Burning of the Colors Ceremony Journal by Bob Fiedler

Most of us had arrived by Saturday evening and were invited by the Battalion Commander, LTC Christopher Benson and his wife Kelley to their home for dinner. Most of us had met them at our last reunion in St. Louis. They are a great couple and hosts.

Sunday morning we went on an individual basis to the 'Frontier Club' for breakfast. We were also invited back to the Benson's home for hors d'oeuvres which spilled over into a dinner. We all left about 7PM - twelve guys, eight spouses, a daughter and granddaughter and one son were present throughout.

In addition there was Captain Deal and his wife. He was my contact and
planned the whole thing. The Command Sergeant Major, his wife and
a Master Sergeant and his wife also assisted us. Also, LTC
Benson's parents were there from Iowa. I met them last October at White
Sands during the re-flagging ceremony. A great couple. His father and I spent
a lot of time together the last time and also this time.

Monday morning breakfast at the same place and at 9:30AM we met our individual
escorts, all 1st and 2nd Lieutenants. We boarded a bus and were taken to a school where we were first to judge the class room doors which had been decorated by students and teachers for our coming. Mrs. Deal's class came in first. Most of our group did not know she was a teacher there. We then split up and visited individual class rooms of 5th and 6th graders.

My escort and coordinator asked me who could talk to a class of 3rd graders. He was concerned about war stories being told to these young kids. I volunteered to do it. I met the teacher at the door and told him that for this grade level it would probably be best to just have the kids ask questions and I would try to answer them. It worked out real well. These kids were pretty knowledgeable being Army Brats for the most part.

After this we all were invited to the school library where the teachers had prepared a lunch for us consisting of two different warm soups, hoagies and a very nice cake. Then a teacher came around and gave all of us a white, blue and red cap. At the beginning the principle gave a welcoming speech. We were then taken back to the Lodge were we stayed for a couple of hours to rest up. We had large first class rooms. We were picked up and they drove us to the Frontier Club for a formal dinner, speeches, etc. At 6:45 we were taken to an open field nearby, part of the golf course. We were seated under a large canopy with heaters. All of us had blankets on our chairs and all had our names on it. It had been raining in the morning which turned to snow at noon so the field was covered with snow and it looked like Korea. It was dark but we could see a formation of soldiers in the background in front of us and in front of them stood a Color Guard carrying the US and Battalion Flags. To the right was an Army Band from nearby Fort Bliss. They started playing as soon as we arrived.

Some distance in front of us on an angle, kneeled four soldiers on each side of the Color Guard. They had their rifles at 'the ready'. At 7PM sharp LTC Benson gave his speech of welcome to us and the invited guests. Then retired Col. Nerhling, one of us and who had hired me into the Battalion on July 17th 1950, made a very short speech in which he said he had attended two of the Burning of the Colors and the first one did not have a good outcome for him and was glad he can go home from this one. He had been captured that night. Shortly thereafter was a loud explosion followed by small arms and machine gun fire and whistles blowing, simulating a Chinese attack. During pauses Major Vail, the Bn XO, read the story and circumstances of this event. Then during a pause our names were called out and we had to reply "Here." Then the called out names of our guys that had been KIA, MIA or captured and died in POW Camps. I had obtained 56 names from our guys ahead of time and Captain Deal pared them down to those who actually had become casualties during the battle at Kunu-ri. When a name was called a soldier would respond with "Killed in Action, Sir", "Missing in Action, Sir" or 'Died as a Prisoner of War, Sir." Then there was another period of firing and an officer approached the officer in charge… back then it was LTC Zacherle, stating "Sir the situation is desperate." He then ordered the burning of the colors. It was very moving and sad to see our Battalion Flag burning. All stood at attention and saluted until the flames were out. The Band played soft music and I am sure there were not too many dry eyes and more so when TAPS was played.

We were bussed back to the Frontier Club for a social and mingled with the troops. That was great too. I tell you, we can be extremely proud our soldiers. They are professionals to the core and dedicated to their jobs and missions. One company left for Iraq two weeks ago and the rest of the Battalion is to follow to the Middle East next spring.

Tuesday was a day off for the battalion in our honor and was basically a field day for soldiers and families. In the morning we toured a number of trailers housing simulators of all kinds, including how to spot, interrogate and destroy IED's, We mingled with troops most of the day and had hamburgers and hot dogs for lunch. They also had static display of vehicles that engineers use. To them we were the heroes and we to a man thought they were. Many have had more then one tour in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Balkans and many other places.

Tuesday evening we were on our own and most of us had dinner again at the Frontier Club. A number of soldiers were there too so we visited some more with them. Overall, a great experience that every 2nd Engineer should attend if repeated in the future.