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Martin squadron color guard attends Memorial Day ceremonies

an American flag flies high on a flagpole
The color guard of the Glenn L. Martin Composite Squadron, part of the Civil Air Patrol Maryland Wing, was invited to participate in two Memorial Day ceremonies during the month of May.

By Maj. Christopher Roche, CAP
Commander, Glenn L. Martin Composite Squadron

6/15/2012–Middle River, MD–The cadet color guard for the Glenn L. Martin Composite Squadron, part of the Civil Air Patrol Maryland Wing, was invited to participate in two Memorial Day ceremonies during the month of May.

The squadron color guard is comprised of four cadets: Cadet Airman Sierra Kikas, Cadet Technical Sgt. Wyatt Hartman, Cadet Capt. Jason Dotterweich, and Cadet 1st Lt. Joseph Mancini.

On May 24, the color guard presented the colors during a ceremony at Victory Villa Elementary School in Middle River, Md. Four days later, on May 28, they presented the colors once again at Mount Vista Cemetery on Bird River Road in Middle River. Both ceremonies were to recognize and honor our past and present military heroes and to pay special tribute to those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.

Cadet Capt. Jason Dotterweich, who also serves as the squadron cadet commander, stated, “It was an honor to be asked to participate in these ceremonies. To be part of this type of event will be a forever lasting experience for our cadets.”

The color guard has been asked and graciously accepted an invitation to attend several more events in the community throughout the coming year.

: Civil Air Patrol, the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, is a nonprofit organization with more than 61,000 members nationwide, operating a fleet of 550 aircraft. CAP, in its Air Force auxiliary role, performs 90 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and was credited by the AFRCC with saving 54 lives in fiscal year 2011. Its volunteers also perform homeland security, disaster relief and drug interdiction missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. The members play a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to nearly 27,000 young people currently participating in the CAP cadet program. CAP received the World Peace Prize in 2011 and has been performing missions for America for 70 years. CAP also participates in Wreaths Across America, an initiative to remember, honor and teach about the sacrifices of U.S. military veterans. Visit www.gocivilairpatrol.com or www.capvolunteernow.com for more information.

Nearly 1,600 members of CAP serve in Maryland. Last fiscal year wing members flew 29 search and rescue missions and were credited with 13 finds saving three lives. Maryland Wing flew over 160 missions for the State of Maryland for a total of 2,222 hours flown.  Volunteers contributed services estimated at 4.2 million dollars. For more information contact the Maryland Wing at www.mdcap.org.

The Glenn L. Martin Composite Squadron meets every Thursday evening from 1900-2100 at Martin State Airport in Middle River, Md.

Editor’s Note: Maj. Earl Williams, CAP, contributed to this article.