Fallen pilot 'has come home'

Airmen from the special operations community gather at a memorial service at Hurlburt Field, Fla., Feb. 28, 2012. The ceremony honored the lives of Capt. Ryan P. Hall from the 319th Special Operations Squadron, Capt. Nicholas S. Whitlock and 1st Lt. Justin J. Wilkens from the 34th Special Operations Squadron, and Senior Airman Julian S. Scholten from the 25th Intelligence Squadron. The Airmen all died in a Feb. 18, 2012, U-28A crash in Djibouti. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Vanessa Valentine)

Remembrance

Retired Master Sgt. Eric Ziegler addresses guests during a remembrance ceremony, June 25, 2011, at Arlington National Cemetery, Va., to mark the 15th anniversary since the Khobar Towers bombing. Nineteen Airmen were killed in the terrorist bombing, June 25, 1996, at Dhahran Air Base, Saudi Arabia. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Tiffany Trojca)

Remembrance

Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley speaks at a remembrance ceremony, June 25, 2011, at Arlington National Cemetery, Va., to mark the 15th anniversary since the Khobar Towers bombing. Nineteen Airmen were killed in the terrorist bombing, June 25, 1996, at Dhahran Air Base, Saudi Arabia. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Tiffany Trojca)

Remembrance

Guests listen during a remembrance ceremony, June 25, 2011, at Arlington National Cemetery, Va., to mark the 15th anniversary since the Khobar Towers bombing. In the foreground lie the headstones of Master Sgt. Michael George Heiser and Airman 1st Class Brian McVeigh, two of the nineteen Airmen killed in the terrorist bombing, June 25, 1996, at Dhahran Air Base, Saudi Arabia. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Tiffany Trojca)

Traveling Vietnam Wall

Patriot Guard Rider, "Santa Eddie," displays his "colors" before departing from Colorado Springs, Colo., June 7, 2011, for an escort ride to Fort Carson, Colo. Approximately 35 riders, many with the Patriot Guard Riders, escorted the raveling Vietnam Memorial Wall. (U.S. Air Force photo/ Dennis Rogers

traveling Vietnam Wall

Local motorcyclists, including government employees, former and current military members and civilians, pose by the traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall June 7, 2011, in Colorado Springs, Colo. The riders joined members of the Patriot Guard Riders to escort the display as it traveled to Fort Carson, Colo., for a six-day display. (U.S. Air Force photo/ Dennis Rogers)

Liberty Airmen pay homage to fallen

Garrison Sgt. Maj. Graham White salutes the 48th Fighter Wing Honor Guard during a Memorial Day ceremony honoring fallen heroes at the Scottish-American War Memorial May 30, 2011, in Edinburgh, Scotland. This year marks the 77th annual Scottish-American Memorial Day service at "The Call," a war memorial presented to the Scottish people by the U.S., as a tribute to World War I Scottish troops. Sergeant White is assigned to Headquarters Edinburgh Garrison, Edinburgh Castle. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Megan P. Lyon)

Honoring the fallen

Volunteers place American flags on graves during a Memorial Day ceremony May 30, 2011, at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Buffalo, NY. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Joseph McKee)

Honoring the fallen

Volunteers placed American flags on graves during a Memorial Day ceremony May 30, 2011, at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Buffalo, NY. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Joseph McKee)

Honoring the fallen

Staff Sgt. Marvin Askew places an American flag on a grave during a Memorial Day ceremony May 30, 2011, at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Buffalo, NY. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Joseph McKee)

Wreath laying ceremony

The U.S. Air Force Honor Guard colors team presents the colors during a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns April 5, 2011, at Arlington National Cemetery, Va.. The guest honoree and wreath presenter was Gen. Col. Alexander Nikolyevich Zelin, commander-in-chief of the Russian air force. The wreath was laid in honor of all fallen service members. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Christopher Ruano)

Wreath laying ceremony

Master Sgt. Michael Bosch, a member in the U.S. Air Force band, plays Taps during a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns, April 5, 2011, at Arlington National Cemetery, Va. The guest honoree and wreath presenter was Gen. Col. Alexander Nikolyevich Zelin, commander-in-chief of the Russian air force. The wreath was laid in honor of all fallen service members. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Christopher Ruano)

Wreath laying ceremony

Capt. Tiffany Stone commands her U.S. Air Force Honor Guard flight into formation during a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns, April 5, 2011, at Arlington National Cemetery, Va. The guest honoree and wreath presenter was Gen. Col. Alexander Nikolyevich Zelin, commander-in-chief of the Russian air force. The wreath was laid in honor of all fallen service members. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Christopher Ruano)

Memorial marathon eternalizes Bataan Death March

A participant of the 22nd Annual Bataan Memorial Death March receives medical attention March 27, 2011at one of seven medical stations along the 26.2-mile trail at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. Marchers trekked through rough terrain at elevations ranging between 4,100 and 5,300 feet. The event, attended by a record number of more than 6,000 marchers, commemorated the original Bataan Death March, which occurred in the Philippines during World War II. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Joshua Turner)

Memorial marathon eternalizes Bataan Death March

A participant of the 22nd Annual Bataan Memorial Death March holds a flag March 27, 2011 during a moment of silence at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. Three remaining survivors attended the opening ceremony. The event, attended by a record number of more than 6,000 marchers, commemorated the original Bataan Death March, which occurred in the Philippines during World War II. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Joshua Turner)

Sacrifice #384

Approximately 250 wreaths honor the graves of veterans Dec. 11, 2010, at the Black Hills National Cemetery, S.D. More than 50 Airmen from Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., volunteered to lay wreaths on the graves during the 2010 Wreaths Across America ceremony, held annually on the second Saturday of December, in honor of veterans who have passed. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Marc I. Lane)

VCSAF describes airpower's key role in Pacific at Tinian symposium

Capt. Ron Poe climbs into the pit used to load atomic bombs onto B-29 Superfortresses at the end of World War II, while Lt. Col. Richard Pagliuco prepares to follow him, shortly before a wreath-laying ceremony Aug. 6, 2010, in Tinian, Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands. Both were invited by local officials to place unit coins in the bomb pit during a commemoration of Tinian's role in World War II. Colonel Pagliuco is the 20th Air Force deputy director of operations at F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyo., and Captain Poe is the 509th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron Aircraft Maintenance Unit officer in charge at Whiteman AFB, Mo. (U.S. Air Force photo/Lt. Col. Sam Highley)

VCSAF describes airpower's key role in Pacific at Tinian symposium

Joel Santos (left) and William Manglona stand by a wreath commemorating the end of World War II shortly before a ceremony Aug. 6, 2010, in Tinian, Commonwealth of Northern Northern Mariana Islands. The two Junior R.O.T.C. cadets from Tinian High School placed the wreath by pits designed to load atomic bombs onto B-29 Superfortresses at the end of World War II, as part of a commemoration of Tinian's role in the war. (U.S. Air Force photo/Lt. Col. Sam Highley)

Seven WWII Airmen buried at Arlington National Cemetery

Soldiers from the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, The Old Guard, carry a casket containing the remains of six Airmen, who died during World War II in Burma July 15, 2010 at Arlington National Cemetery, Va. (DOD photo/Michael Tolzmann)

Seven WWII Airmen buried at Arlington National Cemetery

A casket containing the remains of six Airmen, who perished in 1944 in a C-47 aircraft crash in Burma, is removed from a horse-drawn caisson July 15, 2010 at Arlington National Cemetery, Va. The downed aircraft had a crew of seven - all of whom where interned here in two caskets following repatriation. (DOD photo/Michael Tolzmann)

4 Airmen die in helicopter crash

Department of Defense officials announced June 9, 2010, the deaths of four Airmen who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. (U.S. Air Force graphic/Corey Parrish)

Fallen Airmen Memorial

The Fallen Airmen Memorial at Memorial Lake, S.C., is dedicated to all Airmen who have died in combat. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Amber E. N. Jacobs)

U.S., French remember America's first combat pilots

A crowd gathers to see a ceremony May 27, 2010, at the Lafayette Escadrille Memorial outside of Paris honoring American and French pilots who died during World War I. U.S. and French civilian and military leaders paid their respects to America's first combat pilots during the ceremony. The Lafayette Escadrille Memorial is a reminder to all of the American pilots of the Escadrille La Fayette and the Lafayette Flying Corps who died during service to the Allies. (U.S. Air Force photo/Capt. Tony Wickman)

Female World War II pilots lay wreath at Air Force Memorial

An Air Force Honor Guard member presents a memorial wreath to Women Airforce Service Pilot member Dawn Seymour (right) while her escort, retired Coast Guard Vice Adm. Vivien Crea (center) looks on during a remembrance ceremony March 9, 2010, at the Air Force Memorial in Arlington, Va. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Erica J. Knight)