Valley vets receive emotional thanks

WASILLA — A tearful Tracy Yates stood in a cold, driving wind with her hand over her heart as the 21-gun salute ricocheted through the silence.

While she was alone outside the Valley’s Convention and Visitors Bureau, inside the small building off the Parks Highway was packed for today’s Veterans Day ceremony.

The tears and salute were “for everyone who served; my family,” Yates said. “I’m very emotional.”

Also emotional was Dave Glenn, owner of Grasshopper Aviation and a pilot for Veterans Aviation Outreach, which put on the service.

After enlisting and serving in Vietnam, Glenn said he wasn’t prepared for the reception he received upon returning from war.

“There I am, very proud of my friends and my service,” he said. “Then I got home to find out people were calling me a baby killer. So, I laid low for a long time. Then, about four or five months ago, I was at Home Depot and I had on my 101st Airborne hat. A young fellow walks up and says, “Man, I really like your hat. I really, really like your hat.’ I said, ‘You know, son, I’ve been waiting 46 years to hear that — 46 years.’ So, if you see (a veteran), you tell him thanks.”

See Friday’s Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman print edition for more from today’s Veterans Day ceremony. We invite you to comment below with your message for Valley, Alaska and United States veterans.