A Soldier Who Never Leaves His Post. Oklahoma’s Capitol Memorial to Those Who Served and Sacrificed

Soldier Represents All Veterans

Is “The Big Guy,” deep in thought? Does he wear the Thousand-Yard Stare – a distant or vacant look in the eyes of individuals who have experienced intense and often traumatic events? You decide.

Either way, the 8 ½ feet statue of a Vietnam soldier on a 3 1/2 foot pedestal that faces the State Capitol stops visitors at the Oklahoma Veterans Memorial. The memorial is located in the State Capitol Park on Lincoln Boulevard on the north side of the Oklahoma Supreme Court. Walking through the area saddened me because the names of thousands of Oklahomans killed in action are listed throughout.

Other memorials

Behind The Big Guy stand four bas relief bronze panels mounted on rose granite walls. Each panel depicts scenes from four major wars fought since Oklahoma became a state: World War I, World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. The names of Oklahomans killed in action are engraved on the back of the walls and were added in the mid-1990s with additional names from Operation Desert Storm to the present added in 2014.

A place that remembers every war

A memorial to the U.S.S. Oklahoma, the battleship sunk at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, is there with the names of the 429 sailors and Marines who died. It was added on December 7, 1999.

Flags of each branch of the Armed Forces, the MIA-POW flag, the Oklahoma State flag and United States flag are posted behind The Big Guy, next to the “Eternal Flame.” The flame is meant to remind Oklahomans that “we will never forget.”

How the memorial came to be The State of Oklahoma donated the land for the memorial and people from around the country donated money to pay for it.

“After fundraising for the memorial stalled, Governor George Nigh appointed 44 leaders from across the state to the Veterans Memorial Task Force in April 1986” reported The Oklahoman on Nov. 10, 1986. The leaders got the job done: a well-attended ceremony dedicated The Big Guy, four blank rose granite walls and the grounds on 11 November 1986 – almost 40 years ago. Ceremonies included a speech by Governor Nigh and a flyby of F-4 Phantom II fighters.

On November 11, 1987, phase two was completed when bas-relief panels created by Jay O’Melia were dedicated.

A veteran’s vision

Vietnam War veteran Sergeant Mike Mullings was the driving force for the memorial. A medic from Bethany, Mullings was permanently injured while jumping from a helicopter under fire in Vietnam. After he died in 2017, an inscription was added to the base of the Vietnam soldier, “In Remembrance of SGT J. “Mike” Mullings…He was truly a “Big Guy.”

The Sculpturers

Jay O’Meilia of Tulsa (died in 2022), a WWII and Korean War veteran, and Bill Sowell of Pawhuska (died in 2013), an Army veteran, designed, sculpted and cast The Big Guy from 1984-1986.

They chose 18-year-old Harrison Shackleford, an Osage Indian from Pawhuska, as the model for the Vietnam-era infantryman. “We wanted the sculpture of the soldier to be authentic in terms of age, dress and military equipment,” O’Meilia said in the same Oklahoman article, “especially since many of those who served in Vietnam were only 18 or 19 years old.”

Their design was chosen from 44 entries in a sculpture competition in 1984 that included six Vietnam veteran judges.

According to the Oklahoma Historical Society, “Artist Jay Philip O’Meilia, born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on July 17, 1927, achieved recognition in Oklahoma and elsewhere as a sports painter in the 1950s. A graduate of Tulsa Central High School, he served in the U.S. Navy as an artist during World War II and in Korea.” His work has been exhibited “at the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, D.C., …the National Cowboy and Western History Museum and the Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa.”

Sowell studied at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. His works appear in Oklahoma and New Mexico.

Over 476,000 Oklahomans have served our state and nation in uniform – The Big Guy stands watch for all of them.

The memorial is worth a visit with friends or with a veteran’s group. If you want to hold an event there, call Capitol Event Reservations, 405-521-2121, or see the Oklahoma Management & Enterprise Services Upcoming Events website at Upcoming Events website at Upcoming Events .

For more information about the memorial, see Oklahoma Veterans Memorial | Oklahoma City, OK

story and photos by Lt Col Richard Stephens, Jr., USAFR, Ret.

When Jarod Cannicott acquired two BrightStar Care territories in the Oklahoma City metro in 2021, his goal was simple: build a home-care organization that families can trust when they are in crisis.

By 2025, that same focus led him to expand across Oklahoma City and acquire the BrightStar Care location in Tulsa – a longtime office that had served the community for 17 years but was not consistently delivering care to the standard he expects.

“When we acquired the Tulsa location, the care experience wasn’t meeting our standard,” Cannicott said. “Fixing that required a full overhaul of staffing, training, and clinical oversight – and we’ve done that work.”

Today, Cannicott operates five BrightStar Care locations as one integrated agency, with the scale to serve clients across Oklahoma.

“We serve clients statewide,” he said. “We have clients as far west as Elk City, as far north as Ponca City, as far east as Grove, and then south down to Ardmore.”

That reach is backed by a statewide caregiver bench – about 250 caregivers across Oklahoma – and a model designed for speed and reliability when families need help fast.

“In many personal care situations, we can start the same day,” Cannicott said. “And families get a live answer 24/7 from our own staff – not a call center.”

A higher standard, with nurses built into the operation.
BrightStar Care is known nationally as an in-home care provider, and Cannicott believes the brand’s biggest differentiator is how strongly it leads with clinical oversight and skilled care.

“Nurses aren’t an afterthought here,” he said. “Our company is nurse-led. We have registered nurses deeply involved in how we deliver care – including roles that most people wouldn’t expect, like scheduling and community liaison work – so oversight is baked into the operation.”

Cannicott points to Joint Commission accreditation as one-way BrightStar holds itself accountable to that standard.

The Joint Commission is a nationally recognized organization that accredits health care providers based on quality and safety standards, including many leading hospitals and health systems.

“We use that framework to keep our practices tight,” Cannicott said. “It’s about consistency and safety for families.” That emphasis shows up in operational details as well. For example, Cannicott’s teams reassess clients every 90 days, more frequently than the industry norm, because care needs can change quickly.

“Families deserve a plan that stays current,” he said. “And reliability matters – the best care plan fails if shifts aren’t covered. Our systems are built for coverage.”
Like many home care agencies, BrightStar provides private-pay personal care with CNAs and caregivers.

Cannicott says the difference is the breadth of skilled and higher-acuity care his Oklahoma team delivers – services many agencies cannot safely provide.

“We do private pay personal care, but we also do higher-acuity work,” he said. “That includes private-pay skilled nursing, catastrophic workers’ compensation cases, skilled care for Veterans in the home for complex conditions like ALS, home infusions, and therapy.”
Those services can be the difference between a patient staying safely at home or cycling back through the hospital.

“For a lot of families, the question isn’t ‘Do we want home care?’” Cannicott said. “It’s ‘How do we keep mom or dad safe at home, and who can actually manage what’s happening medically?’ That’s where skilled support matters.”

Serving Veterans and supporting the spouse Cannicott said it is a distinct honor for his caregivers and nurses to serve Veterans and their families.

In Tulsa and across Oklahoma, BrightStar works with the Veteran community through the Homemaker and Home Health Aide program, providing CNAs and caregivers to help with activities of daily living.

But he believes the most important story for many Veteran households is what happens when care needs become complex – and the spouse or family caregiver is carrying an unsustainable load.

“We work with the Veteran community through the Homemaker Home Health Aide program,” he said. “And we also provide skilled care with Veterans in the home with help from the VA.

One example is ALS – they’re currently taking care of ALS patients at home, and those families need a much higher level of support.”
In progressive conditions like ALS, Cannicott says, the spouse is often under immense strain.

“We serve the Veteran by supporting the spouse,” he said. “Respite and professional help can keep the household intact.”

Cannicott says the Tulsa acquisition was not about adding dots on a map – it was about delivering consistent experience statewide, including Tulsa.

“We wanted to bring the same level of service across the entire state and bring that level to Tulsa,” he said. “That work took real effort, but now we’re seeing results.”

One family’s review reflects what the team aims to deliver – a partnership that helps people remain at home as long as safely possible.

“Working with our nurse, we were able to keep my parents at their home of 57 years for as long as we possibly could,” a recent reviewer wrote.
For Cannicott, the mission is straightforward: scale through quality, responsiveness, and clinical oversight.

“We’re proud of what we’ve built,” he said. “And we’re focused on doing it even better.”
Need help in Oklahoma?

BrightStar Care answers calls live 24/7. For Tulsa care needs – including same-day starts for many personal care situations, and skilled support for complex cases – call (918)-392-9949. For Oklahoma City, call (405)-896-9600 or scan this QR code. • story by Van Mitchell, staff writer

By Freddy Groves

Veterans who get their medical care from civilian facilities need to keep an eye on what’s coming. In 2026 the contracts (originally signed in 2018) between the VA and community health plan networks are expiring. An RFP (request for proposal) has gone out to solicit new contracts.

Some changes are coming:
The five regions of VA health care are being reduced to two.

The new contracts will require the community providers to follow industry standards, which is shocking. Is that not already included in any contract to provide medical care to veterans?

At this point, 40% of veterans get their care from civilian providers. That will likely increase, as the new plan contracts will open the door for more providers.

Veterans who want to pursue getting medical care at a non-VA facility need to meet eligibility requirements:
• Must be enrolled in VA health care.
• Live in a state with no full-service VA facility.
• The care needed isn’t available through the VA.
• The VA can’t meet quality standards.
• Qualifies under the old Choice Program: a 30-minute drive (or 20-day wait) for VA primary care or 60-minute drive (or 28-day wait) for specialty care.

Remember that the two-step rule changed in 2025, and if your doctor agrees you need to see a civilian doctor, a second doctor doesn’t need to approve it. Depending on the care you need (there are 30 categories of medical care, such as cardiology and dermatology), you’ll likely be approved for one year.

Here’s where you come in, should you choose to do so. If you’re getting civilian care, will their network administrators be putting in a proposal for the next round of contracts? In other words, will you be able to continue getting care there? Do they know the deadline for their proposal is March 16? I would ask. This is part of being proactive in your own care … asking questions.
To learn more about community care, see https://www.va.gov/communitycare/.

their goals because that gives me a sense of purpose. It also shows that I am a part of something bigger than myself. Seeing others succeed is the best part of the job.”

Long serves a Navy that operates far forward, around the world and around the clock, promoting the nation’s prosperity and security.

“Serving in the Navy means a tremendous amount to me,” Long said. “I didn’t have a lot of opportunities that others have when they graduate high school, and I don’t know what my path would have looked like without the military. I think about that a lot. I know the mindset and skills I have learned because of the military are unmatched.”

Long is grateful to others for helping make a Navy career possible.

“I want to thank my wife, Marisol, for being there for me when times are hard,” Long. “She has been through lots of deployments and lots of taking care of the kids when I am away. I also want to thank our kids, Emily, Eva and Korra, for all the support they have given me over the years. It has been hard on them, but they always seem to make me laugh and keep me happy throughout the years. I want to thank the Chiefs Mess as well for allowing me to be a part of a world-class brotherhood and sisterhood. Lastly, I want to thank all of the junior sailors who have helped me get to where I am today.” • by Megan Lemly, Navy Office of Community Outreach -Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Justin Johndro

Jim Davidson dreamed of joining the United State Naval Reserves, but his eyesight kept him from fulfilling that goal.

Instead, the Pittsburg County native found a home in the Oklahoma Army National Guard for over 30 years of service.

“My dad was a coal miner,” he said. “I was one of six kids and thought I had the best growing up years of anybody. My brother was two years older than me and was my hero. He joined the Naval Reserve when he was 17, and I thought they had the coolest uniforms. So, my ambition was to join the Naval Reserve as soon as I got old enough. I went up on my 17th birthday. I went up to sign up, and they were giving me my physical.”

Davidson, a resident at Villagio of Bradford Village Independent Living /Assisted Living, located at 300 Enz Drive in Edmond said when he went in for a vision test, an optometrist gave him disappointing news.

“When I walked in for the vision test, the doctor happened to be my optometrist,” Davidson said. “He said, ‘There’s no need for me even going any further. You can’t pass the Navy’s vision test.’ And I was so disappointed. He said, ‘Go next door and join the National Guard. They’ll take anybody.’ Well, in 1955, that was true.”

Davidson, (Ret.) Sergeant First Class said a cousin who was in the National Guard invited him to go on a National Guard drill.

“Before I left that night (after the drill), they had signed me up. And that started my military career,” he said. “I am a retired military. I receive an annuity, though I am not officially a Veteran due to insufficient consecutive active-duty service days. And there are probably not a whole lot of people like that. But I stayed in the Guard off and on from 1955 until 1996.”

Davidson served in the 45th Infantry of Oklahoma National Guard nicknamed the Thunderbirds. He served a variety of roles in service.

“The main thing they drilled into me was what an honor it was to be a Thunderbird,” he said. “I did a little of everything. We were an infantry unit to start with. And when I retired, we were MPs.”

During his time in the Army National Guard, Davidson worked for Maj. Jimmy Burnett, who was the Unit Administrator of the National Guard Unit Company L in Hartshorne.

“All the years I was in the Guard, I worked for Maj. Burnett in one capacity or other, except for the last four years and he retired before I did,” he said. “He was a fine man to work for.”

Davidson said he only served overseas twice during his military career, and both times were in Panama.

“The only time I left the country, we went to Panama during the time that they were getting ready to retire, Mr. (Manuel) Noriega,” he said. “I was not sure what our duties were, but we got there and we discovered that we were what they called relieving active-duty soldiers. We were doing guard duty around the Panama Canal zone so the active-duty guys could do their business, preparing Mr. Noriega for retirement.”

In 1960, Davidson graduated from East Central University in Ada and then began his teaching career.

“At that time in Oklahoma it helped a great deal if a teacher had a secondary job and the National Guard was always my secondary job,” he said.
Davidson taught in Kansas and Oklahoma before becoming an elementary school principal in McAlester.
My calling, I think, in the education business was to be a grade school principal because I loved the kids and I recall my years in grade school, I was afraid of everybody,” he said. “And I felt my job was to make kids realize that the teachers and the school staff were there to make their life better.”

Davidson retired from education at age 51, followed by a brief foray into selling insurance.
He later started a second career as a child development specialist at the McAlester Army Ammunition Plant.

“They had a daycare center. I did not know the Army was in the daycare business. So, I went to work there,” he said. “I tell people I went to work for civil service, and I got a $10,000 a year raise because that’s what the difference in the pay I was getting as a grade school principal.”

Davidson worked at the daycare department for three years before transitioning to an employee relations position at the plant before retiring from that post.

Davidson added another job to his resume as a church pastor in Pittsburg County.

“All the churches in Pittsburg County were familiar with me because I went around speaking in different churches with the Gideons,” he said.

Davidson said he began pastoring when a small church in Pittsburg County could not afford a full-time pastor anymore.

“They were looking for a pastor for that little church,” he said. “They wanted to know if I’d come down and help them and fill in on Sundays. It developed into a full-time thing because I stayed there for 12 years.”

After retiring from that, Davidson and his wife of 63 years Mary bought a motor home and started traveling before deciding to move to Edmond to be closer to one of their two sons.

“Our son had a pastor friend who lived here (Villagio of Bradford Village), and he liked it, so we came over and visited him, and that is why it appealed to us. The people are super friendly. As retirement communities go, we are one of the smaller ones, and so that gives us more of a community feel.”

Davidson didn’t abandon his ministerial hat completely after he was selected by an advisory committee as the Villagio of Bradford Village community chaplain.

“We have an advisory committee here made up of the residents and we came home (from seeing family in Michigan) and they said, “By the way, we elected you chaplain.” I said, “Only if you get me a badge.” And so that is where the badge came from. I’ve been the volunteer chaplain here ever since.”

Davidson said what he enjoys most as community chaplain is helping send Christmas cards to Veterans.

“The residents donate Christmas cards signed a lot of times with a little message in it, and we collect them and we distribute them to all seven Veteran centers in Oklahoma,” he said. “And this year there were 1,051 cards that we delivered to the Veterans homes. It makes me feel good because I have friends who were at the Veteran’s home and many of them never have any company. They’re just all but forgotten. It’s just good to show somebody that somebody still cares.” • story by Van Mitchell, staff writer

I became a believer in the Gospel at the age of 19 in the mid 70’s while serving in the Air Force. Those who guided me through my born-again experience encouraged me to get baptized and start going to church. They were good people, however over time my discipleship experience seemed to be based primarily on what not to do. No adult beverages, no movies, no dancing, no more fun. Some things made sense, some didn’t. Over time, what felt like a self-righteous lifestyle left me spiritually unfulfilled for years. Now, I refer to myself an out of Egypt believer, who wandered in a desert place for over 40 years.

In 2018 all that changed. I got connected with a spiritually vibrant Christian community, focused on spirit filled worship, the Word of God, a rhythm of prayer, and personal discipleship. Over time I developed a daily plan for both prayer and reading scripture. I call it, “The 2:24 Discipleship Challenge.” It is not based on a scripture passage. Two hours and twenty-four minutes is 10% of a 24-hour day. It is a recognition of spending prioritized time intentionally focused on my relationship with God.

How does the challenge look? It is making my Heavenly Father first in my life. He is the first one I want to talk to and the first one I want to listen to each day. I start with worship music, creating a focus on praise. In a brief prayer, I praise and acknowledge Him then close with this statement, “Bless me as I prayerfully meditate in the Spirit of worship through your word, starting in the book of Psalms in Jesus name.” I read a Psalm a day because I want to learn to pray like David. I continue praying with ongoing intentional requests and acknowledgement of God’s work and will in my life. I close again, asking for God’s wisdom, as I read from Proverbs daily, the one that corresponds to the day of the month. Our knowledge and experience is most effective when used in light of Gods wisdom.

The third part of my prayer is a focus for each day. Sunday, I pray for the mission of my local and the global Church. Monday, for family members by name. Tuesday, for close friends who attend my local church community by name. Wednesday, I pray for our giving and the ministries of my local church by name. Thursday, I pray for friends, acquaintances, and co-workers by name. Friday, I pray for those I meet in passing who I feel a connection to or who may have a special need. Saturdays I pray for whatever/whoever is on my heart, a special need or person.

Next, I enjoy a light breakfast and continue reading scripture. I read daily from the New Testament. In addition, I read through the scriptures from beginning to end using a Chronological Bible. I start that every second January. It simply makes the stories of the Old Testament, the Gospels, Acts and the Epistles come alive as the events historically happened in chronological order.

During the day, I stay engaged with my Heavenly Father by listening to worship music whenever I drive and pray spontaneously when the opportunity or need arises. The 2:24 Intentional Discipleship Challenge has changed my life. My intentionality has prepared me for His spontaneity which I find during my daily walk as I engage with those He puts in my path. I challenge you to create your own Intentional Discipleship practice. •
Steven Sibley- Retired E7/Disabled Veteran, Publisher OK Veteran News