Civil Air Patrol Trail of Tears Composite Squadron Volunteers for the Iron Mountain Railroad Veterans Day Train

Left to Right. Front: C/Amn E. Thiele, C/SMSgt L. Ragain, T. Weinhold. Back: C/A1C S. Jones, C/SrA S. Gers, C/SSgt P. Allred, C/SrA M. Kuntze, and C/SrA. N. Harris.

Seven cadet members, two senior members, and one prospective cadet from the local Civil Air Patrol Squadron, NCR-MO-127 Trail of Tears Composite Squadron volunteered on Iron Mountain Railroad Veterans Day Train. Cadet Senior Airman S. Gers and Cadet Airman First Class S. Jones joined with members of the Jackson, MO Boy Scout Troop 11 in a Flag Ceremony. The Cadets and Boy Scouts greeted the Veterans, assisted the passengers in boarding the train, served concessions, and helped Veterans and their families disembark from the train. The Cadets and Boy Scouts helped in displaying historical flags and reading each flag’s history, as well as the histories of the five branches of the United States Armed Forces.

About Trail of Tears Composite Squadron

The Trail of Tears Composite Squadron is located in Cape Girardeau, Missouri and serves the surrounding area. The Trail of Tears Composite Squadron meets weekly at the Cape Armory (2626 Independence Rd, Cape Girardeau, MO 63703) on Thursdays at 6 pm. For more information about the squadron, visit our website Trailoftears.cap.gov or our Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/MOCAP127.

About Missouri Wing

Members of NCR-MO-127 Trail of Tears Comp. Sq. and Boy Scout Troop 11 saluting Veterans disembarking the Iron Mountain Railroad Veteran Day Train.

The Missouri Wing of the Civil Air Patrol is composed of over 800 members organized in almost thirty units located throughout the state. Assets include eight single-engine aircraft, twenty-two vehicles, and extensive communication equipment. The wing conducted four search and rescue missions, twenty-six training missions, as well as nine other state and federal support missions, in 2021 and was credited with two finds. Visit mowg.cap.gov for more information.

About Civil Air Patrol

Established in 1941, Civil Air Patrol is the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force and as such is a member of its Total Force. In its auxiliary role, CAP operates a fleet of 555 single-engine aircraft and 2,250 small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) and performs about 90% of all search and rescue operations within the contiguous United States as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center. Often using innovative cellphone forensics and radar analysis software, CAP was credited by the AFRCC with saving 108 lives last year. CAP’s 56,000 members also perform homeland security, disaster relief and drug interdiction missions at the request of federal, state, and local agencies. As a nonprofit organization, CAP plays a leading role in aerospace education using national academic standards-based STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education resources. Members also serve as mentors to over 23,000 young people participating in CAP’s Cadet Programs. Visit www.CAP.News or www.GoCivilAirPatrol.com for more information.

C/A1C S. Jones and C/SrA S. Gers completed the flag ceremony with members of Boy Scout Troop 11.
C/Amn E. Thiele reading the history of one of the historical flags.
C/SSgt P. Allred reading the history of the U. S. Navy aboard the Iron Mountain Railroad Veterans Train.

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