While drilling reservists enjoyed fun and food at Tinker AFB, veteran friendly businesses explained their services to customers in Piedmont on May 3rd.

Reservists and family of the 507th Air Refueling Wing, an Air Force Reserve Command, unit equipped KC-135 unit, enjoyed their annual Family Day in Hanger 1030. They ate hamburgers, played on air-inflated slides and bounce houses, looked at classic cars and of course, showed off their refueling tankers. Other static display aircraft on hand: a C-5 and C-17 cargo airplane and a T-1, T-6 and T-38 trainer.
What is Family Day? Event planner 1Lt Kennedy Humprey, 465th Aircraft Refueling Squadron, shared that it is “To show our families what we do as military members.” 1Lt Nick Pratt, also with the 465th, added, “Show appreciation to the families because it’s all for them.” Humprey said he expected 1,000 people to attend.
Reservists like what they do. “I like working on the planes that refuel our fighter and other combat mission aircraft, plus I enjoy exploring the world,” said MSgt Trevor Hardesty, a member of the Aircraft Maintenance Squadron. MSgt Lindsey Newton, the Engineering Squadron’s First Sergeant, said she likes serving in the 507th “because the people (reservists) are like family.”

Twenty-nine organizations manned tables offering services and products, such as 72d Air Base Wing’s Military Family Readiness Center and Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Program, DoD’s Integrated Prevention & Resilience Office, VFW Post 8706 (Moore), and Big Brothers, Big Sisters. “I come because I want to help families with resources,” said Crystal Garcia with the Employee Assistance Program at Tinker AFB.
Gerardo Guzman, a 30-year retired Army Sergeant First Class, came because his son is a member of the wing. “My wife and I were proud for my son…” joining the Air Force Reserves.
According to the 507 ARW website (https://www.507arw.afrc.af.mil/About-Us/), “The wing operates and maintains eight KC-135R Stratotanker aircraft providing world-wide aerial refueling to U.S. and NATO aircraft in times of peace, war and national emergency” and “…consists of three subordinate groups and 11 squadrons while employing more than 1,200 men and women.”
Meanwhile, in Piedmont, the 4th Annual VetsFest 2025 was in full swing (with guitars, drums and keyboards) at the Piedmont Veterans Event Center. The Piedmont Area Veterans Association (PAVA)

( https://pavavets.org ), hosted the event. The Caroline Grace and J. Rod Wald bands played country music while Atlantis Aquarius entertained with psychedelic 60s style rock and roll for 300 people that attended. Grace joined the Atlantis Aquarius’ six band members to provide more vocals.
Twenty-five veteran-owned and veteran-connected businesses (colleges with veteran student services, etc.) came from throughout Oklahoma. Patriot Automotive of Piedmont is owned and operated by Jeremy Hays and John Leahr. Hays was a five-year U.S. Navy medical corpsman and Leahr is a 15-year drilling reservist with the 160th Oklahoma National Guard (U.S. Army). Hays said they wanted a booth to “let people know we are here to serve our community. You bring it in and we’ll fix it,” meaning vehicles of all makes, models and ages.
Ella Jefferson-Speed, founder and CEO of Soul Survivor Supportive Living Foundation, came to bring awareness to the organization. She is a 10-year U.S. Army veteran. She uses her experience to help “women with societal barriers like disability, homelessness, justice involved (jailed) and sobriety services.” The Soul Survivor handout says it’s a “501©3 that is dedicated to providing a safe, secure, and loving drug-free temporary home-solution for Veteran Women…” She estimated serving 25 women in 4 years.
Josh Cain was the lead event planner and is a PAVA board member. He said, “PAVA has done a lot of traditional things, for instance, (having) veterans affairs representatives, but beyond that, we are dynamically active in unique ways.” Holding VetsFest is one unique way. It allows them “to support veteran owned businesses and to celebrate veterans.” He said the event was a success because the overwhelming number of vendors were happy with the number of customers who engaged with them. Referring to event sponsors Ascent Midstream Partners, F&M Bank, Edward Jones and Express Employment International, Cain said, “I can’t say enough good things about how these guys care.” story/photos by Richard Stephens, Jr., Lt. Col, USAF Retired

Ronald Reagan, originally an American actor and politician, became the 40th President of the United States serving from 1981 to 1989. His term saw a restoration of prosperity at home, with the goal of achieving “peace through strength” abroad.

At the end of his two terms in office, Ronald Reagan viewed with satisfaction the achievements of his innovative program known as the Reagan Revolution, which aimed to reinvigorate the American people and reduce their reliance upon Government. He felt he had fulfilled his campaign pledge of 1980 to restore “the great, confident roar of American progress and growth and optimism.”

On February 6, 1911, Ronald Wilson Reagan was born to Nelle and John Reagan in Tampico, Illinois. He attended high school in nearby Dixon and then worked his way through Eureka College. There, he studied economics and sociology, played on the football team, and acted in school plays. Upon graduation, he became a radio sports announcer. A screen test in 1937 won him a contract in Hollywood. During the next two decades he appeared in 53 films.

From his first marriage to actress Jane Wyman, he had two children, Maureen and Michael. Maureen passed away in 2001. In 1952 he married Nancy Davis, who was also an actress, and they had two children, Patricia Ann and Ronald Prescott.

As president of the Screen Actors Guild, Reagan became embroiled in disputes over the issue of Communism in the film industry; his political views shifted from liberal to conservative. He toured the country as a television host, becoming a spokesman for conservatism. In 1966 he was elected Governor of California by a margin of a million votes; he was re-elected in 1970.

Ronald Reagan won the Republican Presidential nomination in 1980 and chose as his running mate former Texas Congressman and United Nations Ambassador George Bush. Voters troubled by inflation and by the year-long confinement of Americans in Iran swept the Republican ticket into office. Reagan won 489 electoral votes to 49 for President Jimmy Carter.

On January 20, 1981, Reagan took office. Only 69 days later he was shot by a would-be assassin, but quickly recovered and returned to duty. His grace and wit during the dangerous incident caused his popularity to soar.

Dealing skillfully with Congress, Reagan obtained legislation to stimulate economic growth, curb inflation, increase employment, and strengthen national defense. He embarked upon a course of cutting taxes and Government expenditures, refusing to deviate from it when the strengthening of defense forces led to a large deficit.

A renewal of national self-confidence by 1984 helped Reagan and Bush win a second term with an unprecedented number of electoral votes. Their victory turned away Democratic challengers Walter F. Mondale and Geraldine Ferraro.

In 1986 Reagan obtained an overhaul of the income tax code, which eliminated many deductions and exempted millions of people with low incomes. At the end of his administration, the Nation was enjoying its longest recorded period of peacetime prosperity without recession or depression.

In foreign policy, Reagan sought to achieve “peace through strength.” During his two terms he increased defense spending 35 percent, but sought to improve relations with the Soviet Union. In dramatic meetings with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, he negotiated a treaty that would eliminate intermediate-range nuclear missiles. Reagan declared war against international terrorism, sending American bombers against Libya after evidence came out that Libya was involved in an attack on American soldiers in a West Berlin nightclub.

By ordering naval escorts in the Persian Gulf, he maintained the free flow of oil during the Iran-Iraq war. In keeping with the Reagan Doctrine, he gave support to anti-Communist insurgencies in Central America, Asia, and Africa.

Overall, the Reagan years saw a restoration of prosperity, and the goal of peace through strength seemed to be within grasp.

What an honor and a privilege to be part of the inaugural Chaplain’s Corner segment. My name is SFC (Ret.) George Shafer, and I am the Chaplain for The American Legion LeBron Post 58 in Guthrie, OK.
I recently graduated seminary with a capstone thesis about online ministry and American Veterans. During the research phase of development, I felt as though the Lord directed me to Matthew chapter 8 verses 5-18 which states: “When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, ‘Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.’ And he said to him, ‘I will come and heal him.’ But the centurion replied, ‘Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.’ When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, ‘Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ And to the centurion Jesus said, ‘Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.’ And the servant was healed at that very moment.”

Matthew 8:5-13 (ESV)

This passage is fascinating for several reasons. First, the geographical context of Capernaum at this time being “an important fishing village and commercial center…As a major city on the trade route, it had a Roman battalion, and one of the centurions approached Jesus.” Osborne and Arnold also believe that the centurion would have been either Syrian or Roman, and notes that the relationship between Romans/Syrian and the Jews was highly contentious.
Furthermore, this passage is the only one in Matthew’s gospel that “Jesus marvels at anything.” Jesus marveled at the faith of the centurion! But this passage gets even better; especially when we view this interaction within the scope of evangelism and missions. Osborne notes that “the miracle happened as much for the centurion as for his slave, and that in this, salvation has come not just to Israel but for the nations, so that the universal mission is found here in embryo.”
Did you catch that? Whereas we understand that the first Gentile conversion occurs in Acts under the command of God to Peter after his vision, here we find the Son of God himself carefully cultivating and preparing the way for Gentile inclusion… through a soldier.
If you are reading this and are struggling with your faith; perhaps the transition from soldier to civilian has been too much. Maybe you’re like me and your time in the military left you with scars, both visible and invisible. But I want you to know that He sees you. He hears you. He knows you and He completely understands you. The Gentile ministry that Jesus began with the Centurion over two thousand years ago in an embryonic state was not still-born but rather is alive and well in the pursuit of YOU.
I pray this message has encouraged you in your faith. If you have not yet considered the path of a faith-driven life, I would encourage you to stop by your local veteran service organization (The American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, etc.) and speak to the local chaplain. May the Lord bless you and keep you, and may His face shine upon you in all you do today!
by Rev. George F. Shafer, SFC (Ret.), M.Div., B.S., Chaplain (TAL Post 58)

Edwards followed his heart to help the others during and after Vietnam War.

Ellis Edwards has been a Veteran Home Care client of SYNERGY HomeCare since May 2019.

He and his wife have been very grateful for the extra help they’ve been able to receive and have grown to view their caregivers as an extension of family.

His wife, Thao, said “SYNERGY is doing a great job to accommodate Ellis’ needs. They are a good company, especially to our veterans. Our caregivers are always there to help him, and it’s been such a relief for us.” The entire team is grateful to be able to serve the Edwards family and are honored to recognize his incredible service to our nation.”

Edwards might not see himself as a hero, but there are others that might dis agree with the Bronze Star Medal and Combat Infantry Badge recipient and a member of the Oklahoma Military Hall of Fame.

Edwards, 77, has made a difference in peoples’ lives both during and after the Vietnam War.

He rescued 64 American allies when the Republic of Vietnam was falling to the North Vietnamese. In 1970, he was a second lieutenant in the infantry. He volunteered for the Republic of Vietnam for duty in Vietnam. He was promoted to Captain because of that rescue mission.

As an advisor, Edwards was aware of the instability of the South Vietnamese government. He promised his comrades that, in the event a communist takeover was imminent, he would return and help them escape. Edwards took this commitment seriously.

“I knew that I could do something,” Edwards said. “That was my Christian duty.”

Following his return from Vietnam and his release from his active duty, Edwards joined Operational Detachment 212, Company A, 2nd Battalion, 12th Special Forces Group (Airborne) in Oklahoma City.

While working as a financial bond advisor, completing a master’s degree and serving in the Special Forces Reserve, Edwards closely monitored the Vietnam War, remaining in touch with his friends.

On January 3, 1975, Edwards suffered a serious injury on a night parachute jump with the Special Forces Unit, fracturing vertebrae in his back. The injuries eventually caused his retirement from the Army.

In March of 1975, South Vietnam was quickly collapsing. The North Vietnamese had started their push to destroy the remaining South Vietnamese military, and vast areas were falling into the Communists’ hands. Many soldiers abandoned their posts and fled in panic. The highways were clogged with columns of tanks, armored personnel carriers, artillery pieces and trucks loaded with soldiers.
Remembering his promises, Edwards planned an emergency return to the war zone to rescue as many as he could.

At his own expense, Edwards flew first to New Orleans where he obtained an expedited passport, flying on to Washington D.C. where he received a visa from the South Vietnamese embassy, then flying to Saigon.

Edwards returned at the very moment that Communist forces were overrunning the country, exposing him to great personal danger.

The South was within weeks of capture and the whole country was in a state of pandemonium.

Further complicating matters, Edwards was in pain throughout his mission. He said his back injury required him to wear a brace, and he was constantly in need of unavailable physical therapy.

Despite his pain, Edwards diligently set about contacting those in harm’s way. Most of Edwards former counterparts were located on the Cambodian border in a province there, where heavy fighting was taking place.

Edwards found and hired a taxi driver who originally agreed to take him to that area.

As they traveled through the countryside, however, there were Communist roadblocks, which barely managed to evade.

When the driver refused to go any further, Edwards produced his only weapon, a pistol and told the shaken man that he had no choice but to continue.

They reached the area where Edwards found his former unit and the individuals whom he had advised. From both that province and Saigon, Edwards rounded up 64 people seeking to escape.

When it was time for Edwards to return to Saigon, however, the taxi had gone. Having no other transportation, Edwards was left with the unbelievable option of taking a public bus through enemy-held territory.

He said was lucky that the Communists caught a Republic of Vietnam officer who was riding a bus shortly behind him and hanged him.

Back in Saigon, Edwards then had to address the problem of how to get the refugees out of the country.

In a misguided effort to keep South Vietnam from collapsing, the US government initially refused to evacuate Vietnamese nationals, and the American ambassador attempted to prevent Vietnamese citizens from leaving.

Edwards was required to not only deal with the Vietnamese onslaught, but he was also hampered by non-cooperation from the American embassy.
Ever determined, Edwards resorted to unconventional tactics to accomplish his plan. He first found a South Vietnamese air force pilot who accepted $25,000 to fly the refugees to Thailand.

At the last minute, however, the US government changed its policy, and Edwards was able to convince the Air Force to devote an airplane to his refugees. Although he never recovered the $25,000 paid to the pilot, he now believes that expenditure was worth it.

Before leaving on one of the last military flights out of Vietnam, Edwards helped all those he could.
Among them were six Vietnamese women, each of whom Edwards “married” before the fall of South Vietnam.

Edwards managed to talk his way into the American embassy where, in the chaos, he found the empty office of an American general who had already been evacuated. He used his fortress to gain access to people who can help him get the refugees out. At one point, he even posed as a congressional staffer.

While in Saigon, Edwards was attacked on the street by an unknown assailant. The incident involved gunfire, and Edwards was shot by the assailant.

Once the refugees reached US soil, Edwards did not abandon them.

In fact, he sponsored more than 200 refugees in Oklahoma, finding them places to live, obtaining jobs, enrolling children in school, acquiring household furnishings, obtaining driver training licenses and automobiles.

The refugees who came to Oklahoma have successfully been part of the state. They have businesses and professions.

In 1998, Ellis and his wife Thao Edwards invited a young teenage girl who had been raised under the Communist regime in Vietnam to live in their home and attend Bishop McGuinness High School in Oklahoma City.

The girl’s mother was unable to support her, and she asked Edwards for help. After a successful semester at McGuinness, Edwards managed to get the girl accepted into the Oklahoma School of Science and Math. Upon high school graduation, she received a full scholarship to Mount Holyoke University, which she finished in three and a half years with double majors.

The summer of 2010, Edwards invited a Vietnamese college student to stay at his house, helping him with acquiring tuition for about a year. The young man went on to St. Bernard’s Seminary and School of Theology. He was ordained June 30, 2018.

“I’ve helped a lot of people, and I gave them (help with a new life in the United States),” he said.

Edwards also helped raise funds from private sources to build a much-needed grade school in Vietnam. He personally ramrodded the project to completion only to hear that the Communists demolished it after his departure.

Thao Edwards said her husband of almost 49 years has a heart of gold. “He’s extraordinary. He can do the things that normal people don’t do,” she said. story by Van Mitchell

Jeff Burch is a Morrison resident and disabled veteran who proudly served his country overseas. During his time in the Army, he was specially trained to see things coming that the average civilian might not be prepared to face. But late last year, he had no way of predicting an emergency situation that left him hospitalized.

He woke up in intense pain with no spinal fluid and no memory of the previous hours. Those hours, he says, are unforgettable for his family, as they rushed him to the Stillwater Medical Emergency Room.

“The process of coming into the hospital itself was traumatic for my wife, as well as my son. The staff at the emergency room were comforting. They tried everything at their disposal to figure out what was going on,” Burch said.

With no clear answers, Burch was admitted to the hospital. His insurance is through Veterans Affairs, so his family feared he may be transferred to another facility before they understood the reason for his condition.

Cooperation enabled Burch to stay put.

“The line of communication from Stillwater Medical to the Oklahoma City VA was completely wide open,” Burch said. “They helped my wife and my family get the paperwork all started, which is key.”

Burch had suffered a stroke and needed time to heal. His military training wasn’t entirely useless to him in hospital. He recognized how the structures he was so familiar with in the military seemed present among the staff caring for him. They each had a clear mission, rank and responsibility. Doctors, nurses, medical technicians, staff in the Central Business Office, all came together to provide care in his time of need. Care that he said he considers heroic.

“All the way from the nurse in the ER room to the top floor of your care, it takes a special kind of person to deal with a sick person. Most people that are sick are in a bad mood. But everyone I interacted with showed nothing but pure compassion, pure understanding. It’s almost as if they knew what I needed before I needed it,” Burch said.

Burch is quick to reject the label of hero for his service. To him, he was just doing the job he signed up for with the help of veterans who came before him and the allies who trained beside him. Others might disagree.

Mirriam-Webster defines a hero as a person admired for achievements and noble qualities. Admiration is certainly what Burch expressed for his care team.

“To summarize my experience as far as the care that I received at Stillwater Medical, it was extraordinary, humbling,” Burch said. “They didn’t have to take that above and beyond, but they did, and it shows. It really shows.”

It was standing room only at VFW Post 4938, Edmond, on March 1 as retired Navy Master Chief Larry Van Schuyver, Oklahoma’s State Commander of the Military Order of the Purple Heart (MOPH) and other members recognized about 42 individuals and groups who volunteered in 2024 and 2025 to make a difference to Oklahoma veterans, including combat wounded veterans. The annual ceremony was a tribute to those who improve veteran’s lives in many ways.
After receiving a plaque, recipients told the 90-person crowd what they do for veterans of all Services. It was quite evident, through tears and quivering voices, how deeply each person felt about their mission to honor veterans. The name of the award and its recipient are in bold font. Remarks by several recipients, edited for brevity, are provided below.

Spirit of Oklahoma Award
Lt. Col. Peter Plank said, “What a nice recognition for what we’ve done over 20 years with the World War II…We formed a Liberty Jump Team, parachute team, 20 plus years ago. And we jump in Normandy, France, Holland, and we do a veteran program in Belgium every year. And we took some Battle of the Bulge veterans back to the battlefields. They fought the villages, they liberated, and one of them…101-year-old Chock Charleston was a Sherman tank driver and we took him back to the villages that he went through and it took him to the Luxembourg American Cemetery and brought closure.”

Purple Heart Business of the Year
Jessie Newell of Shawnee is a photographer and owns Bird Nest Baby Photography. “I photograph war veterans to honor their service with or without their families…I’ve photographed over a thousand veterans…So, my very first veteran was named Dewey Muirhead…So, he comes out and he brings about 20 family members and I photographed them all…Dewey told me what D-Day was like, how terrifying it was to lay on Omaha Beach in the middle of thousands of wounded and dead soldiers, hearing young men yelling out for their mothers, because all of them were between 16 and probably 20 years old or somewhere around there.” She concluded, “It’s a blessing that I would never walk away from.”

Outstanding Mayor of the Year
Matthew Dukes, the Mayor of Midwest City, bested 64 nominees to earn the award. Accepting the plaque, he smiled and told the crowd, “I’m very honored…All I did was make Midwest City a Purple Heart City. I appreciate the recognition and – shock – to Midwest City. We’re on the map now. I appreciate this very much.” Mayor Dukes is a retired Chief Master Sergeant of the Oklahoma Air National Guard.

Purple Heart Veteran of the Year
Don Nichols, Muskogee Adjutant of the Military Order of the Purple Heart (and a Purple Heart recipient), and volunteers came from Muskogee and Tahlequah. He said of them, “They worked to save the (Jack C. Montgonery) VA Hospital in Muskogee…We went out and got together 80,000 signatures and kept them from moving the hospital, and it was that group that did it… We built a National Purple Heart Monument in Tahlequah, Oklahoma (It was dedicated May 25, 2024)…We’re proud of it…We are just in the process of recognizing the 14 historical black towns in the state of Oklahoma as Purple Heart Cities.”

Service Before Self Award
Sixteen members of the (mostly) motorcycle riding group Flag Poles Honoring our Veterans attended. One spokesman said Kevin Blake, the group’s founder, started in March 2020 and added, “Since then, the group has installed 670 flag poles for veterans…Most of us are just patriots (not veterans)…We will raise the flag with the pledge of allegiance, say a prayer over it…We do the 13 folds of the flag and read the meaning of the 13 folds…And then we’ll have a veteran present the flag to the recipient. It’s a moving experience.”

Distinguished Service
Organization of the Year
Vet Chat at Cornerstone Church, Midwest City, has been connecting veterans with local agencies, organizations, and civic groups for advice and assistance since 2018. About 15 members attended the ceremony. Leo Webster, the Executive Director, thanked his volunteers. “You stepped into the life of veterans in need, offering them support, understanding the compassion that they may never have found anywhere else…Let’s be relentless in our pursuit of saving lives and ensuring that no veteran feels alone, abandoned.”

General Pete Costilow Volunteers of the Year
Fat Guys Club. This dedicated group donates countless hours providing cooking demonstrations at the Norman Veterans Center, donating clothing for a special care school in OKC, cooking for children receiving Christmas gifts with the Mafias Motorcycle Club, cooking and delivering Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners to needy families, and grilling food on Father’s Day and Valentines Day for veterans at San Marcos Mexican Restaurant, OKC.

Hall of Honor Supporter.
Plaques went to Oklahoma Representative Andy Fugate, Stacy Reddig, Debra Wimpee, and John Meek of the Navy Enlisted Reserve Association-Oklahoma. After Pugate received his plaque, he said, “I’m grateful for the recognition. I’ll stand up for you every day.” Additionally, Dr. Kayse Shrum, Former President of OSU 2021-2025, received the Purple Heart Legacy and Oklahoma Purple Rose Awards.

Lady Purple Rose Award
Melissa Morrison, Heather Rutherford, Sarah Wheatley, Cloris Webster and Rolanna Whitlock received these awards. As he gave them, Schuyver said, …”the Purple Rose to us is the highest form of honor we give those that are members of our family.”
At the end of the ceremony, Jessie Newell of Bird Nest Photography stood up and praised Master Chief Van Schuyver – and guests agreed with thunderous rounds of applause. “As amazing as his military service is, it’s his service after retirement that blows my mind…If he’s not repairing a home, he’s out in a widow’s flower bed, or he’s trying to make money to pay a widow’s bills.” Besides leading the Oklahoma Chapter of the OMHF, she noted his efforts to collect canned goods to fill up VFW pantry shelves.
After the meeting ended, most attendees stayed and donated money to the Fat Guys Club in order to enjoy a good company while eating a hamburger or hot dog. It was evident these volunteers don’t provide hundreds, even thousands, of hours a year to receive plaques – they want to support Oklahoma’s veterans who need and appreciate help and they find a variety of ways to do it. Volunteerism is alive and well in our great state. That’s a good feeling. story by Richard Stephens