FORT SILL, Okla. (Nov. 14, 2013) -- Standing 5-feet, 7-inches, Marine infantryman Pfc. Billy Burris, age 25, was voluntold he would be a tunnel rat, because he was the smallest man in his unit in Vietnam.
Holding a flashlight in one hand and a .45-caliber pistol, Burris would crawl through Viet Cong tunnel networks looking for rooms of weapons and food caches.
"I did get scared and claustrophobic," he said.
When caches were discovered he would back out of the tunnel and American Soldiers would then use flamethrowers or hand grenades to destroy the stores. Sometimes he would run into enemy soldiers, and all he could do was shoot at them in the confines of the tunnel.
"They had miles of tunnels and huge rooms to live in," said Burris, now 70 of Duncan, Okla.
In the first Gulf War, Multiple Launch Rocket System section chief Sgt. Paul Shea recalled the first days of the ground war in Iraq.
"It was fast and furious fighting. We just rolled and fired, rolled and fired for about 275 miles," said Shea, who comes from a multi-generation military family. "I didn't sleep for about 90 hours."
Shea would go on to serve 20 years in the Army and retire in October 2003. Today, retired Sgt. 1st Class Shea, 49, continues to serve as the Fort Sill Range Operations post scheduler.
In 1955 in Newport News, Va., Aaron Boone, 16, lied about his age so he could get into the Army.
Going to basic combat training and Advanced Individual Training at Fort Knox, Ky., Boone became a field artilleryman. The Vietnam veteran made the Army a career and retired as a sergeant major at the FA School Command here in 1984.
Fort Sill honored all veterans past and present with a Veterans Day ceremony Nov. 11 outside McNair Hall. Hundreds of service members, veterans, civilians and family members, attended the 9 a.m. ceremony to thank the men and women who answered the call to arms and their families.
In his invocation, Lt. Col. Steven Maglio, installation deputy chaplain, said, "Heavenly Father, on this Veterans Day we thank you for the service of all of our veterans. As a country we exist because of your hand upon us, and the selfless service of our men and women in uniform."
The guest speakers were Maj. Gen. Mark McDonald, Fires Center of Excellence and Fort Sill commanding general; retired Command Sgt. Maj. Donald Fenter, Lawton Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5263 commander; and Capt. Gene Uhler, Field Artillery Captains Career Course student.
McDonald said it is a special day when the nation can recognize and thank its heroes those who have served. He noted that today's Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans are the youngest generation of vets since the Vietnam War.
The general said it is vital that veterans tell their stories.
"Our young ones are hungry to hear from your experiences," McDonald said.
McDonald thanked the veterans who show up for the welcome home ceremonies for returning troops.
"Your persistent presence, no matter what the hour, shows that you will never let this nation forget the value of our American Soldiers and the importance of honor and sacrifice through service."
He went on to thank the veterans who engage in the numerous community programs and activities.
"It is through your continued influence that you recruit the next generation of men and women willing to lay it all on the line to defend our values that we hold so dear," McDonald said.
McDonald also recognized military families, whose support is unparalleled and vital.
During the ceremony, program narrator John Starling. Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security, gave a synopsis of the five armed services's origins and missions. Their respective flags were highlighted by the Fort Sill Joint Color Guard as the 77th Army Band "The Pride of Fort Sill" performed "The Battle Hymn of the Republic."
Dozen of young people attended the ceremony including members of the Lawton-Fort Sill Regional Airport Civil Air Patrol.
"I believe that Veterans Days is one of the most important federal holidays in the United States because it honors people who fought for our freedom," said CAP Airman 1st-Class Dillon Behrens, age 15.
Fenter said veterans' sacrifices for peace and freedom have made the nation what it is today."We, the living, must ensure that their sacrifice was not in vain," said Fenter, a former Army Community Service director here.
Fenter said it is also a day to remember those who are standing point today worldwide defending freedom. "We pray for their safe return, and the nation's veterans organizations stand by ready to support their families while they are away."
The VFW commander said Americans can never forget its missing in action.
"All American citizens have an obligation to account for these missing comrades in arms -- we owe this to their families, we owe this to our future generations ... but most of all we owe it to our missing comrades and buddies," Fenter said.
Guest speaker Uhler said Veterans Day transcends people of different generations and walks of life.
"Whether it is my 4-year-old son learning the definition of the word veteran, or the retiree recalling long past sacrifices, the importance in understanding and expressing our gratitude to those who have and are defending our freedom remains the same."
Uhler, who has been in the Army 5.5 years, said it feels odd to think of himself as a veteran, but "the men and women of my generation who answered the call to serve during a time of ongoing conflict, many of whom paid the ultimate sacrifice, have indeed earned the right to be honored today."
The captain said he called his grandfather Robert Coppadge, 84, to thank him for his service as a Coast Guardsman, and his grandfather did not hesitate to thank him for his service.
"Just as past veterans have imparted honorable military service to my generation, it becomes our charge to carry that torch, to serve honorably, to do our duty to the utmost of our abilities," Uhler said.
"I stand here confident that the military that my sons may one day join will be built on that strong foundation," he said. "The legacy of veterans of the past and veterans of the present will pass on to those of the future will ensure that our military will and our nation will remain great,"
Uhler concluded.
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