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May 16, 2003/Iyar 14 5763, Vol. 55, No. 38
Military wedding honors U.S. armed forces
JESSICA BARBER
Staff Writer
Terri and Dan Adler walk down the aisle past the Davis-Monthan Air Force Honor Guard at their wedding ceremony April 12.
Photo courtesy of Marilynn Amor
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Even before the onset of Operation Iraqi Freedom, many Americans sought ways to recognize the men and women fighting for freedom overseas. Dan and Terri Adler of Tucson joined this patriotic group by combining the happiest day of their lives - their wedding - with a ceremony to honor members of the U.S. Armed Forces; past, present and future.
The wedding, held April 12 at Tohono Chul Park in Tucson, was officiated by Rabbi Stephanie Aaron of Congregation Chaverim.
Dan Adler, flight comm-ander of the 354th Aircraft Maintenance Unit of the U.S. Air Force stationed at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, stood underneath the chupah (wedding canopy) in his military dress uniform, flanked by nine troops of the Davis-Monthan Air Force Honor Guard.
"They came in and held their sabers as Terri was escorted down the aisle by her father," says Dan Adler. "Before Terri and I left the chupah and the bimah, they came back down the aisle and Terri and I walked through them."
Eight members of the honor guard stood facing each other with their sabers crossed, blocking the aisle. As the Adlers reached each pair of two, they weren't allowed to walk through until they kissed.
"When we got to the end, the lone ninth man was there," says Dan Adler. "After we passed him, he gave Terri a pat on the derriere with the sword and said 'Hoo-rah Air Force.' "
"It was kind of cute," says Terri Adler, referring to the sword incident. "It wasn't a run-of-the-mill type wedding."
The ceremony continued at the wedding reception, held at the officer's club on base. The Adlers and their guests, with the help of a non-commissioned officer, held the military POW/MIA ceremony to honor soldiers of the past, the present and the future, as well as the seven members of the U.S. Armed Forces that had been taken captive in Iraq.
"(The officer) took the micro-phone and des-cribed a small table set for one, placed off by itself," explains Dan Adler. "The glass is inverted because they are not drinking with us, a slice of lemon on the plate reminds us of their fate, a red rose is symbolic of the blood of patriots gone before us, and the chair is tilted forward because they are not there."
The ceremony, usually reserved for the most formal of military gatherings, includes a three or four paragraph script honoring the men and women of the military.
The script reads, in part, "Those who have served and those currently serving the uniformed services of the United States are ever mindful that the sweetness of enduring peace has always been tainted by the bit-terness of personal sacrifice. We are compelled to never forget that while we enjoy our daily pleasures, there are others who have endured and may still be enduring the agonies of pain, deprivation and internment."
Dan Adler concluded the ceremony by asking all guests who were currently or who had previously served in the armed forces to stand, and then offered a toast: "Please raise your glasses and join me in a toast to the defenders of freedom; yesterday, today and tomorrow."
Among those mentioned at the ceremony was the best man, Sergeant Scott Muir-head of the U.S. Army, who was unable to attend the ceremony because he was fighting in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
"He was there in spirit," says Dan Adler of his childhood friend. "His parents attended and stood (during the toast) on his behalf."
Phoenix resident Marilynn Amor, mother of the groom, couldn't help but notice the similarity of the ceremony to a Passover seder.
"The wedding was just a few days before Passover, and the ceremony was close to what you would do when you are talking about a seder plate," says Amor. "People came up to me afterwards and said it was the most beautiful wedding they had ever been to."
Adding to the families' joy was the release of the seven POWs the following morning.
"When I got up the next morning ... I turned the TV right to CNN," remembers Dan Adler. "The first thing said was that seven POWs had been freed. I certainly won't take credit for it or say that (our ceremony) helped, but regardless, it was an answered prayer."
Although the wedding had a happy ending, Dan Adler couldn't help but feel conflicted about having such a joyous event while his "brothers and sisters" were fighting overseas.
"I told my rabbi (about my apprehension) and she quoted a passage from the Torah that helped my uneasiness," he says. "I tried to put myself in the shoes of the soldiers overseas and I thought to myself, if I was there fighting and I heard that someone back home cancelled their wedding plans because there was a war going on, I would wonder what I was fighting for. The bad guys win if people back home cancel the happiest day of their life."
Adler, who has been in the Air Force since his 1999 graduation from the Uni-versity of Arizona, will be deployed to Afghanistan in the fall for three to six months.
Terri Adler, a physical therapist, tries to remain in good spirits.
"I'm thankful he was here for the wedding and leading up to it, and for a while afterwards," says Terri Adler. "I've kind of prepared myself, knowing that sooner or later he'd have to go. The key is to keep busy."
Contact the writer at jessica_barber@jewishaz.com.
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