Vets honored for their sacrifices

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

By Bill Hess
Herald/Review

SIERRA VISTA – For Army Capt. Brad Blazek, Memorial Day has a special meaning.

In March 2007, the 86th Signal Battalion maintenance officer was seriously wounded when a rocket fired by Iraqi insurgents hit Camp Victory, leaving him with a traumatic brain injury.

On Monday, the recovering Blazek stood at a podium at the Southern Arizona Veterans Memorial Cemetery with his wife, Terri, by his side and led more than 300 attendees at the evening Memorial Day ceremony in the Pledge of Allegiance.

For the captain, being asked to lead the Pledge was something he did, as he put it, “to represent those who can’t be here.”

He was speaking of the more-than-4,500 soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen who have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

A few of those who have died in the war against terrorism are buried in the local state-operated cemetery. Democratic U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords said they are among the thousands who have died to ensure America’s freedoms since the founding of the nation.

The representative, whose 8th Congressional District includes Cochise County, was the event’s guest speaker. She noted that on this special day each year, flowers and flags are placed on the fallen’s graves.

“And we speak in words of eulogy,” Giffords said, even though whenever there is death in a family, the living recognize “those loved ones were special to us, and it broke our hearts to say goodbye.”

But more important, the loss is even more profound when it is time to mourn the deaths of those who have fallen in defense of the nation.

“They were our sons, daughters, parents, friends and neighbors. They made us laugh and gave us a shoulder to cry on from time to time,” she said.

But in today’s world those who put on the uniform of America’s armed forces are fewer and fewer, and it makes their sacrifices even more telling, Giffords said.

“The men and women we remember today were personal heroes to their families and friends but also national heroes to all Americans,” the congresswoman said.

For those who have served and died, Americans are eternally grateful, she added.

Those who serve are committed to a noble set of values that they live by, which include, “They always place the mission first, they never accept defeat, they never quit and they never leave a fallen comrade,” the congresswoman noted.

There are a number of Arizona heroes, she said, mentioning Army Air Force Tech. Sgt. Art Benko of Bisbee, a turret gunner on a B-24 who shot down seven Japanese planes in one 40-minute engagement during World War II and downing another nine before he lost his life bailing out of his crippled Liberator bomber over China.

Another she mentioned was Marine Maj. Sando Vargas who while leading an infantry company in Vietnam in 1968 was wounded three times but was able to continue to lead his men, including during hand-to-hand combat and eventually carried his wounded commanding officer to safety, an action for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor.

And last week, Amy Sgt. Victor Cota, a Tucson native, was laid to rest in his hometown after being killed in action in Iraq, she said.

“He was buried this past Friday on his 34th birthday,” Giffords remarked.

During his first tour in Iraq, Cota participated in the capture of the former and late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, she added.

“It gave him great pride to serve in uniform. He would have taken on any mission asked of him, and he died as he lived, always ready to do his duty for his country,” the congresswoman said.

Representing the Army at Cota’s funeral was Maj. Gen. John Custer, the commander of the Intelligence Center and Fort Huachuca.

After Giffords’ speech, the general said it is always difficult to help a family say farewell to a loved one.

But it is more of an honor to represent the Army at such services, Custer said.

As for Cota’s funeral, one of the most emotional things was kneeling in front of the soldier’s 7-year-old daughter, looking into her eyes and seeing the tears flow, knowing her father will not see her grow up into womanhood, the general said.

Giffords said all American service members not only fight for the nation but also for each other.

“They fight for the person to their right and the person to their left,” she said, adding, “It is often said that a person can have no greater love than to lay down their life for their friends.”

As she spoke, the congresswoman said young men and women are continuing to serve in harm’s way.

“They do this for us. They do this for their country. They do this because, like millions before them, they accepted the defense of freedom as a very personal matter not to be left solely to others,” the congresswoman commented.

Today’s service members – men and women – leave comfortable lives to be part of the “most professional and competent military in history,” she said.

The nation not only owes remembrances to those who have died but to those who have fought and returned home wounded, she said.

“Captain Brad Blazek is one of those warriors,” the congresswoman said.

As she concluded her speech, the sun was setting behind the Huachuca Mountains, the skies turning a combination of bright orange and yellow.

“Those who have died defending our country will always be remembered for making the ultimate sacrifice for the sake of liberty. Those who survived must also be honored for answering the call to duty in our nation’s time of need,” she said.

It is important for all Americans to remember those special words engraved at the entrance to Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C., that speak volumes about the bravery and valor of those who have risked their lives for the nation, Giffords said.

The words say it all, she said, quoting them: “Not for fame or reward, not for place or rank, not lured by ambition or goaded by necessity, but in simple obedience to duty as they understood it, they suffered all, sacrificed all, dared all and died.”

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