Veterans honored in High Springs

Korean War Veteran Kirby Stewart and World War II Veteran Bob Gasche salute as Antoinette Hunt sings the
National Anthem Thursday afternoon at the High Springs Veterans Day event.

In 2008, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones spent upward of $1.3 billion to build a new stadium for his NFL team.  Meanwhile, the United States military struggled to provide soldiers fighting in the Middle East with the supplies and equipment they needed to survive.

Two years later, football stars are still being worshipped while American soldiers remain out of sight and out of mind.

The Event

Bob Barnas wanted to change that, so with the help of the Marine Corps League of Gainesville, he organized a Veterans Day event that took place last Thursday in High Springs, the city where he lives.

“It wasn’t as big as I would’ve liked,” he said, referring to the turnout, which he estimated was about 200 people.

But nonetheless he was pleased.

“You have to understand what vets do for this country…that people volunteer to defend this country,” Barnas said.

“They defend our right to be free and they deserve thanks.”

It was disappointing to him that High Springs City Hall didn’t post anything recognizing veterans on its marquee.

“[The city government of] High Springs just doesn’t get it.”

But he said when other vets thanked him for organizing the event last week, it gave him a sense of satisfaction that he had succeeded in his intentions to give local veterans the honor and recognition they deserve.

The Veterans

Steve Nolan was an Air Force officer embedded with army troops in Afghanistan after 9/11. He was one of the guest speakers at the High Springs event.            

Before making a statement that many in Alachua County would consider blasphemous, Nolan assured the crowd he was a football fan, and a Gators fanatic.

But then he told his audience, “Tim Tebow and Urban Meyer and Steve Spurrier are not heroes.”

A hero, he explained, is someone who risks his or her life for someone else. And America, he fears, has failed to understand that.

Nolan talked about a man he met in the airport when he first returned home. The man was aggravated and furious because his girlfriend’s flight was an hour late, and he announced this incredulously to Nolan expecting him to appreciate his frustration.

But Nolan was barely home and had just gotten word that one of his soldiers had been wounded and another killed— he refrained from responding to the man, but when he told the story his scorn for the stranger was evident.

During an interview after his speech, Nolan referenced Dallas’ multi-billion dollar football stadium as an example of questionable priorities.

For soldiers returning home, he said, “You turn on the TV and see Paris Hilton and think, ‘is America really interested in this?’”

“It’s really hard to adjust.”

Other speakers like World War II Marine Corps veteran Bob Gasche and Korean War veteran Kirby Stewart, recalled memories of battles and honoring fallen comrades who never returned home.

When Pete Herrick, a Naval reservist who served in Iraq after 9/11, spoke, he poked fun at himself and seemed to see a bright side to everything — even the wheelchair he now sits in, because he is paralyzed from the neck down.

In May 2004, only a month after being deployed to Iraq, Herrick was in Ramadi when his unit came under mortar fire.

He woke up six days later in a hospital in Bethesda, Md., and his first thought was “I’m home. I’m alright.” But he had shrapnel in his lung and his spinal cord, and one of his legs had to be amputated.

His wife, Diana, was there when he woke up, and she was with him as he spoke in High Springs. She laughed as he described joining the military as his first midlife crisis then told her to remove his hat to show everyone his second one: a freshly shaved Mohawk.

“All in all,” he said, “life is very good.”

Looking Ahead

In addition to the vets who spoke about their experiences, the day included food, a flyover by a World War II spotter plane and lots of music. A couple of local bands played, but Barnas thinks the musical highlight of the day was the show put on by the Santa Fe Raiders marching band.

He said he was glad that the people who came to the event enjoyed themselves, and next year he plans to do it bigger and better.

Word needs to get out to more people, he said, and he intends to be more proactive with fundraising now that he knows the full extent of costs.