Patterico's Pontifications

11/21/2008

A Small Town Honors America’s Heroes

Filed under: Crime,General — DRJ @ 8:13 pm



[Guest post by DRJ]

Terry Johnson started Show of Support Hunt for Heroes 5 years ago when he invited two wounded, discharged military personnel to join him for a hunt on a Texas ranch, along with a dinner to thank them and show his support for their service. Here is how Johnson describes his goal:

“These individuals have selflessly given their service to our nation to guarantee our safety and to protect our freedoms. There is not a more noble cause than what these individuals have taken upon themselves to do. Their sense of honor, dignity, pride and sacrifice is what allows us to live in a nation that others clamor to our borders to be a part of. They have volunteered to put their lives on the line for their beliefs, a free America. Free from the threat of a segment of those who would want to see us living in fear. This mighty nation will and is standing up to this terror threat thanks to these individuals.”

This year more than 25 wounded, discharged military men participated and a total of 136 have been honored to date. Three thousand people attended this year’s banquet, and here’s a video (in the upper right corner) of the community welcoming this year’s heroes.

The program also thanks and honors the military wives:

“[S]oldiers who were wounded in Iraq or Afghanistan left Midland on Friday morning for a whitetail deer hunt as part of the fifth annual Show of Support Hunt for Heroes. Volunteers said they wanted the women to understand they’re appreciated just as much for their sacrifice and planned a weekend of surprises that ranged from lunch at the Petroleum Club to shopping excursions to makeovers, bowling and a show at the Midland Community Theater, among other things.

“They probably have the hardest part of it,” said Paula Thomas, who organized the women’s activities. “They get that call that something bad has happened. They’re the ones that have to put the family back together and go to the hospital with a smile.”

Here’s one wife’s response:

“Laura Klaiber, who traveled from Colorado Springs with her husband, held back tears as she smiled and tried to describe the hours since she arrived in Midland on Wednesday.

“I swear I’ve cried more in the last three days,” she said, shaking her head. Klaiber said dealing with the issues that come with the military, like worrying about a husband serving overseas, has gradually worn down her patriotism.

After seeing families at Thursday’s banquet who had lost someone in the war and being continually welcomed by women Friday, she said, her spirit has been “fixed up again.”

One person in one community can make a difference, and I know this happens every day in America. Please feel free to add your links or stories describing how other communities are honoring America’s heroes – military, police, fire and others.

— DRJ

17 Responses to “A Small Town Honors America’s Heroes”

  1. note sure where this is going? gun hunting parties for collectivists?

    This again speaks volumns about the inconsistancy of modern conservatism’s tenents: small govt., anti socialist, anti communitarianism. Hereby another example of contradicting the Free Marketeers: Praising men who wear govt. issued uniforms, who have pensions, who support collective goals, who are not in ‘business’…come-on???? “military, police, fire-…” the most socialistic portions of the populace…unlike the private enterprise ‘workers’ now disdained for the few who still have pensions, the businessmen and women w/o govt. health care or pensions. Conservativism truly stands for the hedge fund hustler, the car dealer, the salesman, the clerk, the illegal immigrant supplying cheap help, Walmart. And all those with constant striving and no safety net. Now trying to paint as ‘conservatives’ Govt. paycheck collectivists in the military, police, fire depts…will not do. They need to be mercenaries to be true conservatives.

    this is not a true conservative website…you have a collectivist strain here.

    datadave (2f1fa6)

  2. The ‘datadave’ comment does not understand the patriotic commitment of dedication, discipline and sacrifice at great personal risk to serve one’s country being honored by those appreciate and value that contribution by those in uniform.

    Stanford Matthews (c3a792)

  3. Dave,

    You could not be more wrong. Conservatives believe in the goodness of America and the obligation to serve it. They also have sincere respect for the military and the sacrifices they make.

    Life in the military is anything but socialist or collectivist. I have experience with military service and the military family that you may find enlightening.

    My father was a wealthy UVA senior on his way to law school in 1941. He put his life on hold, concealed an injury that would have made him 4F and received a direct commission. When he said goodbye to me, I was six weeks old. He was 26, a 1Lt in the 1st Infantry Division. Wounded in the hedgerow fighting, and again on day one of the Ardennes Offensive, he was killed two days before his unit took the Luddendorf Bridge. My mother was in denial partially because the mail from him continued for several weeks. Hard to believe he did it for the money.

    My stepfather was a starting end on Georgia Tech’s football team when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. He was commissioned a ensign and received orders to the Pacific as the supply officer of a naval construction battalion. SeaBees land with the marines. He captured a Japanese soldier, one of only 200, by tackling him from his blind side. After the war, the navy sent him to Harvard business school, where he graduated magna cum laude. In 1956, I enrolled at Culver Military Academy where my father had graduated. Fortunately, I had a trust fund because my stepfather’s pay was 60% of the cost of Culver. He stayed in the navy until he was medically retired in 1965. He did not serve 23 years for the money.

    In 1967, I put my life on hold, accepted a commission in the USAF, volunteered for flight training and earned a slot as an F4 weapon systems officer. As the sole surviving son of a KIA, I could not be compelled to accept a combat assignment. In 1971 as a Vietnam volunteer, I received orders to the 366th TFW at DaNang. When I left, I said goodbye to my wife and two boys, age three and six. I volunteered for an assignment to “Stormy”, a fast FAC outfit that located targets in high threat areas and lead strikes on them. On April 28th, 1972, we found and struck an SA-2 site like the one that shot down John McCain. On our 7th pass, an overlapping site launched five guideline missiles. We saw three; the fourth hit us. The bravest men in the world, the 33rd Air Rescue & Recovery Squadron fished us out of the South China Sea in a hail of AAA and mortar fire. I retired after 20 years on active duty. No one that I knew was in it for the money.

    We all owe the military a great debt of gratitude. They have put their lives on hold and travelled to places their duly elected civilian government sent them. Many were wounded or killed; all lost friends. Their families suffered in ways civilians cannot understand.

    arch (f94e18)

  4. arch: thank you for your service and sacrifice. We all owe you a tremendous debt.
    datadave is just being a snarky contrarian asshole.

    Jack Klompus (b0e238)

  5. The ‘datadave’ comment does not understand the patriotic commitment of dedication,

    But he probably thinks that community organizing is the highest form of patriotism.

    Dmac (e30284)

  6. Thank you and all the others like you, arch.

    I always like to read about how people in Southern California invite servicemen and women to their homes for Thanksgiving. It’s gotten so popular that you have to get your request in early, or you will be put on a waiting list!
    Adopting Marines for Thanksgiving

    Patricia (ee5c9d)

  7. The local Christian college (Concordia University, connected to the Lutheran Church) sponsored a Veteran’s Day service because someone connected with the school had presented them with a flag flown in Iraq. The service planning grew, adding more and more ideas, until it was finally an event that drew over 400 people – about 50 veterans in uniform – and a flyover by a pair of A-10s. The Pentagon was so thrilled (because so few people observe Veteran’s Day anymore) that they may provide some brass and even more support next year.

    Now if anyone in Ann Arbor would just remember to fly a flag now and then. I mean, other than their University of Michigan flags.

    Don (9ca635)

  8. Datadave needs to borrow a clue. Collectivists don’t do anything on merit – only seniority. The military is the preeminent merit pay organization.

    Don (9ca635)

  9. Rereading my comment it seems a bit immodest. The reason I put all that personal stuff in writing was to point out that most Americans are not motivated by money. As we grew up, we did so because my father, his fellow combat troops and a million more before and after them protected us from harm.

    I just wanted to make Datadave understand that most of us are, fortunately, not like him.

    arch (f94e18)

  10. Arch,

    Your comment was not immodest and I am grateful you shared it with us. I am even more grateful there are Americans like you and your family who are willing to serve and sacrifice for our country and our fellow Americans. God bless you.

    DRJ (a50047)

  11. Great story. Honor, in itself, has such depth of healing power. The blared discontent with recent military decisions has, I suspect, made things even harder on military families and members. The leftist illuminati sound like they’re more concerned about saving face with France than they are with caring for soldiers’ families.

    It’s a beautiful story. Thanks for sharing.

    conservativechic (b9a20f)

  12. datadave,

    I can’t add anything to the earlier comments regarding service and sacrifice but I made a point of not claiming this post was about liberals or conservatives. It’s about Americans, and I urged people to add similar stories to illustrate that point. I don’t care if those stories come from a little town in West Texas or San Francisco, Madison WI or New Orleans. I don’t care if they involve military personnel or local first responders.

    So please don’t make this a partisan issue when it wasn’t intended or presented that way. And someday I’d like to discuss with you the difference between libertarians and conservatives. I’m not a political philosopher but I think it might be helpful to explore the differences.

    DRJ (a50047)

  13. Dmac: I think that both community organizing and serving in the military are patriotic acts, if they are undertaken with the desire to serve the people.

    Why do they have to be in opposition to each other? Protecting the country from external evil is an honorable profession; but so is working to improve the lives of people within the country.

    aphrael (9e8ccd)

  14. Maybe dave was trying to be “funny”?

    I mean, communitarianism? Come on!

    Icy Truth (84d054)

  15. aphrael,

    I applaud people who try to serve their neighbors, whether they get paid for it or not, but I think there is a qualitative difference between people whose service involves significant risk to their lives and other occupations. Community organizers, teachers, nurses, etc., are service-oriented professions but they aren’t inherently dangerous occupations like the military and first responders.

    DRJ (a50047)

  16. Aphrael – as usual, DRJ expressed my feelings about the issue in a more exemplary manner than I ever could. I honestly respect folks who do those kinds of work – but to equate that with someone putting their lives on the line seems out of proportion to me.

    Dmac (e30284)

  17. […] But before we get too happy Auster makes a sobering point. And DRJ at Patterico reminds us to honor the troops, we should need no such […]

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