Veterans Day 2006

Larry Branaugh…  Lewis Craig…  Jose Garcia, Jr….  Frank Olguin…  Thomas Slocum….  Christopher William…. 

Those names might not mean much to most people, but look a little deeper….

Larry Branaugh was one of three brothers to have volunteered to serve during the Vietnam War.  On April 19, 1968, Larry’s helicopter was shot down in the A Shau Valley in South Vietnam where he was hit by hostile fire while on the ground when pulling his air crew out of the downed helicopter.  Larry, at age 24, died of his wounds the next day – a long way from home and family. 

Lewis Craig served during the Korean War with the 194th Combat Engineers.  He spent most of his time in service on the front lines of that conflict and returned to become an original resident of our city. 

Jose Garcia, Jr. volunteered for the Army in 1939.  As World War II raged on, Jose served in the European Theatre where he was injured in the Battle of the Bulge.  For his heroics, he was awarded the Purple Heart and the Silver Star. 

Frank Olguin served with the 157th Infantry, 45th Division in Europe.  Captured by the Germans in Italy, he escaped and went on to continue the fight earning the Purple Heart and Bronze Star. 

Thomas Slocum joined the Marines in 1998.  He served two tours in Okinawa, Japan, re-enlisted after that unforgettable day on September 11, 2001 and was sent to Iraq in 2003.  Thomas was killed in action on March 23, 2003 - he was the first Colorado casualty of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Christopher William is a Marine, just like his father.  He has done three tours in Iraq where during the most recent he was injured in Fallujah by a roadside bomb.  His time in the Marines is almost up and he will soon be returning to Colorado.

Some of those names I just learned of yesterday.  I was attending a dress rehearsal for the memorial ceremony our city is putting on for Veterans Day on Saturday and managed to get an early copy of the program.  In it are the names, photos and some of the stories of more than a hundred residents out of the thousands in our city that have served this great nation.  Looking at the faces and reading the stories you can’t help but feel a chill.  Who would have thought in a suburb like many others across this land you would find so many heroes that have lived just a few miles, indeed a few blocks, from you? 

But these names, while significant, are but a drop in the bucket.  Millions across this country have answered the call to duty, many have paid the ultimate sacrifice.  Hero is a word used entirely too often these days and the meaning of it has been diminished as a result.  Make no mistake though; these men and women, the veterans of this nation’s armed forces, are true heroes.  These are the heroes that walk amongst us today.  Those that have served believed in a cause that is greater than themselves.  They believed they had a debt to pay for everything this nation has given them.  They are proud to join the company of other heroes who have helped to keep our country safe, keep us free, and preserve our way of life through the generations.

Famed author Tom Clancy wrote, "Our society asks much of its warriors and gives little back, a fact of life too long-lived to be the shame to us it ought to be. We very often don't even have the decency to ask. We just expect them to be there when they're needed, and out of sight when they're not."

Veterans Day ensures we keep a pledge made to every generation of veterans. That we will not cast aside, that we will not diminish, that we will never forget their sacrifices and we will not forget those who never returned to join us and hear, “Thank You.”  Blessed are the generations of soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen who have served with the same spirit and devotion as those that came and fought before. On Veterans Day, give thanks to these men and women as we are citizens of a strong, free and great nation because of them.

In the United States freedom and liberty is not just a dream, not just something to hope for.  Unlike so many other places across the globe, it is a reality and a right.  A way of life so prized that, for generations, we have pledged all we are and all we hope to be to its preservation.  We have sacrificed the lives of our parents, our sons, our daughters to this cause.  Out of centuries of conflict and even peace, we have learned: Freedom is not a given. It is a bugle call, hundreds of years old first heard more than 230 years ago.  That call has been answered by many and they are the ones truly worthy of the designation HERO. 

Many of you have a three day weekend due to Veterans Day.  I ask you, indeed I implore you, take just a little bit of time on Saturday to reflect and honor our nation’s veterans.  Say a prayer, stop and gaze on the stars and stripes, visit a national cemetery, attend a Veterans Day remembrance.  These men and women have sacrificed years of their life, their own freedom, their own youth and innocence and some their very lives for you and I.  This is the least we can do. 

God bless our veterans, God bless you all and God bless America!

          Tony