ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- My name is Adrian, but most people know me as Senior Master Sgt. Holguin, the 97th Logistics Readiness Squadron Aerial Operations Flight superintendent. I have been a part of the Port Dawg Memorial Run planning committee since its inception in 2013.
In 2011, the Air Force Air Transportation community tragically lost Technical Sgt. Curtis Eccleston when he was murdered in Okinawa, Japan. He was my supervisor at the time and, while it was only for a short while, it was clear why he was admired and respected by all.
The following year, members of the 733rd Air Mobility Squadron at Yokota Air Base, Japan, rallied together to remember Eccleston. This led to the creation of the Annual Port Dawg Memorial Run.
“Each year, the run takes place during the National Transportation Week in May and honors those “Port Dawgs,” or Air Transportation members, that were lost during the previous year. This year, the 97 LRS honored 12 such Airmen.”
While these members are no longer with us, the memorial run allows us to pay our respects and unite more than 14,000 Air Transportation professionals currently serving around the world. It showcases the bond that the Aerial Port community has with each other across the Air Force.
Each year, the planning committee creates a shirt for the run featuring the names of those we lost that year. While the goal is to one day have a shirt with no names on it, we will continue to ensure that those who are gone will never be forgotten.