Civil Air Patrol cadets visit Arlington National Cemetery

By Maj. Maria Esparaguerra, Harford Composite Squadron, Civil Air Patrol

Saturday, October 5, 2019

Lee Brice “I Drive Your Truck”

I drive your truck

I roll every window down and I burn up

Every back road in this town

…Till all the pain's a cloud of dust

Yeah, sometimes I drive your truck

I leave that radio playing

Same old country station where you left it

Yeah, man I crank it up

And you'd probably punch my arm right now

If you saw this tear rolling down on my face

Hey, man I'm trying to be tough

Lee Brice’s song “I Drive Your Truck” is about Army Sgt. 1st Class Jared Monti, who was killed in Afghanistan while trying to save a fellow Soldier. In 2006, during an intense firefight, one of his fellow Soldiers was severely wounded and pinned down under a barrage of gunfire. Monti tried to reach him three times. On his last attempt, he was hit by an RPG. For his bravery and sacrifice, the nation awarded him with the Medal of Honor, the highest valor honor, posthumously.

The song, “I Drive Your Truck” has a connection to a Soldier buried at Arlington. In 2016, Arlington National Cemetery held a full military honors funeral service for U.S. Air Force Maj. Troy Lee Gilbert, who died on Nov. 27, 2006, when his F-16C Fighting Falcon crashed close to Baghdad. Gilbert, in attempting to clear attacking forces by a low-altitude strafing run, was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross with Valor.

Gilbert’s widow, Ginger, met Lee Brice at a military function after the death of her husband. She told the singer how much the song meant to her because fallen families cling to pieces left of those we love. She explained that Troy sold his old beloved truck when found out he was deploying, and that she wished she still had that truck. Lee Brice eventually tracked down and bought Gilbert’s old 1992 Chevy Silverado pickup and gave it to Gilbert’s family.

Civil Air Patrol cadets and seniors from the Maryland Wing’s Harford Composite Squadron traveled to Arlington National Cemetery Oct. 5, 2019. They saw and heard many of the stories of those laid to rest there. The honor and dignity associated with the highest standards of care and respect are Arlington’s mission.

Civil Air Patrol is an auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force. With its mission of search and rescue and aerospace education, and its focus on its cadet program to develop responsible leaders for the future, the organization follows military traditions and has a bond with those laid to rest at Arlington.

During the visit, several of the cadets laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier includes the remains of unknown service members from WWI, WWII, and the Korean War. Soldiers from the U.S. Army’s 3rd Infantry Regiment (the Old Guard) keep a 24 hour/365 day a year vigil on the Tomb. It was an incredible experience for the cadets to be able to walk with the Old Guard at the ceremony.

In addition to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the cadets learned about Arlington’s history. It is comprised of land that formerly belonged to George Washington Parke Custis, a step-grandson of George Washington. The property was willed to Mary Randolph Custis, who married Robert E. Lee. When Lee took command of Confederate troops at the start of the Civil War, the family fled the house in 1861 as Union troops approached. The estate was occupied by Union forces during the war, eventually using the property as a cemetery for soldiers who died in hospitals in Washington, D.C. During the Civil War, not many families could not afford to have their loved ones transported back to their hometowns.

Many of the famous graves that were visited by the squadron include Gen. Montgomery Meigs, the Union Quartermaster General who directed the burying of Soldiers near the rose garden by Lee’s mansion. It was said that this was done to ensure that Lee would never return to the property. Abner Doubleday, the inventor of the game of baseball, is buried nearby. The eternal flame always burns by John F. Kennedy’s grave, which is located close to Thurgood Marshall’s. Audie Murphy was the most highly decorated soldier in U.S. military history; his grave is near the Tomb of the Unknown.

More than 400,000 soldiers are buried at Arlington. Wandering through the headstones and monuments, the cadets and senior members reflected on the names and stories that each person would tell.

Cadet Airman Tristan Taylor noted that, while Arlington’s history was his favorite part of the visit, the Old Guard Soldiers were “very cool.”

Do you have a passion for aviation, dream of flight, or are considering a career in the military? Do you want to serve your community and enhance your leadership skills? Join us. Youths, ages 12 to 18, as well as parents and adults interested in the cadet and/or senior program are welcome to visit meetings and talk with the staff. Visit our website at https://harford.cap.gov/ or follow us on Facebook.

Nearly 1,500 members serve in Civil Air Patrol’s Maryland Wing. Last year, wing members flew 13 actual search and rescue missions. Overall, the Maryland Wing flew 32 missions for the State of Maryland, flying 2,245 hours in all mission categories, and was credited with four finds. Volunteers contributed services estimated at $4.6 million. For information, contact the Maryland Wing at http://mdwg.cap.gov/ or follow the wing on Facebook.

Civil Air Patrol, the longtime all-volunteer U.S. Air Force auxiliary, is the newest member of the Air Force’s Total Force. In this role, CAP operates a fleet of 560 aircraft, performs about 90 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and is credited by the AFRCC with saving an average of 82 lives annually. CAP’s 61,000 members also perform homeland security, disaster relief and drug interdiction missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. In addition, CAP plays a leading role in aerospace/STEM education, and its members serve as mentors to over 25,000 young people participating in CAP’s Cadet Programs. Visit www.GoCivilAirPatrol.com or www.CAP.news for information.