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Tulsa
FOX23.com
Veterans get a thank you
Last Update: 8/07 11:25 am
(WEST TULSA, Okla.) July 4 - Many of you are spending the day eating barbeque or watching fireworks. But one celebration today was all about honoring America's troops.
It’s the "Welcome Home Barbeque", where some veterans got the one thing they didn't get years ago, a thank you.
A first glance it looks like any other Fourth of July celebration. You’ve got the barbeque, you’ve got friends and family, but it’s more, it’s also about remembering the true meaning of Independence Day.
This is a day of mixed blessings for the parents of fallen Tulsa Marine, Corporal Jared Shoemaker. Today, they accepted the Sacrifice for Freedom Award on behalf of their son, who died last year while serving in Iraq.
"We think about it a lot and it’s too bad that we think about it after the moment all the sacrifices that he made", said Jared’s dad Ken Shoemaker.
"Corporal Shoemaker, I salute him, he’s great." Vietnam Veteran Lorne Kasdin said it's a comfort to be with fellow servicemen and women on this holiday. They all share a special bond and can relate to each other's wartime experiences. "They hit us with 1500 troops at one time, so I’m glad to be here, a lot of my friends names are on the wall in Washington D.C."
Organizer Colonel Bob Powell served in Korea, World War II and Vietnam. He said servicemen and women returning home were often ridiculed and harassed. "Spitting on them and tramping on the flag."
Now, he's making sure what happened years ago, won't happen again. "I want these kids to know that they were appreciated. I want them to be told thank you for your service."
A thank you the shoemakers got today. "But we’re very proud of him and thankful to all the people in Tulsa that have supported us in that", said Ken Shoemaker.
Organizers were accepting donations today to help pay for a life-size statue that will be placed at Memorial High School this November.
Bio info on Jared from mother, Linda Shoemaker:
CPL Jared Shoemaker USMC
04/22/77 – 09/04/06
KIA while serving in Fallujah, Iraq
Also a Tulsa Police Officer
Son of Ken and Linda Shoemaker
Brothers: Steven and Ben Shoemaker
Wife: Kari Shoemaker
Born and raised in Tulsa; Graduate of Edison High School and Northeastern State University
"Jared loved being a Marine and a Tulsa police officer."
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