDG representatives visited the cemetery to pay respects to Kechner, one of their medical field comrades. “It’s an honor and a privilege to come out and pay our respects to people who have lost their life trying to save others,” Garner said. “I feel it’s important to understand and honor our medical heroes.” Kechner was scheduled to depart the island the day after the attacks. The 72nd Remembrance Ceremony commemorating the attack on Hickam Field is Dec. 7 and begins at 7:55 a.m. at the Hickam Field Flag Pole. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Alex Martinez)

Honoring the fallen

The gravestone of Cpl. Vincent J. Kechner, killed at Hickam Field during the Dec. 7th, 1941 attacks on Oahu military installations, Dec. 6, 2013, at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. Four representatives from the 15th Medical Group, including Col. Virginia Garner, 15th MDG commander, visited the cemetery to pay respects to Kechner, one of their medical field comrades. Kechner was scheduled to depart the island the day after the attacks. The 72nd Remembrance Ceremony commemorating the attack on Hickam Field is Dec. 7 and begins at 7:55 a.m. at the Hickam Field Flag Pole. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Alex Martinez)

15th MDG honors fallen Hickam medic

Published Dec. 13, 2013
15th MDG

HICKAM FIELD, Hi., -- The sign for the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific greets visitors as they enter the cemetery in Honolulu. Members of the 15th Medical Group visited the cemetery Dec. 6, 2013, to pay respects to a fallen service member, Cpl. Vincent J. Kechner, who was killed at Hickam Field during the Dec. 7th, 1941 attacks on Oahu military installations. The medical group Airmen laid a U.S. flag and a lei at the gravestone of Kechner. Also in attendance were observers and volunteers who brought flags and leis for the gravesites of the 91 other service members killed in the attacks whom are buried here. The 72nd Remembrance Ceremony commemorating the attack on Hickam Field was Dec. 7th.