Good Morning
I’d like to start off by thanking LTG Flynn, Chief Master Sergeant Eden, Col. Martin, Ray Maternick, Jerry Pownall, Tom Francis and others involved with arranging this event, 2 of my dad’s West Point Classmates (Mike Eckmann and Red Seaward), and Red’s family (Gladys and Nick Seaward), Members of the Special Forces community, Servicemen and women, employees of DIA, friends, and others in attendance…
When Col. Martin asked if I would like to speak today, I laughed a bit: You see if my mom could be here today, she would tell you that I started speaking at 6 months old and I haven’t stopped since, so here I am speaking yet again. I would first like to say how great an honor this is for our family and, of course, an honor to my dad. My mother, Susan Rowe, and my younger brother, Brian, regret that they could not be here today but are truly grateful for this incredible honor and sincerely thank you. I’d also like to say a thank you from my sisters, Deborah and Christina, their mother, Jane, and a big thank you from our family in Texas, everything is big in Texas.
It’s quite humbling to speak to you in front of this beautiful building today (aside isn’t it beautiful). The fact that this building is being named after my dad following the 25th anniversary of his passing, which was Monday, April 21st, says a great deal not only about his service but also the intelligence community as a whole. I have found that both the intelligence community and the Special Forces community are tightly knit and look after their own. In the world that we live in now this sense of camaraderie is becoming increasingly rare and even more important.
Naming the building after my dad establishes a permanent reminder of the values that he represented. The West Point motto “Duty, Honor, Country” and the Special Forces motto “de oppresso liber” were ideals that he embodied throughout his daily life. Selfless service and sacrifice are things we value greatly in today’s world. They are what we consider to be the best traits in humanity. As a POW, after his fellow captive Roque Versace was removed from the camp and eventually executed, my dad followed Roque’s shining example of selfless service and sacrifice and took the lead in protecting new POWs as the ranking officer. After his escape, my dad sought to empower others using his experiences as a POW. He created the SERE school at Camp Mackall so that no other soldiers would go through the pains as a POW that he endured. Until his very last day, my dad loved and served his country and thought not of himself, but of others. In the Philippines he was aiding in the rooting out of Communist as they tried to overthrow a democratic government. He used the skills he learned in Military Intelligence to accomplish this task. He sought no fame or recognition but only sought to serve his country and those next to him. My dad loved his job, those that he worked with, and his country. Although he was killed when I was only 2 and my time with him was limited, I learn more about him from those who knew him best. I learn stories about his love of storytelling, his life as a West Point cadet, the camaraderie he shared with his peers, his love of his country and his family, and his desire to bring freedom and justice to all nations. These are the things that I hold dearest as his son. I seek to honor his memory, as we all should, by emulating these very ideals and remembering to live a life of selfless sacrifice. Thomas Jefferson once said “the tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.” I take heart in the fact that there are so many soldiers like my dad and those here today willing to pay the ultimate sacrifice to ensure that the tree of liberty continues to thrive.
Once again, I’d like to thank you for the opportunity to speak to you and the dedication of this wonderful building. My family and I are deeply humbled by this great honor and we cannot thank you enough. I’d like to leave you today with words from a poem my dad wrote in 1964 while he was a POW in Vietnam. This poem is also on his gravestone in Arlington and has helped me get through the toughest of times and made me grateful when times are good:
“So look up ahead at times to come,
Despair is not for us.
We have a world and more to see
While this remains behind.”