Honoring valor
By Joey Pitchford
Published in News on August 7, 2016 1:45 AM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Purple Heart recipient Garland Brock is escorted through the saber arch Friday night at First Church during the annual Purple Heart Banquet and Ceremony. Brock received his medal in Vietnam.
Hundreds of people gathered at the First Pentecostal Holiness Church Friday night for the annual Purple Heart Banquet, a ceremony honoring those members of the military who received the award for their injuries sustained in combat.
The attendees included active duty and retired members of the military from all branches, their friends and families and local sponsors who donated to the event. The event is organized each year by the Goldsboro/Wayne Purple Heart Foundation.
After the Wayne County Sheriff's Office/Goldsboro Police Department combined honor guard presented the flag, the Purple Heart recipients were introduced one at a time in a "walk of honor."
As each veteran was called by name, they walked forward beneath the raised sabers of the JROTC color guard. Fifty-two veterans made the walk, some having received two or even three Purple Hearts during their service.
The recipients fought and were injured in battles ranging from World War II to Iraq and Afghanistan. The bulk were Vietnam veterans, with 40 men in attendance having fought and suffered injuries there.
After the medal recipients had been introduced, Purple Heart Foundation president Bill Graham took the podium to recognize those purple heart recipients who were unable to join their comrades in arms. These included medal recipients who passed away after their military service, as well as those killed in the line of duty. Each was represented by a family member, be it a child, wife or sibling, who accepted the gifts given to the veterans in their stead.
Sam Dixon, a retired Marine, received three Purple Hearts during his time in Vietnam. He said that his experience at the banquet was like nothing else.
"I think it's one of the greatest honors we have. Other than actually dying out there, there's no greater sacrifice than to shed your blood," he said. "I think people are starting to understand the feelings and emotions we have, that when we go to bed and get up our day isn't the same as other people because of the blood we shed.
"It's an amazing feeling."
James Dais, a retired Army soldier, was caught in an ambush in Vietnam and severely injured. He said that being recognized at the banquet meant a lot to him.
"I have enjoyed it," he said. "It's just a blessing that I'm still here."
Afterward, the guests enjoyed dinner courtesy of Haulin' Hog catering. A total of 125 volunteers from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base joined the caterers to help deliver the food.
Following dinner, keynote speaker Ilario Pantano from the Institute for Veterans and Military Families took the stage to speak about the importance of leading and acting with love even while fighting in war. He said that America is based on Judeo-Christian values, and that those values allow for compassion to be shown to enemies even as the fight continues.
Pantano, himself a retired Marine who re-enlisted after being in New York during the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, told the story of Donald E. Ballard, a hospital corpsman in the Navy during the Vietnam war who put himself in harms way to provide medical care for his comrades while caught in a Vietnamese ambush.
During the fighting, Ballard threw himself on an enemy grenade to protect his comrades, only for the explosive not to detonate. He said that such an action could not have come from someone mired in fear or hate but only one acting out of love.
The banquet was set close to National Purple Heart Day on Aug. 7.
Vic Miller with the Wayne County Veterans and Patriots Coalition, was one of the main organizers for the event.
He said that every one of the Purple Heart recipients had been "an inch, a centimeter, a millimeter from death," and that it is vital that their sacrifices be remembered.
"We never want to forget those who are wounded, but by that same token, we never want to forget the Gold Star families," he said, referring to families who have lost a family member or loved one in military service.
"We always honor those who have gone before us."