AUTHORS

Author: Kevin M. Hymel
152 found

Sailor Who Dove off the USS Oklahoma Identified Eight Decades Later

By Kevin M. Hymel on 5/20/2024

During the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, 20-year-old Seaman First Class Frank “Cremo” Hryniewicz dove off the battleship USS Oklahoma to escape strafing enemy aircraft. He never resurfaced. Although his remains were later recovered from the ship, they could not be identified and were buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawaii.

Kevin M. Hymel

WWII Soldier Who Died in the Bataan Death March Buried at ANC

By Kevin M. Hymel on 5/14/2024

Pvt. Doyle "Wayne" Sexton of the U.S. Army Air Forces bravely fought the Japanese in the Philippines for three months in 1942, but tragically succumbed to the harsh conditions of the Bataan Death March three months later. He died in a Prisoner of War (POW) camp on July 19, 1942, and was buried in the camp cemetery in a common grave. He was only 23 years old. For decades, Sexton remained unknown until 2023, when scientists from the Defense POW / MIA Accounting Agency identified his remains.

Kevin M. Hymel

Former ANC Employee Provides Special Opportunity to Veterans from Altoona

By Kevin M. Hymel on 5/14/2024

Three retired U.S. Army veterans rose from their wheelchairs, stood, and walked across Arlington National Cemetery’s memorial plaza to place a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. All three then snapped sharp salutes when an Army bugler sounded Taps. The men had come from their retirement facility in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on May 2, 2024, to honor their fallen comrades and those who gave their lives for their country.

Kevin M. Hymel

2023 Coca-Cola 600 Champion Ryan Blaney Visits ANC

By Kevin M. Hymel on 5/14/2024

Ryan Blaney, the winner of 2023’s NASCAR's Coca-Cola 600, came to Arlington National Cemetery on May 1, 2024, to honor those who sacrificed all for their country. ANC Superintendent Charles Alexander, Jr. and Deputy Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Strategic Engagement Melanie Fonder Kaye greeted him and his group.

Kevin M. Hymel

Missing WWII Bomber Crewman Buried at ANC

By Kevin M. Hymel on 4/25/2024

Twenty-two-year-old Sgt. Irving R. Newman never returned from his bombing mission over Sicily in May of 1943. The B-24 Liberator bomber, of which he was a crewmember, took enemy anti-aircraft fire and his pilot tried to land the bomber on the island of Malta, but the burning aircraft crashed into the Mediterranean Sea short of the runway. Nine of the bomber’s crew were rescued, but Newman went down with the aircraft.

Kevin M. Hymel

Army General Brings French Teenagers to ANC to Honor Liberators

By Kevin M. Hymel on 4/19/2024

On June 12, 1944, six days after D-Day, paratroopers from the 101st Airborne Division liberated the French town of Carentan, uniting the American-held beachheads on Omaha and Utah Beach. The people of Carentan never forgot about their liberation and today still host visiting 101st soldiers. Local teenagers even help teach American soldiers about the battle. 

Kevin M. Hymel

Army Band’s First Female Drummer Plays for Japanese Prime Minister

By Kevin M. Hymel on 4/15/2024

Once Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida finished laying a wreath before the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery on April 9, 2024, Sgt. 1st Class Sidonie McCray played muffled ruffles on her drum, signaling that the Army bugler was about to sound Taps. It was an important moment for both. Kishida paid homage to his American ally’s history of sacrifice, while McCray served for the first time as the Special Drummer for a head-of-state ceremony.

Kevin M. Hymel

Visiting Vietnam Veteran Recalls Action that Earned Him the Medal of Honor

By Kevin M. Hymel on 3/29/2024

Medal of Honor recipient Col. Walter Joseph Marm, Jr. recently visited Arlington National Cemetery to participate in an Army Full Honors Wreath Ceremony in recognition of Medal of Honor Day. After laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, he reflected on his combat actions in Vietnam, for which he received the medal.

Kevin M. Hymel

Ghost Army Soldiers receive Congressional Gold Medal

By Kevin M. Hymel on 3/27/2024

During World War II, the U.S. Army deployed a special unit to help defeat Nazi Germany. Col. Harry Reeder’s 23rd Headquarters Special Troops, better known as the “Ghost Army,” made up of artists and technicians, fooled the Germans into thinking the American Army was strong where it was weak. The top-secret unit employed inflatable tanks, fake radio communications and decoy unit markings to keep the enemy guessing.

Kevin M. Hymel

Tomb Guard Earns Badge After His Final Watch

By Kevin M. Hymel on 3/27/2024

Conducting a final walk at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is a high honor for a Tomb Guard of the 3d U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard), as is earning the Tomb Guard Identification Badge. However, to do both on the same day is a rare event. That’s just what happened to Staff Sgt. Thomas Tavenner on March 11, 2024.

Kevin M. Hymel