Colonel urges community not forget veterans post-service

PALMER — Archie Van Winkle was a staff sergeant in the U.S. Marines on Nov. 2, 1950, when he was leading an advance through the enemy line near Sudong, Korea. The events of that day led Van Winkle, who eventually retired from military service as a colonel, to become Alaska’s only Congressional Medal of Honor winner.

“Staff Sgt. Van Winkle boldly spearheaded an attack,” recounted Col. Peter Andrysiak, commander of the 2nd Engineers at Fort Richardson. “Realizing that the left flank was isolated from the rest of his unit, he rushed 40 yards through fierce enemy fire to reunite his troops, despite a wound that rendered his arms totally useless.”

Andrysiak was the keynote speaker for Monday’s Mat-Su Veterans Day ceremony at the Veterans Wall of Honor. A combat veteran himself, Andrysiak used examples like Van Winkle and Wasilla Silver Star Winner Jared Adams to highlight the extraordinary sacrifices U.S. veterans have made in the service of their country.

He went on to tell how Van Winkle “was severely wounded a second time (by) a direct hit to the chest from a hostile hand grenade. … He staunchly refused evacuation, but continued to shout orders and words of encouragement to his depleted and battered platoon.”

Adams’ story hits close to home. The Marine’s decoration came from his heroic actions while serving in Afghanistan Jan. 6, 2005. His squad came under attack “and his Humvee was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade,” Andrysiak said. “His left arm and both hands had shrapnel wounds and his right arm was broken and he had a sprained ankle. In spite of his wounds, he managed to exit the vehicle and get his squad to safety. Realizing a Marine was missing, Jared took off running through the line of fire back toward the burning vehicle, locating the missing Marine, he realized he had died in the attack. Grabbing his body, he ran back through a hail of enemy gunfire, carrying the Marine’s body.”

Both men are examples of the “Warrior Ethos,” Andrysiak said. “The Warrior Ethos is, ‘I will never leave a fallen comrade.’ Veterans Day is about saying, ‘I will never leave a fallen comrade.’”

Part of that commitment of never leaving comrades behind goes beyond their military service, Andrysiak said. Nationwide, there are more than 700,000 unemployed veterans, and with military action in Iraq and Afghanistan winding down, more are expected to leave military service and enter the workforce.

Our task is to “make sure our veterans are not left behind or forgotten,” Andrysiak said, adding that can be accomplished “by connecting them with opportunities for employment, education and health care post-military service.”

Events like Veterans Day are important, he said, but that recognition needs to go beyond a few designated holidays.

“We spend today remembering service members through the centuries who have come together to fight for a common cause,” he said. “They have defended America when our borders, our people and our lives have been threatened. We are here to celebrate the strength, the courage and dedication of our veterans who not only wield the hammer of conflict, but also shape the world for lasting peace.

“Let’s vow to do more than just honor them with silence, our memories and our words. Let’s do something meaningful and make sure veterans have every opportunity to meet their highest potential.”

Organized by Disabled American Veterans Mat-Su Chapter 3, Monday’s Veterans Day ceremony also included singing of the “National Anthem” and “God Bless America,” a ceremonial gun salute and the reading of proclamations on behalf of President Barack Obama, Gov. Sean Parnell, Sens. Mark Begich and Lisa Murkowski, Palmer Mayor DeLena Johnson and Wasilla Mayor Verne Rupright.

A handful of hardy veterans, their families and supporters didn’t let new-fallen snow, chilly temperatures or biting winds keep them away from the service.

Rupright, a veteran, also used the words of two-time Congressional Medal of Honor Winner Maj. Gen. Smedley Butler to hammer home the importance of military service: “There are two things we should fight for. One is the defense of our home, and the other is the Bill of Rights.”

“I think Gen. Butler summed it up pretty well, and to all those who have served and to all those who support them, I thank you,” Rupright concluded.

That sense of duty Maj. Gen. Butler was talking about was forged early on in Colonial America, Andrysiak said.

“The tradition of the United States soldier begins in 1775 on Lexington Green,” he said. “On that day, Capt. Jonas Parker and 75 armed militiamen stood up in the face of 600 or 700 armed British regulars. As the professional British soldiers raised their weapons, Capt. Parker gave an order: ‘Don’t fire unless you’re fired upon. But if they want war, let it begin here.’ Those first Colonial soldiers who died at Lexington made the ultimate sacrifice for an idea, the idea that they could form their own nation.”

The realization of that idea is what America has become, Andrysiak said. “Because of service members today and the veterans of yesterday, we’re still the land of the free and the home of the brave.”

Contact Greg Johnson at 352-2269 or greg.johnson@frontiersman.com.