Capt. Bill Perry, master of ceremonies for the Gold Medal of Remembrance presentation, Oct. 29, 2007, reflects on the meaning of the medallion before the medals are awarded to the children of five servicemembers that were killed in Afghanistan or Iraq. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Navy Adm. Mike Mullen was on hand for the presentation. Defense Dept. photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley


Rev. Daniel P. Coughlin, Chaplain, U.S House of Representatives, Gen. James T. Conway, Commandant of the Marine Corps, and the family of U.S Army Sgt. 1st Class Randall T. Lamberson, his wife Dana, son Evan and daughter Kelsi, listen during the Gold Medal of Remembrance ceremony, Washington, D.C., Oct. 29, 2007. Defense Dept. photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley


Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Navy Adm. Mike Mullen speaks to the children of fallen service members during the Gold Medal of Remembrance Ceremony , Oct. 29, 2007. Defense Dept. photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley


Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Navy Adm. Mike Mullen removes the Gold Medal of Remembrance from its box prior to making the first presentation to the child of a service member, representing each of the branches of the armed services, that were killed in combat in Afghanistan or Iraq at a ceremony at the Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C., Oct. 29, 2007. Defense Dept. photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley


Republican U.S. Sens. Thad Cochran and Trent Lott, both of Mississippi, congratulate Helena Edge, daughter of U.S. Marine Capt. James Edge, after presenting her with the Gold Medal of Remembrance in memory of her father, who was killed in combat operations in Iraq in 2005. Defense Dept. photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley


After a Gold Medal of Remembrance Ceremony, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Navy Adm. Mike Mullen and his wife, Deborah, laugh as Kelsi Lamberson shows them the picture she chose to put on the back of her sweatshirt in honor of her father, U.S Army Sgt. 1st Class Randall T. Lamberson, who was killed in Iraq. Defense Dept. photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley


Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Navy Adm. Mike Mullen speaks with the Honorable Gordon T. Mansfield, Acting Secretary, Department of Veterans Affairs during the Gold Medal of Remembrance ceremony, Oct. 29, 2007. Defense Dept. photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley


Left to right: Beth Downs and her children Bailey, 10, Elle, 11, and Chandler, 13, attend the White House Commission on Remembrance-sponsored ceremony in the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C., Oct. 29, 2007. Their father, Air Force Maj. William “Brian” Downs, 40, was killed on May 30, 2005, in eastern Diyala province, Iraq, in a crash of an Iraqi air force plane during a training mission. Defense Dept. photo by Gerry J. Gilmore


Beth Downs, left, talks with Deborah Mullen and her husband, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Navy Adm. Michael G. Mullen, at a Gold Medal of Remembrance presentation ceremony at the Russell Senate Building in Washington, D.C., Oct. 29, 2007. Each of Downs’ three children received a gold medal at the ceremony. Defense Dept. Photo by Gerry J. Gilmore


Since 2006, more than 200 Goal Medals of Remembrance like these have been presented to children of fallen U.S. servicemembers who have died in Afghanistan or Iraq. Defense Dept. photo by Gerry J. Gilmore




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Labels: Fallen Heroes, Gold Medal of Remembrance, military families, photos