SONOMA — U.S. Army Col. David J. Abramowitz began Monday by going for a two-mile run. It was early in the morning, and he finished at Sonoma Veteran’s Memorial Park, which is next door to Arnold Field and north of the downtown plaza.
“I never realized what a beautiful cemetery this is and how many fallen comrades this small city has lost,” said Abramowitz, the U.S. Army Forces Command Inspector General.
A few hours later, Abramowitz returned to Veteran’s Memorial Park as a keynote speaker for the 51st annual Sonoma Valley Joint Memorial Day Observance. An estimated crowd of 2,000 turned out to see Abramowitz, who is based at Fort McPherson, Ga., present the Distinguished Flying Cross posthumously to U.S. Army Captain and Justin-Siena High School graduate Kevin M. Norman.
Norman’s family was on hand to accept the award. The Republic of Korea also gave a special award in Norman’s memory during the two-hour long ceremony. Norman grew up in Sonoma.
“This is a tremendous honor for this town that has done so much for him in helping him grow up,” said Dr. Tim Norman, Kevin’s father, who works as a psychologist at the Hanna Boys Center in Sonoma.
Norman, who played football at both Justin-Siena and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, was killed in a plane crash on Aug. 12, 2003 during a routine maintenance test flight from Seoul Air Base, Korea. His C-12 Huron reconnaissance aircraft developed severe mechanical problems.
Norman and his co-pilot, Chief Warrant Officer 3 David W. Snow, fought the disabled and burning aircraft to fly it away from a heavily populated area and into an open field, saving the lives and property of the people of Kongse-Ri. Snow was also killed in the crash.
Abramowitz called Norman, who was 30 at the time of his death, a hero. The Distinguished Flying Cross is presented to only a few accomplished and heroic individuals, said Abramowitz.
“This city, our Army and our nation, we’re especially fortunate to have a soldier like Kevin Norman,” said Abramowitz. “He and other selfless young men and women answer the call to serve our nation.”
Norman was described as an intense leader who never accepted failure. Before entering West Point, he served as a volunteer firefighter.
“Kevin was a great young man, a tremendous leader in school,” said Greg Schmitz, a former Justin-Siena principal. “He was very patriotic even in high school — he spoke about his love for his country, his love of the flag.
“His legacy lives on with his great family and the people that support him here in Sonoma.”
Abramowitz was Norman’s brigade commander at the time of the accident. Norman was with A Company, 6th Battalion, 52d Aviation Regiment, 17th Aviation Brigade, Seoul Air Base, Korea.
“I developed a special bond with Kevin,” said Abramowitz. “I spent more time with him than any of my other 13 company commanders. In fact, I had him in my office three days prior to the incident for mentoring and counseling. We talked a long time.
“Kevin was the most intense leader of all my commanders. He would never accept second place. I could see so much potential in him. He was a rock-solid leader. I knew he was a great aviator. I knew he was an outstanding officer.
“A day does not go by that I don’t think of Kevin. He was like my son.”
Norman was the recipient of numerous military awards. He attended a military prep school in Southern California before moving on to West Point, where he earned a degree in systems engineering.
Before his military career, he was a standout athlete at Justin-Siena, where he was quarterback of the football team and MVP of the annual East-West Charity All-Star Football Classic, a midsummer game featuring high school graduates from Napa, Solano and Yolo counties. He played baseball for the Braves and graduated from Justin-Siena in 1991.
Norman received several military awards, including the Army Commendation Medal, Joint Service Achievement Medal, Army Achievement Medal and National Defense Service Medal.
“Kevin was a unique person from the very first time I met him,” said Steve Meyer, the dean of students at Justin-Siena. “It was clear right away that he had a passion for life, that he was going to live life to the fullest.
“As much as he would live life to the fullest, his first concerns were always to other people. We saw that in a lot of different ways at school.”
The Distinguished Flying Cross represents the highest of aviation accomplishments in the Armed Forces, said Abramowitz, adding that Norman was an outstanding son, husband, soldier, brother and friend.
“He was a man who dearly loved his wife, his family, soldiers, and especially, his town of Sonoma,” said Abramowitz. “Truly, Kevin lived his life serving and protecting others. Everyone I’ve talked to said Kevin was the most selfless man they ever knew.”
“The loss of these soldiers was tough on the unit and me personally, but I think we were all encouraged and moved by the quiet dignity of the Norman family,” said Abramowitz, who wrote the Distinguished Flying Cross nomination.
“I went out to the crash site the day after the accident. It was obvious to me that Kevin and David had managed to put the plane down in the only possible place where nobody else would get hurt — this was a heroic act.”
In presenting a special award to Norman’s family, Bon Woo Koo, consul general, Republic of Korea, said: “Kevin’s swift judgment and brave actions will be remembered in the hearts and minds of Korean people.”
Attracting an audience of more than 1,000 people annually, the Sonoma Valley Joint Memorial Day Observance has become the preeminent event of the year for local veterans, their families and friends.
“Even with the passage of time, we continue to honor the memory of our fallen comrades. We never forget our fallen comrades,” said Abramowitz.