Veteran’s Corner

Tom Krabbenhoft 

Greetings, lots going on in the Veterans community.
Heroes Compass, one of our great Veterans charities had their 2nd annual wing cook-off. $6,000 raised, 3600 wings eaten, 1,000 beers drunk, 350 wing eaters, 11 passionate cooks and 100 care packages made according to one of their recent Facebook posts. I hope judges Janae, Ronnie and Travis have recovered.
Great job Tim, Mason and Jason.
The Vietnam Veterans of America are hosting their annual 4th of July 5/10K, at Bonanzaville. $35 for the 5K and $40 for the 10K costs include a commemorative T-shirt. Registration starts at 7am.
The Red River Valley Fair is again hosting its Hometown Heroes Night. Veterans and first responders are recognized for their service and sacrifice. It takes place on July 8th at 6pm. There is a hero ceremony, honor guard and Sawyer Brown taking to stage. Lets not forget the cold beer and the great food.
I’ve written before about the difficulty of being away from home on holidays. The 4th of July was always one of the easy holidays to be gone.
I’ve had some of my most memorable times away from home on the 4th of July. At Ft. Sill OK in 87 a week before the 4th. I spotted a Spuds Hockey jersey walking towards me. It was Paul G. A guy I grew up with. He picked me up and we went and hung out at Altus AFB over the 4th.
Going through Stinger missile AIT in 89. I met these incredible guys from Illinois. Stanley, Dave and ClubFoot (he was in a cast). We were all at Ft. Bliss TX on the Mexican border. It was hot every day. Six of us hit Juarez Mexico for a night of partying. The next day we loaded our rented 72 Chevy station wagon with beer and drove through the mountains. If you ever get the chance Lee Trevino Drive is incredible.
The Air Force knows how to do holidays. Great food, entertainment and time off. Lackland AFB is in San Antonio proper. I recall one 4th of July eating like a Roman Emperor. Then we proceeded to the city for a Santana and KC and the Sunshine band outdoor concert. These are just a couple of my 4ths away from home.
The conclusion can easily be drawn that no matter where you are on the 4th of July, Americans want to celebrate. How very amazing we all love liberty and celebrate it in so many ways. However you do it, Happy 4th of July.