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New Bern, NC – July 26, 2011 was a special day for the Coastal Carolina Regional Airport!
Senior Airman (SrA) Cyril J. McKenney, USAF, presented Mr. and Mrs. Frank Bolen with a flag that was flown above the Contingency Aeromedical Staging Facility (CASF) at Camp Bastion, Helmand Province, Afghanistan.
The story doesn’t end here. The day it was flown has historical significance for our Country and the World!
SrA McKenney said “a couple of us in our unit decided to put together a program to fly some flags over our compound, that way people back home could remember the deployment. I asked my Dad to send a few flags out so we could fly a few flags for him and anyone else that wanted to have a flag flown for them”.
Mr. and Mrs. Bolen are his parents’ neighbors and asked for a flag to be flown for them. This flag has historical significance because it was flown in Afghanistan on May 2, 2011, the day Osama Bin Laden was killed by US Forces.
Frank Bolen said, “This flag is on permanent loan to the Airport. It doesn’t belong on our mantle. It’s just too important. So we talked to Tom Braaten and asked him if he would like it at the Airport and he agreed.”
Major General Tom Braaten, USMC (Ret) and Director of the Airport said, “One of my old Lieutenant’s became a Squadron Commander and sent me one from Iraq and then when I retired, the guys arranged for a flag to be flown over Iwo Jima so it’s fun to have flags that have real historical significance and this one, just the fact that it was flown by US Forces in Afghanistan was neat, but the date, just makes it even that more special”.
Welcome home, Senior Airman Cyril McKenney and thank you for your service to our Country! I wish you and your family the best at your new duty station on Langley Air Force Base in Virginia. SrA McKenney is a Medical Technician working in the Pediatric Clinic and told me he really enjoys his work.
Special thanks to the Bolen family for Volunteering for the USO at the Coastal Carolina Regional Airport and the Jacksonville Airport.
Wendy Card
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