The Friday Pentagon Parade of Heroes
Friday Mornings at the Pentagon
By JOSEPH L. GALLOWAY, McClatchy Newspapers
Over the last 12 months, 1,042 soldiers, Marines, sailors and Air Force personnel have given their
lives in the terrible duty that is war. Thousands more have come home on stretchers, horribly wounded
and facing months or years in military hospitals.
This week, I’m turning my space over to a good friend and former roommate, Army Lt. Col. Robert
Bateman , who recently completed a yearlong tour of duty in Iraq and is now back at the Pentagon.
Here’s Lt. Col. Bateman’s account of a little-known ceremony that fills the halls of the Army corridor
of the Pentagon with cheers, applause and many tears every Friday morning. It first appeared on May 17 on the Weblog of media critic and pundit Eric Alterman at the Media Matters for America Website.
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‘It is 110 yards from the ‘E’ ring to the ‘A’ ring of the Pentagon. This section of the Pentagon is
newly renovated; the floors shine, the hallway is broad, and the lighting is bright. At this instant
the entire length of the corridor is packed with officers, a few sergeants and some civilians, all
crammed tightly three and four deep against the walls. There are thousands here.