Air Force graduation dedicated to assassin of heroes of 30 May

SANTO DOMINGO. President Danilo Medina took part yesterday in the XII Graduation of 51 new officers of the Dominican Republic Air Force Academy which was dedicated to Major General Fernando Arturo Sanchez Jr., an official who was in the service of the dictator Rafael Leonidas Trujillo.

Of the new second lieutenants, 44 men and 7 women, nine graduated Magna cum Laude, with the highest honors going to the young officer Jose Alcibiades Garcia, including a scholarship to continue his studies in one of the private universities.

Proud mothers

The most emotional part of the ceremony was when the mothers stood in front of the new officers, and then they caressed the faces of their offspring, something which brought tears, not only to them but to many in the audience.

Brigadier General Luis Napoleon Payan Diaz, the interim director of the Air Force Academy, said that the occasion was memorable because it was part of the festivities celebrating the 200th anniversary of the birth of the Founding Father, Juan Pablo Duarte, and at the same time showed the tenacity and sacrifice of each one of the graduates.

Sanchez Jr.

Fernando Arturo Sanchez Jr. was one of the military officers who, obeying the orders of Ramfis Trujillo, took part in the Hacienda Maria of the assassination of six of the men who took part in the execution of the dictator. Regarding this particular incident, the Minister of Defense, Admiral Sigfrido Pared Perez indicated that this stain on the history of Sanchez Jr. cannot be erased. He explained that generally the military academies designate their graduating classes with the names of deceased major generals.