Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Leah Kilpatrick | The 1st Cavalry Division Horse Cavalry Detachment treated those in attendence at the...... read more read more
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FORT HOOD, Texas — Amid a crowd of about 400 service members, the air was thick with the reverence of those who have served and those who continue to serve.
About 30 Soldiers from the 41st Field Artillery Brigade spent the day enjoying some Texas barbecue and interacting with local veterans at the Leon County Veteran’s Appreciation Day Oct. 4 at the Leon County Expo Center.
“We’re a little bit better, we’re a little bit stronger, because of this event and what you’ve done as a community,” said Col. Patrick L. Gaydon, the 41st FA Bde. commander.
The town of Centerville, which is located in Leon County, is the brigade’s adopted city. They work closely together to maintain a strong relationship between the Army and the local community. Gaydon expressed his appreciation to the community members in attendance.
“Thank you for the hospitality that you’ve provided to me and my team,” said Gaydon, a native of Muncy, Pennsylvania. “Thank you for your generosity all year round. God bless you, and God bless this great nation.”
Along with the 41st FA Bde. Soldiers and command team were the1st Cavalry Division Horse Cavalry Detachment and guest speaker retired Lt. Gen. Rick Lynch, former commander of the 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, and former III Corps and Fort Hood commander.
“It’s a true statement that less than 1 percent of the American population has served our nation in uniform, but everybody enjoys the freedoms that are provided by those select few,” said Lynch, a Hamilton, Ohio, native. “So every chance we get as a grateful nation to pause and reflect on their service and their sacrifice is so very important.”
Lynch made a point to thank the community members, family members, and veterans in attendance, starting with the World War II veterans and going chronologically up to the current conflicts.
“We have a duty as a society to take care of those youngsters and their families. They volunteered to serve,” Lynch said. “These youngsters are seeing some horrendous acts of violence on TV or reading about it in the newspaper, and they had a choice. They could have went on with their lives, or they could have taken a trip down to their local recruiting station and joined our nation’s military while we were still a nation at war.”
“One of the things that really stands out to me today is that it’s not Veteran’s Day today, formally,” said State Representative for District 57 Trent Ashby. “But we are celebrating and thanking those that have answered the call to service to wear our nation’s uniform, and so for me to be here today on behalf of 26 million Texas in our great state and to say thank you, it truly is an honor, and it is something that I’m deeply humbled by.”
| Date Taken: | 10.04.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 10.14.2014 13:55 |
| Story ID: | 145039 |
| Location: | FORT HOOD, TX, US |
| Web Views: | 48 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Central Texas town honors troopers, veterans, by SFC Leah Kilpatrick, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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