Come to Hobart

Veterans and their families will flock to Hobart, Oklahoma this weekend to spend the time with retired, four-star Gen. Tommy Franks for the third, annual Celebration of Freedom.

The event has a host of sponsors dedicated to providing activities for parents, grand parents and children of all ages. The parade down Main Street will be led by a Native American color guard and will feature everything wonderful about small town, America, including Miss Oklahoma 2010, Emoly West, as Grand Marshall.

The Freedom Motorcycle Rumble parade through downtown Hobart will take place around 2:30. Onlookers will see Franks leading hundreds of motorcycle riders through town stopping at the Tommy Franks Leadership Institute and Museum.

Sunday night will host a concert featuring country-western singer Aaron Tippin.

Since Franks’ 2003 retirement Franks and wife Cathy have put together a stunning museum displaying scenes from Franks’ military career and much education about Middle East countries. In association with the museum, Franks has begun a leadership institute to bring together youth of varying countries to learn to debate, and discuss the tough issues of multiple cultures on the same planet.

The General Tommy Franks Leadership Institute and Museum has grown exponentially since its “soft” opening for Veterans Day weekend Nov. 8, 2008. Friend of the Franks have come from around the world at various times to attend a Celebration of Freedom and to tour the museum.

Franks is a leader revered by privates as well as colonels. He as wounded in Vietnam and led the Allied forces to Baghdad in 2003 before his retirement in July. When he autographs his book “American Soldier” for Vietnam veterans, he almost always writes “Welcome home” because a large number of Vietnam veterans did not have the experience of a joyful homecoming.

The small town of Hobart, Oklahoma will transform itself for the Memorial Day weekend to host thousands of folks who come to celebrate freedom with the general whose troops call him “a Soldier’s General.” Hobart will also be celebrating its heritage and honoring local veterans. It’s a place with patriotism is common and military individuals revered.

Hobart is located in the heart of southwest Oklahoma, 40 miles south of Interstate 40 on U.S. Highway 183 and about 40 miles north of Vernon, Texas.

For a schedule of events or more information about the festival, visit the Website at www.celebrationoffreedom.net

Easter morning brings Christians together

Charlie and Gloria Morton of Denison will go through the motions many of us go through on Easter morning. Wake up, maybe have breakfast and probably take in a church service before heading back home to take care of regular duties at the Inn of Many Faces in Denison.

But this Easter will be like no other for the Mortons. No matter what they do, they will not be able to nor want to let go of thoughts of their son Airman 1st Class Dimitri Morton, who is on the first day of his deployment to Iraq.

I know Gloria because she and I are in Bible study together so we, as a group, have prayed for Dimitri the past couple of years — this is not his first tour to a war zone.

The Mortons are not the only family in this area with loved ones in dangerous areas. There are many young men and women from Texoma who serve proudly and whose families are proud of their service, just as the Mortons are. 

Gloria has the worried heart of a mother whose child wakes up every day in danger, and it’s likely, she won’t draw a relaxed, free breath until her son is back on U.S. soil. But she has faith in a redeemer who takes care of our lives here on earth and so do her children.

This day (Easter) is the most important in the Christian faith because it celebrates the day Jesus emerged from the tomb after being laid there three days before. Jesus suffered three hours on the cross, gave up His life, spent three days in the tomb and rose again for the next chapter of His earthly ministry.

Last week our study was in John 17 where we saw how Jesus understands what we feel and our difficulties because He came from glory to live in an earthbound body. He suffered and died as the redeemer of mankind.

This faith is often what helps people get through tough times whether it be the loss of a loved one, a long illness, any illness, the struggle with finances and more.

The Morton family will have ups and downs in the months Dimitri is away and they’ll rely on a strong faith to carry them when they’re down. Today, I’m praying for the Mortons and all the families in our area with empty seats at the dinner table and I’m worshipping the Prince of Peace and Risen Redeemer on this holiest of holy days.

Happy Easter.

A Local Hero

I took this picture in 2007 and it's one of my all-time favorites. Airman Bill Long stands in salute as a mournful "Taps" sounds from a single trumpet at the graveside services for Long's brother, Spc. Braden Joseph Long Sunday afternoon at Cedarlawn Memorial Park in Sherm

an. Spc. Long was killed in battle in Iraq Aug. 4, 2007. In the background is an honor-guard detail from the Sherman Police Department, also standing in salute and further back is part of the line of Patriot Guard surrounding the grave site holding U.S. flags. Member or the Sherman Fire Department were also present to honor Sherman's fallen warrior.

The story of Spc. Braden Joseph Long, by Joyce Godwin:

A 2005 graduate of Sherman High School, he is remembered for his infectious smile, love of cars, love for his family and the intense desire to serve his country. 

Spc. Long died of injuries sustained when his Humvee came under grenade attack in Baghdad Aug. 4, just three days shy of his 20th birthday. He was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kan.

During his short military career, Spc. Long earned the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Army Commendation Medal, Good Conduct Medal, Combat Action Badge, Iraqi Campaign Medal and Global War on Terrorism Medal. He served as a gunner.

Chaplain Ken Sorenson told mourners at Faith Church of Sherman that one of the outstanding features of Spc. Long was his smile. His father added in a later telephone interview that his son's smile was always there. Sorenson used the letters in 'smile' to describe Spc. Long to family and friends who flocked to his funeral. 'S' was for Specialist, Braden's army rank. 'M' was for military. He said Spc. Long wanted to join the military since he was a little boy. 'I' was for his intelligence in choosing a supportive wife like Teresa and for choosing the Army. 'L' stood for likeable. Sorenson said Spc. Long was an incredibly loving person. "I can see why Teresa would fall in love with him," Sorenson said. 

Lastly, 'E' stood for excellence. He described Spc. Long as determined to do the right thing. He would always fulfill his commitments. 

Sorenson referred to the scripture Romans 5:7-8. "Christ died for us," Sorenson said. "There is something about a man who is willing to die for those he doesn't even know...day after day, a willingness to sacrifice his all for people who didn't know him, much like his Savior did 2,000 years ago." 

Later in the service, Sorenson said, "Freedom is never free and his (Spc. Long's) death serves as a reminder of the cost." 

Following the final prayer of the funeral, the cadence of marching military began to echo across the auditorium and grew louder as the military honor guard advanced through the church isle to retrieve Spc. Long's casket. 

Mourners poured from the church and the unmistakable roar of motorcycle engines could be heard as the Patriot Guard prepared to escort Spc. Long and his family to Cedarlawn Memorial Park for the final farewell. This was the third part of the Guard's mission for Spc. Long. 

Riders met the plane bearing Spc. Long's casket at Grayson County Airport last Thursday and escorted him to Waldo Funeral Home in Sherman. Then the Guard stood in a protective formation around the funeral home during the family's visitation Friday. 

With flags unfurled in the wind, the motorcycles escorted Spc. Long and his family and friends to Cedarlawn. 

As the procession passed each police sentry at various intersections on the procession route through Sherman, the officer sentry boarded his unit with lights flashing and joined the end of the procession until there were 10 cruisers bringing up the rear.

Sherman firefighters also honored the fallen hero with a U.S. flag suspended between two ladder trucks for the procession to pass under as it turned into Cedarlawn from Texoma Parkway. From that point, the procession stretched west on FM 691 all the way to U.S. Highway 75. 

Inside the funeral tent, the awards earned by Spc. Long were each presented to his wife, Teresa, his mother, Melanie Thrasher, and his father. 

When a mournful "Taps" sounded out from a single trumpet, military and police alike raise their hands in salute. Then Airman Bill Long, Spc. Long's older brother who was sitting with the family, stood slowly, turned toward the ceremony and raised his salute. Airman Long, served as escort for his brother's final return to Sherman. He was his mother's support along with her husband, Bobby Thrasher, throughout the services. 

Hours after the funeral, Spc. Long's father described their son as a normal teen while he was growing up. "But then, when you look back, you see a teen that almost never caused trouble," William Long said. "He was focused in wanting to go into the Army and that's what he did. He was a fantastic kid and a wonderful husband for his wife, and we are really going to miss him." 

William Long commented on the military honors during his son's service. "The amount of people that showed up was way beyond our expectations," he added. "We knew the Patriot Guard was coming but we didn't know how many there would be." 

Sparky Cox of Sherman served as one of the Ride Captains for the Patriot Guard along with Mike Grove of Bells and Gary Winters of Sherman. Cox reported there were 129 motorcycles and several cars carrying Patriot Guard members who came from as far away as Waurika, Okla to the north and Fort Worth and Garland to the South. 

William Long said his son was doing what he wanted. "He wanted to join and signed up and enlisted right after his 17th birthday, but couldn't go in for basic training until eight months later," William Long said. "He was unbelievably proud to wear the uniform and his whole family was very proud of him." 

Spc. Long was sworn into the Army Oct. 2, 2004. He left for basic training June 28, 2005 and did his basic training at Fort Knox, Ky. A Web site set up in his memory states he left for his first duty station, Ft. Riley, in Nov 2005. He was deployed to Iraq Feb 8, 2007. 

He is the fourth military personnel, and the fifth over all, from the Texoma area to die while serving in support of the war against terrorism. 

Remembering D-Day

We've been pretty busy with our new baby and I feel bad I didn't post anything about the 65th anniversary of D-Day. It's important to me to honor our military men and women and our veterans. But, since I've been busy with family stuff, I'm just going to take a shortcut. I did a story in the Herald Democrat for D-Day and I'm just going to post that story here.

One thing interesting I learned while doing research for this. The D-Day memorial is in Bedford, VA because that small town lost the most soldiers per capita on D-Day than any other town in America. That is the town where my father was born and raised and we still have much family there.

Several of my cousins appear on the list of soldiers from Bedford.

Following is my story:

Sixty-five years ago the Allied forces of World War II fought against insurmountable odds to attack from the sea along 50 miles of shoreline around Normandy, France. Brave forces stood in the gap for freedom against Nazi Germany, liberating untold numbers of everyday people caught in a Nazi chokehold. It was a time that earned today’s grandparents and great-grandparents the title “the greatest generation.” The youngest of those veterans of war are turning 82 this year.

It was June 6, 1944 — D-Day. The size of the event, dubbed Operation Overlord, was unprecedented and remains the largest land, air and sea invasion in history. Planning for the orchestration began in December 1943 and the invasion served to be a turning point in the European campaign against Nazi Germany — a decisive day in history.

The Allied forces were led by Denison native Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower. A transcript of Eisenhower’s encouraging speech to the troops before embarking on the landing is found at the D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Va.. It follows:

“Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force! You are about to embark upon a great crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers in arms on other fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.

“Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle hardened, he will fight savagely.

“But this is the year 1944! Much has happened since the Nazi triumphs of 1940-41. The United Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeats, in open battle, man to man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in the air and their capacity to wage war on the ground. Our home fronts have given us an overwhelming superiority in weapons and munitions of war, and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men. The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to victory!

“I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full victory!

“Good Luck! And let us all beseech the blessings of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.”

More than 5,000 ships and 13,000 aircraft supported the D-Day invasion, and by day’s end on June 6, the Allies had gained a foot-hold in Normandy.

Staff Sgt. Carl W. Fulmer of Tioga was wounded in the D-Day invasion, his son Bill Fulmer of Whitesboro said. Staff Sgt. Fulmer survived WWII until Sept. 27, 1944 in France. During the battle, a machine-gun operator was killed and Staff Sgt. Fulmer stepped up and took over its operation. “He was the main officer with his group; he could have told someone else to do that, but he stepped up himself,” explained Bill Fulmer. It was in this battle that Staff Sgt. Fulmer was killed.

During his military career, he earned two Purple Hearts and the Silver Star. He was one of five brothers who were in the war at the same time. He attended high school in Tioga, attended Indian Creek Church and is buried in the Tioga cemetery. He was a member of the 90th Infantry Division of the 359th Infantry Regiment attached to Fort Dix, New Jersey.

Another Grayson County son was Lt. Comdr.. James Earl Riley, a 1942 graduate of Sherman High School whose activity on D-Day was aboard one of the troop carriers. He was a “boat’s inmate,” reported his wife Wanda from Pensacola, Fla. He took the troops to Utah Beach. She said he never talked much about his experiences in WWII.

“He came back and went to Austin College and then became an officer,” she said. “He retired from the Navy after 28-and-a-half  years.”

Lt. Comdr. Riley also served in the Korean conflict as well as Vietnam. Mary Lueb of Sherman was a classmate of Riley’s and reported that he was a very dear friend. Others Grayson County boys she mentioned who were participants in the D-Day event are Pete Odum, Billy Painter and Billy Ray Fry.

Fry was a private first class for the Army when he departed the Higgins boat that delivered him to Omaha Beach in the first wave of the attack. His son, Judge James Fry of Sherman, said like so many other veterans of WWII, his father didn’t talk much about the experiences.

A member of the 29th Infantry Division, Pfc. Fry was not injured during the D-Day invasion but he was wounded about 10 days later when he was captured by the Germans. He remained a prisoner of war for about nine months before escaping with another POW with the assistance of a former Luftwaffe pilot. Judge Fry remembers that his dad came home in 1945.

“He told me very little about D-Day,” Jim Fry said. “When the movie ‘Saving Private Ryan’ came out, I called my dad and asked if he was going to see it. There was a long silence before he said, ‘Son, I spent 50 years trying to forget what happened on that beach, now why would I want to see that.’”

Jim Fry said his dad did eventually see the movie and he reported the scene that was the D-Day landing was pretty realistic. Billy Ray Fry died on the 60th anniversary of D-Day.

From the documentary movie “Voices of D-Day,” Thomas Valence, a rifle sergeant, tells how many of the troops got sick while moving toward the beach. He said the water was rough and choppy.

“As we came down the ramp, we were in water about knee high, and we started to do what we were trained to do — move forward, and then crouch and fire,” Valence said. “One of the problems was we didn’t quite know what to fire at.” He said men on either side of him were being “hit and put out of action so quickly that it became a struggle to stay on one’s feet.”

He reported how he abandoned his equipment that had become heavy and while floundering to get his balance he was shot through his left hand breaking a knuckle and again through the palm of his hand.

“I felt nothing but a little sting at the time, but I was aware that I was shot,” he said. “My rifle jammed, so I picked up a carbine and got off a couple of rounds. We were shooting at something that seemed inconsequential. There was no way I was going to knock out a German concrete emplacement with a .30-caliber rifle.

I was hit again, once in the left thigh, which broke my hip bone, and a couple of times in my pack, and then my chin strap on my helmet was severed by a bullet. I worked my way up onto the beach, and staggered up against a wall, and collapsed there. The bodies of the other guys washed ashore, and I was one live body amongst many of my friends who were dead and, in many cases, blown to pieces.”

More than 150,000 men were moved across the English Channel that day to the shores of France. Six parachute regiments, more than 13,000 men, were flown from nine British airfields in more than 800 planes. More than 300 planes dropped 13,000 bombs over coastal Normandy immediately in advance of the invasion.

By nightfall on June 6, more than 9,000 Allied soldiers were dead or wounded, but more than 100,000 had made it ashore, securing French coastal villages and beginning the march across Europe to defeat Hitler. 

Captured Germans were sent to American prisoner-of-war camps at the rate of 30,000 POWs per month from D-Day until December 1944. Thirty-three detention facilities were in Texas alone.

Saturday was June 6. It is a day to remember the valor, fidelity and sacrifice of this country’s “greatest generation.”

1st Sgt. Miguel A. Wilson

BONHAM — When 1st Sgt. Miguel Anthony Wilson, 36, said good-bye to his mother a month ago, he assured her he was happy in his job and proud of his missions and what he was doing in the military. He told her he knew there was danger and if something happened, he would want his family to celebrate his life and not mourn him.

But Friday, when a military detail, including a chaplain, came to her home in Bonham. The words they spoke to her seemed like a dream from which she thought she would awake any moment. They said her son died Friday in Abu Sayf, Iraq while he was rescuing another soldier. His mother learned later another soldier was drowning and her son jumped in to save him. “Later on we found out he did save him,” she said. “He didn’t take his gear off (when he jump in the water) which those back packs weigh 65 pounds. He just dived in and saved his fellow soldier and the weight of that back pack kept him under and then the current, they said, was strong and he drowned.”

Wanda Wilson said, the whole time the chaplain was speaking to her she just kept saying “no, no, no, no.” And, even now, though in her head she understands what happened, a little part of her still doesn’t believe it. “I don’t think it will become real to me until I go to the viewing and I know that is going to be hard for me,” she said.

First Sgt. Wilson was a 1990 graduate of Bonham High School where he was a member of the Warriors football team. His stepfather Vincent Neal says 1st Sgt. Wilson played corner back and running back. His father Michael Cooke, of Denison, remembers that Miguel stood out in soccer, played a little basketball and also ran track.

Wanda said through her tears, “Today, I’m fine. I’m not sad. I’m a very proud mother.”

His memorial service will be held Saturday at 1 p.m. at Fort Hood’s 19th Street Chapel with interment at Central Texas State Veterans Cemetery in Killeen at 3 p.m.

A second memorial service will be held in Bonham at 3 p.m., Dec. 2 at the First Baptist Church of Bonham. The Patriot Guard Riders will serve as escorts for the family.

Special quotes from Tommy Franks

For complete story see www.heralddemocrat.com

Special quotes from Gen. Tommy Franks Nov. 8 for “Salute to Service” at the Tommy Franks Leadership Institute and Museum, Hobart, Okla.

“… we as Americans have never done the best job we could have done, and we didn’t do what we should have done, when we should have said ‘welcome home’ to all those who served over there, a long time ago, in a place called Vietnam.”

“… young men and women serving a long way from home in Afghanistan and Iraq, not for the purpose of celebrating war but for the purpose of guaranteeing peace and freedom, and the ability for you and me … to be able to live in the land of the free because of the brave.”

“It’s time this time of year for us to recognize our veterans, recognize their families, recognize those who served, and raise our heads up and not be ashamed that we are the land of the free, home of the brave, and if you don’t believe that, just try to take it away from us.”

Gen. Tommy Franks, Retired with Four Stars

Speech by Gen. Tommy Franks Nov. 8 for “Salute to Service” at the Tommy Franks Leadership Institute and Museum, Hobart, Okla.:

You honor us by being here. All of you honor us by being here. You gentlemen (motioning toward veterans) honor us by what you did.

Isn’t it amazing, one nation under God. (Members of the crowd could be heard saying amen followed by applause).

How many of you are either veterans of service or family of veterans of service or love those who served? (Everyone in the crowd raised a hand).

This is a special day for us because we get a chance to open the doors on a little interim — kind of a museum. Some of y’all who went to OU are wondering what that word means — interim. Now, all the people from Oklahoma State would be able to tell you that interim is somewhere between where you start and where you’re going. That’s what we are opening today just for you. We want you to be able to walk through there and think about where you were, when.

And think about our kids, grandkids and all the things that made this country what it is. We have more than 230 years of American history and if you were anywhere around my wife at any particular time in your life, she would have given you an education about history because she’s a history teacher. She’s been giving me an education on history for a lot of years, going on 40 of them. She has had a lot to do with what you see when you go walking through the little exhibits next door.

What a wonderful community we have here that opened their arms to an outsider and said “come on down.”

You can think back a long, long time. Think back to Lexington and Concord more than 230 years ago when Americans first stood up and said “hey, hey, hey, we’re Americans and we’re going to live in a country that’s free.”

And you can go from there to Gettysburg and Vicksburg while we were all trying to figure out as a young nation what we were ultimately going to be.

And you can go from there to remember places like the Muse and the Argonne in World War I a long time ago, when none of us were here to see it, but the fact is that these young men and women, who wore uniforms like that one standing over there (pointing to a service man in uniform) didn’t come home until it was over, over there.

Then you can go from there to Omaha Beach, Pearl Harbor, the greatest generation, and you can think about those who served. You can go to Inchon, the Frozen Chosin and think about all those who served. and you can go from there ..... pause .... and An Loc and you can go to the Highlands and the Delta and recognize that we as Americans have never done the best job we could have done, and we didn’t do what we should have done, when we should have said “welcome home” to all those who served over there a long time ago in a place called Vietnam. (Applause).

You can go from there in 1983 in Beirut, Lebanon where we lost our Marines and you can go to 1993 in a place called Mogadishu, Somalia where we left so many of our dead in the streets and didn’t even bring them home — Mogadishu, Somalia.

Then you can go from there to 1996 to Kobart Towers, Saudi Arabia and in the middle of that you can go to Desert Shield and Desert Storm in 1990 and 91 and you can go on, all the way through where we are today, with young men and women serving a long way from home in Afghanistan and Iraq, not for the purpose of celebrating war but for the purpose of guaranteeing peace and freedom, and the ability for you and me and my family and my daughter and her husband and our grandkids standing right over there (motions in the direction of his family) to be able to live in the land of the free because of the brave.

It’s time this time of year for us to recognize our veterans, recognize their families, recognize those who served, and raise our heads up and not be ashamed that we are the land of the free, home of the brave, and if you don’t believe that, just try to take it away from us.

That’s enough bawlin‘ and everything like that. I get a little emotional when I talk about this kind of stuff and when I look in the eyes of people who really and truly care about what they are doing like my son-in-law who, as we speak, serves in our military and I’m honored that you are No. 1 part of my family, and No. 2 that you are here.

So what we are fixin‘ to do is some of us are going to eat donuts over here and drink coffee and whatnot; some of us are going to go through that little trailer and see what kids at 130 schools in Oklahoma are going to see this year because what we do is we drive it up to the school grounds and kids and their teachers get a chance to go through to see things they’ve never seen before about a part of the world that’s very important to our country. And some of us will go down and go through the little museum. And I encourage you not to get in there and get in a rush. Take your time. There are some exhibits and stuff to look at but there’s lot of words and I encourage you to just slow down a little bit on this day and read some of the words and things about some of these wonderful people that serve this country.

Thanks for being here on this most magnificent day and for holding your head up and being proud to be an American. God bless all of you, and God bless America.

Tommy Franks Museum - Veterans' Day Service

Here are some pictures from the Tommy Franks Museum in Hobart, Okla. Saturday.

General Tommy Franks Leadership Institute and Museum

Tommy Franks, retired four-star Army general who led the entire military forces that entered Iraq in 2003 and beyond, points to veterans in uniform as he speaks to the crowd gathered at the “Salute to Service” for veterans, military personnel, service individuals, their families and guests in Hobart, Okla. Saturday morning. The event took place at the General Tommy Franks Leadership Institute and Museum which will open formally in May. Franks ended his speech with “It’s time to recognize those who served, raise our heads up and not be ashamed that we are the land of the free, home of the brave, and if you don’t believe that, just try to take it away from us.” At right are Trapper Heglin, museum coordinator, and Hobart Mayor Tom Talley.

Memorial Day

Uncle Charlie Aiken was one of three veterans from a Whitesboro, Texas family — all involved in World War II.
Charles Aiken, J.C. Aiken and Hubert Aiken have all gone on to be with their maker; Uncle Charlie was the last to go. We celebrated his life at his funeral in July. These are some of the men our family will be remembering this Memorial Day.

In a letter to the editor published in the Herald Democrat Nov. 19, 2006, Paulette Pugh of Pottsboro, Texsa wrote “Don’t we realize that if it wasn’t for these veterans we wouldn’t have a Memorial Day or 4th of July? I just think there should be more attention paid to this holiday by merchants than what it has become or I should say for what it HAS NOT become.” Pugh was lamenting that she had a hard time finding small flags to place on veteran graves for Veterans Day. I agree with her sentiment, not just for merchants but for all of us.

For many of us, Memorial Day is a paid holiday from work. It’s a day families get together in their back yards and put the grill or smoker to work. We don’t always stop to think about the meaning of the day or the men and women who’ve given their lives so we can have the freedom to celebrate such days.

I asked one of our pressmen what Memorial Day means to him and, without taking the time to think about it, Bobby Penn said “It’s for the guys who fought these wars and have fallen to preserve our right to be free.”

Residents of the U.S. do experience freedoms not realized in other countries. I just finished two novels by Khaled Hosseini which helped me understand a little of the Afghanistan struggle under the tyrannical rule of the Taliban. It also made me appreciate even more the life we have in this country.

Our country is divided in opinions today on the right or wrong of a war no one wants, but we still support our men and women doing the fighting. It’s a complicated issue for everyone that can’t be settled in this short space, but I’m proud of our country and its accomplishments since the original 13 colonies were formed.

I’m glad ours is a country that won’t stand by and allow atrocities of a rogue nation continue against its own people. Uncle Charlie landed on the beach at Anzio in WWII and said they lost a man for every step they took. He suffered the rest of his life from injuries received in a battle fought in the days after that costly landing. He understood what was wrong with Hitler’s tyranny. He and others like him are true American heroes.

Today, for Memorial Day, I’m also remembering some of the Texoma area soldiers who’ve paid the ultimate price in battle for this country in recent years like Staff Sgt. Michael Allen Shank, Sgt. Michael Luke Boatright, Spc. Bradon J. Long and Sgt. James P. Muldoon.

Commander Mark Escoe

Thirty minutes before U.S. Navy Lt. Mark Escoe was to go through his promotion ceremony moving him to the rank of commander, he received a call from the American Red Cross to let him know his father had perished in a house fire in Sherman. He was on his base in Pennsylvania.

Escoe has seen others get this type of devastating news while on active duty and away from home, and in fact, he’s been through it before when his grandmother died, but that didn’t lessen the pain. While in Sherman for his father’s funeral, Escoe took a few moments to share some of his experiences throughout his naval career.

He said the military men and women serving this country must be prepared to experience life’s separations, such as the death of a loved one, from great distances. He explained that the Department of Defense always tries to send people home in cases of serious illness or death if operations allow. Sometimes, it’s just not possible which was the situation in the case of his grandmother’s passing.

“I was close to deployment on the USS Lake Champlain on the 12th of September, right after the 911 attack,” Escoe said. “While it was under way — we were loaded out with weapons — that’s when I got the notice my grandmother passed. Professionally, I just couldn’t leave the ship then.”

Escoe explained further, there is a very literal meaning to the phrase, military family. “We really get our arms around each other during these times. We spend a lot of time to help out those folks who’re hurting.”
Escoe, who will leave for Baghdad in June for his second tour of duty there, said he is proud of having served on the USS Lake Champlain (CG 57), a Ticonderoga class Navy cruiser. In fact, he’s proud of his service in the military and attributes his desire to serve his country in this way to his father’s influence.

“He (Creig Escoe) was a lieutenant when he resigned after serving four years,” Escoe said of his father. “He was never in Vietnam but it was the Vietnam era. He instilled (the desire for) service (in me) at an early age.” So, when Escoe heard the famous inaugural speech by President Kennedy, he was able to identify with and take to heart Kennedy’s famous phrase, “ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country,”

Escoe said he entered the Navy at age 20 in 1984, and by the passing of two years, he knew it would be a career. “I remember being upset soon after I joined and called my dad complaining about how I didn’t like it and what came back to me from him was the voice of a position of authority telling me to calm down and focus and get back to the duties,” he said. “Dad and I always had great conversations since then and he lived vicariously through me and was excited at my promotion to commander. It was the hardest thing for me to not be able to call him after the ceremony to tell him about it.”

Escoe also shared his thoughts, stressing it is only his opinion, about what is going on in Iraq. He said he has faith in the American governing system so he’s not concerned about who makes it to the White House in the upcoming election. When he leaves in June, he’ll be going to the Multinational Security Transition Command in Baghdad. He said he’ll be training the Iraqis for planning and logistics for 365 days, but if his deployment gets extended, he’ll be OK with that.

“I think the cause is good and I support the cause,” Escoe said. “It’s my impression they (Iraqi people) were happy for us to be there protecting them. They now have democracy — not the same as what we have, but a democracy — and that’s a huge step forward for them. The troops who are there are winning the hearts and minds of the people there.”

The commander added that he believes it’s necessary the troops are over there. “This is our job,” he said. “It’s difficult on us when we have back-to-back tours, especially the Army and Marines, but we are serving our cause. This is what we train for.”

Escoe continued, saying, “There is always a chance we won’t come back but that is the same with fire and police every day. We try to prepare our families the same way.” He also expressed support for President Bush. He said there is no text book for him to follow for what the President is dealing with. “He has been very good at making decisions and standing by them,” he said.

“I don’t think, by any means, this is a lost cause,” he said. “It seems to be difficult for people back home to see the goodness that is going on. I think, if we leave now, we will have left the business undone. Iraqi people depend on the troops to educate and train them and they are doing a terrific job of learning. If we leave too early, the job won’t be complete and that will be the American legacy.

“If we pull out too early, who will ever trust us again? Evil has come and gone through the history of mankind, but over all, the good wins out.”

As Escoe prepared for his father’s funeral, wearing his dress blues and military medals, he wondered about his ability to maintain composure as he would be talking about his dad during the funeral. He reminisced about being a youngster with his sister, Barbie. “My dad was a great story teller and we loved listening to the recounts of what he did as a kid,” he said. “My dad was funny. He has a few quirks, like anyone else, but we were a family.”

The commander compared his relationship with his father as one of shipmates. “You can go six months or 10 years and pick up the phone and act like you just saw each other,” he said. “That is the way my dad and I have been. When you spend a life in the Navy like I have, that’s normal.”

He said, there is a blessing in all of this because he knows where his father is. “He was a devout Christian,” Escoe said. “He taught me much of my faith. I know in my heart of hearts he is with the Lord and I am at peace with it.”