Team Seymour remembers fallen heroes

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Heather Stanton
  • 4th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. --  Members of Team Seymour gathered July 28 at Heritage Park to remember two 4th Fighter Wing fallen heroes.

Captains Mark "Pitbull" McDowell and Thomas "Lag" Gramith, 336th Fighter Squadron, were killed July 18 when their F-15E Strike Eagle went down in eastern Afghanistan.

The memorial service provided members of the base and local community an opportunity to gather as a family, mourn the losses of fallen members, and share in memories of service and camaraderie.

"We come here today to honor two Strike Eagle warriors, two combat aviators," said Col. Mark Kelly, 4th FW commander. "To pay our respect to their service and their sacrifice, to share the grief we all feel and, perhaps in that sharing, to find the strength to bear our sorrow and also find the courage to look for seeds of hope."

During the service, family and friends spoke of "Pitbull" and "Lag" and how they came to be the Airmen they were.

"Mark was a confident, determined and talented young man who will truly be missed by all who knew him," said Captain McDowell's mother, Barbara Thomas. "His smile was contagious, his humor unique and his conviction of love of life and of his lord paramount."

A friend of Captain Gramith described him as an Airman and a friend.

"First of all, Tom was an excellent Airman who was committed to his dream of aviation," said Capt. Brian Davis, 335th Fighter Squadron. "Tom never had anything bad to say and he was always in good spirits. He embodied the ethic and warrior mentality of a fighter pilot, but never let his Air Force dream overshadow being a family man and friend."

The two heroes are still being remembered overseas. Debbie Jo Allen, wife of Lt. Col. Neil Allen, 336th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron commander, spoke on behalf of her husband.

"'Lag' and 'Pitbull' gave their lives for a cause greater than themselves," she relayed. "They understood full well the risk they put themselves in day after day, night after night and they did it anyway. In fact, they did it with eagerness and with a smile on their faces. They did not falter. No matter the situations, no matter the obstacles, they put themselves in danger for the good of others, and did it over and over again."

Captains McDowell and Gramith were posthumously awarded the Bronze Star during the ceremony for their support of ground operations against anti-Afghan forces while deployed to Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan.

Following the medal presentation, Seymour Johnson's Base Honor Guard conducted a flag folding ceremony as retired Lt. Col. Norm Taflinger played "Amazing Grace" on his bagpipes.

The ceremony concluded with a moment of silence, the playing of Taps and a four-ship F-15E Strike Eagle flyover.

"Our wing's loss is first and foremost a profound personal loss to the McDowell and the Gramith family," said Colonel Kelly. "To those they left behind: the wives, the mothers, the fathers, brothers and sisters, friends, squadron mates and the children, the 4th Fighter Wing stands unwaveringly behind you in your time of sorrow."