479th FA Soldiers attend Veteran’s Golf Scramble

Courtesy Photo | Pictured are Vietnam veterans assigned to Company C, 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment “Manchu”, 25th Infantry Division searching for the names of their fellow company members on a replica of the Vietnam Memorial before playing in the American Veterans 2nd Annual Golf Scramble in Mineral Wells, Texas, recently. (Photo by Lt. Col. Scott Ward, Medical Training Task Force, 479th Field Artillery Brigade, Division West Public Affairs)  

MINERAL WELLS, TX, UNITED STATES

12.01.2014

Courtesy Story

First Army Division West

By Capt. Ruby Hurd, Medical Training Task Force, 479th Field Artillery Brigade, Division West Public Affairs
MINERAL WELLS, Texas – Soldiers of the Medical Training Task Force joined the American Veterans Post 133’s 2nd Annual Veteran’s Day Golf Scramble here, recently.

The AMVETS is one of America’s foremost Veterans service organizations that have a proud history of assisting veterans and sponsoring numerous programs that serve our country, and its citizens. The helping hand that AMVETS extends to veterans and their families takes many forms. They are dedicated to supporting veterans and active military, providing community services and preserving freedom.

“I could see it in their eyes as they granted us an intimate inside look at the horrors they witnessed together in Vietnam. As they painted the picture for us, I came to know one tried and true fact, that we are all brothers and sisters in the fight for freedom both at home and abroad,” said Staff Sgt. Matthew Mitchell, from Excelsior Springs, Missouri, training exercise noncommissioned officer, Medical Training Task Force, 479th Field Artillery Brigade, Division West.

“I felt like one of them and it was a privilege to spend those two days in remembrance of the price that all veterans have paid no matter how big or small in the name of America,” he added.
The AMVETS hosted our Soldiers to a preparatory round of golf and dinner with various Vietnam-era veterans the day prior to the scramble. After the golf scramble and ceremonial dinner, the AMVETS donated a portion of their proceeds to Fort Hood’s Santa’s Workshop, a non-profit organization that the MTTF has partnered collecting balls and board games for Fort Hood’s military children during the holiday season.

“The opportunity that we were afforded to participate in was such an eye opener. I got to see firsthand the camaraderie of a generation of Soldiers who were not appreciated by their country for their sacrifice. I felt very fortunate,” said Sgt. 1st Class Pablo Garza, from Eagle Pass, Texas, training exercise noncommissioned officer, Medical Training Task Force, 479th Field Artillery Brigade, Division West.
The golf scramble attendees were veterans and people from across the nation as far away as New York, Iowa, Arizona and Florida.

• Date Taken: 12.01.2014
• Date Posted: 12.01.2014 17:37
• Story ID: 149114
• Location: MINERAL WELLS, TX, US