Tomb of the Unknown Sentinel Sgt. Adam Dickmyer Killed in Action

November 19, 2010 · By Jerry Castillo

Sgt Adam L. Dickmyer

Sgt Adam L. Dickmyer

ARLINGTON, Va. Nov. 18, 2010, Army Staff Sgt. Adam L. Dickmyer, 26, spent three years as commander of the relief and assistant sergeant of the guard, the sentinels who maintain an around-the-clock vigil at the Tomb of the Unknowns.

He also served for three years in other positions at Arlington, including working as casket team leader of the Joint Services State Funeral Team, helping with services just like the one that honored him yesterday. He was the 12th sentinel interred at Arlington and the third in the unit’s history to be killed in combat.

He had volunteered to go to Afghanistan, and was deployed in June as a member of the 101st Airborne Division out of Fort Campbell, Ky. On Oct. 28, near Kandahar, insurgents attacked Dickmyer’s unit with an improvised explosive device, killing him.

burial-today-for-winston-soldier02“He felt it was his duty to go over there,” his mother, Stephanie Dickmyer, said recently. “He went there wanting to do his part.”

Staff Sgt. Jon Brisiel, a sentinel at the Tomb of the Unknowns, gave tribute to his co-worker.

“When he left here he had such a vested interest, like a part of him was always down here,’’ Brisiel said. “He was committed to the tomb.”

“I remember when I came into training how his soldiers admired him and followed him. I really got to know him through everyone else,” Brisiel said. “His soldiers would follow anything he said, and that is hard to accomplish as a leader…I remember his standards were set so high, and he demanded perfection. He strived for it, and he maintained that in his soldiers.”

Dickmyer was honored with a private service in the chapel at Arlington, after which his family members and other mourners were led to the gravesite behind a team of six black horses hitched to a caisson that carried his flag-wrapped coffin.

Sentinels from the Tomb of the Unknowns participated in the processional and later in the day held a special wreath-laying ceremony to honor Dickmyer’s service at the tomb.

Maj. Gen. Karl R. Horst, commanding general of the Joint Force Headquarters, left, hands a folded flag to Stephanie Dickmyer, the mother of Army Staff Sgt. Adam Dickmyer. Credit: AP PHOTO

Maj. Gen. Karl R. Horst, commanding general of the Joint Force Headquarters, left, hands a folded flag to Stephanie Dickmyer, the mother of Army Staff Sgt. Adam Dickmyer. Credit: AP PHOTO

Major Gen. Karl Horst, the commanding general of the Joint Force Headquarters, presented flags to Stephanie Dickmyer; to Dickmyer’s widow, Melinda Randall Dickmyer; and to his father, David Dickmyer.

Dickmyer also led or participated in inaugurations of presidents, and the burials of high-ranking military officials and other famous people. He was the lead pallbearer for the funeral of U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy in August 2009.

Dickmyer was born in York, Pa., and moved with his family to Winston-Salem when he was 9. He attended Mineral Springs Elementary and Middle schools, and then Carver, from which he graduated in 2002. He was active in the award-winning ROTC drill team at Carver.

4 Responses

  1. Tweets that mention Tomb of the Unknown Sentinel Sgt. Adam Dickmyer Killed in Action | USFallen.org -- Topsy.com

    November 19th, 2010 at 4:36 PM

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  2. God Bless The Troops

    November 19th, 2010 at 7:44 PM

    2

    Staff Sgt. Dickmyer & Family,

    Thank you for honoring us by honoring your country.. We are forever grateful for your service at Arlington, and your ultimate sacrifice. That you laid down your life for us… You will never be forgotten.

    to Jerry & USFallen.org – thank you for continuing your mission to honor our fallen…

  3. Vonnie Puzio

    November 25th, 2010 at 9:58 PM

    3

    Thank you for your service it will never be forgotten.

  4. Karmy

    November 26th, 2010 at 4:30 PM

    4

    I like your post very much.


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