Thousands join in annual veterans celebration

Published 5:30 am Sunday, November 5, 2017

Veterans Day isn’t until next Saturday, but thousands of Cullman County residents got a chance to to honor local veterans a week early at the annual Cullman Veterans Day celebration at Cullman Airport-Folsom Field on Saturday. 

Every veteran was honored at the event, but this year’s theme was “Good Morning Vietnam” and the Vietnam War was the focus for the day. 

A bunker and tents from the Vietnam era were erected, with a recreation of a field hospital and tents that were filled with weapons and equipment from the war. 

Vehicles from Vietnam were also available for people to view up-close, with ground vehicles including two deuce and a half cargo trucks and a Mule utility vehicle, and Bell UH-1 Iroquois “Huey” and Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopters that were open for people get inside. 

Some of the braver guests were able to do more than just sit inside a Huey, as the event offered rides in one and in a Bell AH-1 Cobra attack helicopter. 

For the people who were interested in more than just the equipment of the war, Vietnam veterans were interviewed throughout the day by Cullman City Councilman Garlan Gudger and answered questions from the crowd. 

The guest of honor for the event was a Vietnam veteran who recently received the nation’s highest medal for valor, the Medal of Honor. 

Retired Army Captain Gary Michael “Mike” Rose received the award from President Donald Trump at a ceremony in the White House on Oct. 23. 

Rose, a Huntsville native, served in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia as a medic and member of a Special Forces Group that worked behind enemy lines. 

He said that his unit took heavy losses during the war, but their actions forced the North Vietnamese to leave many of their soldiers behind to defend their rear elements, and probably prevented thousands of other American casualties that would have occurred elsewhere.

“I’m very proud of the men I fought with,” he said. “I am proud to be counted as a Vietnam veteran.”

Rose also spoke about his actions during the specific battle in Laos that led to him receiving the Medal of Honor. 

During a 96-hour firefight that took place around 43 miles into enemy territory, Rose ran and crawled to his fellow soldiers to treat their wounds, even after suffering a foot wound that forced him to use a stick as a crutch. 

When he and the other men were finally able to extract from the area, Rose’s helicopter was shot down, and he was thrown out of the helicopter when it crashed.

He said he doesn’t remember many of his actions after the crash, but witnesses said that he came back to the burning helicopter and pulled the wounded men out for treatment. 

Out of the 16 Americans who were on the mission, there were 25 Purple Hearts awarded for wounds suffered, but no American lives were lost in the battle. 

The Medal of Honor is an individual award, but Rose said he sees it as more of a collective award that honors both himself and all of the other men who he served with. 

“I don’t consider myself a hero any more than anyone else who served or is serving in the military,” he said. 

His story is receiving a lot of attention, but there were many other men who acted the same way during the war and there are a lot of other stories from Vietnam that are just like his, Rose said. 

“That was not atypical of the men who fought in Vietnam,” he said. 

For Holly Pond resident and Vietnam veteran Gerry Oden, Saturday’s event was special because of its theme. 

He said he has attended four or five of Cullman’s Veterans Day celebrations in the past, but this was the first one he has been to that focused on Vietnam veterans. 

Oden said he is proud to be a veteran and event’s like Saturday’s show that the people of America and Cullman County still have respect for their veterans. 

“It shows Americans still care,” he said. 

Tyler Hanes can be reached at 256-734-2131 ext. 138.