Hawaii Honors Fallen War Heroes

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Jerome S. Tayborn
  • Pacific Air Forces Public Affairs
Hawaii State Capitol, Hawaii --  The Hawaii State Senate and House of Representatives convened an afternoon joint session here to award the Hawaii Medal of Honor to recognize military service members who have made the ultimate sacrifice.

Among the 28 servicemembers posthumously awarded the medal was U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. Roslyn Schulte, the first female graduate of the Air Force Academy to be killed by an enemy combatant.

Lieutenant Schulte was an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance operations officer assigned to the 613th Air and Space Operations Center at Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam, Hawaii. She died last May in Afghanistan when an improvised explosive device struck her vehicle while en route to a Bagram Airfield meeting.

During the ceremony, Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle offered words of encouragement to the families at the session.

"We wanted you to know that from our perspective, although your loss can never be healed completely, your family members were not lost in vain," said Gov. Lingle. "The fact that we believe that, does not take away your pain, but future generations will look at these family members as heroes."

Gov. Lingle extended gratitude on behalf of the people of Hawaii.

"All of you will remain in the hearts and thoughts of the people of Hawaii," said Gov. Lingle. "We all owe you, along with the rest of America, a tremendous debt of thanks and gratitude."

Also attending the ceremony, were various commanders, friends and coworkers of those being recognized.

Lieutenant Schulte's supervisor, Lt. Col. Christopher Sartorius, assigned to 613th Air and Space Operations Center, ISR Division Chief, JBPHH accepted the medal on behalf of the Schulte family.

"It is an honor and a pleasure to accept the Hawaii Medal of Honor on behalf of Lieutenant. Roslyn Schulte and her family," said Colonel Sartorius. "I want to thank the Hawaii legislature for honoring 1st Lt. Schulte with the Medal of Honor and for such a beautiful ceremony."

The Hawaii Medal of Honor was created in 2005 to recognize the heroism of those members of the U.S. armed forces with links to Hawaii who are killed in action while serving during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The presentation of the Hawaii Medal of Honor was the first of its kind in the nation, and has become the model for similar ceremonies in other states.