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Former Army Sgt. 1st Class Dearrell Ferrell (center) receives a Freedom Team Salute commendation in Stafford.
Army Sgt. Russell Claar, the Freedom Team Salute ambassador, speaks during the commendation ceremony. |
By CATHY DYSON
When Greg Raines decided to honor the Army veterans in his group, he thought he'd give a pat on the back to a few regular soldiers.
He had no idea there were two-star generals, majors and captains in their midst, as well as enlisted men who served around the world.
Russell Claar, the Army representative who presented the awards, was impressed.
"I tell you what, Izaak Walton has a lot of high-ranking Army vets here," Claar said. "I'm loving this."
The Fredericksburg-Rappahannock chapter of the Izaak Walton League, on Thursday night, honored 21 Army veterans who served from the Korean War until as recently as last year.
The men were given a Freedom Team Salute commendation from Claar, a Vietnam War veteran and program ambassador.
No other branches of the military offer the recognition. If they did, the league clubhouse probably would have been filled with honorees.
"We've just touched on one facet of our membership," Raines, the league president, said of the Army veterans.
Just as many members have served in the Marines, Navy or Air Force, or are working in local, state and federal law enforcement, he said.
Protecting the land--the goal of the Izaak Walton League--comes naturally to those who have worn their country's uniform, said Del. Bobby Orrock, R-Caroline, the program's speaker.
Those recognized with a standing ovation included:
Two who were major generals: Carroll Childers, 69, and Joseph Webb Jr., 62, who retired just last year. Each trained on at least three continents.
Ralph Knight, the oldest at 79, endured the cold hardships of the Korean War. He joked that his friends and neighbors invited him to go overseas. "In other words, I got drafted," he said.
Four did tours of duty in Vietnam, two served during the Cold War and one in Iraq.
Six men served stateside, but that didn't keep them out of the action. "I did all my fighting in bars," quipped John Leahy, 76.
Several were surprised to learn the ranks of some of those they regularly fish with in the lake behind the clubhouse or shoot with at one of the league's ranges.
"It's amazing that you rub shoulders with these knuckleheads, and you don't know anything of their past," said Wade Jackson, a captain who did two tours in Vietnam and survived what he described as "15 horrible months" at Fort Hood, Texas.
Jimmy Miles, 61, said everyone's just a regular guy at the league.
"Nobody pulls rank around here," said the former Army specialist. "That part of our world doesn't exist in this organization."
Not on most nights, anyway.
Cathy Dyson: 540/374-5425
Email: cdyson@freelancestar.com
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World War II veterans World War II veterans in the Fredericksburg area have died so far this year World War II veterans are --Department of Veterans Affairs and The Free Lance-Star obituaries |
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When Russell Claar, an ambassador with Freedom Team Salute, honors Army veterans, he also remembers those whose remains were never found: 74,384 from World War II 8,100 from Korea 125 from the Cold War 1,763 from Vietnam 1 from the Gulf War --Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office |
