SHOW OF APPRECIATION

By Ed Mahon

- emahon@centredaily.com

BOALSBURG — Standing inside a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, 4-year-old Hunter Hatch grabbed onto a piece of red equipment.

CDT/Melissa Doss

Members of the Pennsylvania 28th Infantry Division National Guard bow their heads in prayer during the Annual Memorial Service at the 28th Division National Memorial Shrine at the Pennsylvania Military Museum in Boalsburg, on Sunday, May 17, 2009. CDT/Melissa Doss

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“That’s where you save people,” Hunter explained to Capt. George Giles, who has flown the same aircraft on two tours in Kosovo.

Giles told Hunter he was correct, then gave some other youngsters a turn to ride the rescue hoist, which was doubling as a swing Sunday during the annual memorial service at the 28th Infantry Division Shrine at the Pennsylvania Military Museum in Boalsburg.

Hundreds of soldiers, veterans, families and community members turned out for event. Hunter’s mother, Sherry Hatch, started attending the memorial service after a friend was killed in action in Iraq. Staff Sgt. Daniel R. Lightner Jr., of Hollidaysburg, was 28 when he died in October 2005.

“We made friends with all his comrades. So now we come and visit them every year,” Hatch said.

Lightner, who served in the Pennsylvania National Guard with a 28th Division unit out of Johnstown, was one of the fallen soldiers honored with a 21-gun, 105 mm howitzer battery salute during the memorial service.

After Hunter moved onto another military vehicle to explore, Thomas, 4, and Adam Connolly, 2, started circling the rescue hoist. Giles convinced them to both take a seat.

The military uses the hoist to pick up an injured person who is stuck somewhere the helicopter can’t land, such as in water. A medic will ride on one side, then place the injured person onto the other side of the hoist. The device can go down as far as 300 feet.

But on Sunday the children were only a few feet off the ground. Giles gave mini demonstrations, pulling children out of the sitting helicopter and then pushing them back inside.

“Hold on tight, guys,” Giles told the Connolly boys. But as he started to move the device, the younger one hopped off.

“He wasn’t ready for that, I don’t think,” their father, David Connolly, said afterward. Connolly lives near the museum and noticed the extra flags being set up in preparation for the event.

“Kids and helicopters,” Connolly said. “What more do you need?”

Chester R. Sattiaux attended Sunday’s service, clad in a vintage brown uniform. During World War II, he served as a reconnaissance scout, going behind enemy lines in the European theater. The former corporal with the 106th Division has traveled to the memorial service from his Greensburg home for the past several years.

“It brings back a lot of memories,” Sattiaux said. “It shows that people still appreciate their country.”