[Captain Edmund Johnson (Ret.), USMC]
On April 23, 2010, Captain Ed, along with co-founder, Charles Cove [US Army and USMC (Ret.)], accepted the Distinguished Service award from the Military Officers Association of America on behalf of the more than 2,500 volunteers of the Pease Greeters.
The greeters, who have welcomed over 350 flights and 55,000 soldiers, haven't missed a flight since the volunteer effort began in 2005. In addition to assembling on-call at the airport, the group has shipped over 15,000 pounds of care packages overseas and have organized efforts to support veterans, members of the armed forces, and their families.
"As long as we're alive, we'll be honoring our veterans," Johnson said.
Captain Ed is a recipient of the silver medal for his service in Korea. To us, he's a hero twice-over. His work to ensure that the Vietnam Welcome never recurs is part of what makes him one of our town's hero.
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[A few of the Pease Greeters awaiting the 2009 Christmas Eve flight]
[Homecoming soldiers making their way through the gauntlet]
A few of the faces of soldiers returning home after a year in Iraq.
Thank you for your service. Happy Memorial Day to you all.
Peace.
To read about my first time as a greeter and how Captain Ed made me feel so welcome you can hop on over here.
I had never heard of them but wow, what a service they provide! If I was a family member of one of those whom they greeted, I would be so grateful. Hell, I'm not and I'm still grateful that there are people like these who go above and beyond for our troops.
ReplyDeletethis is magnificent! and a nice tribute to all our troops. love the head shots!
ReplyDeleteBravo! to Captain Ed, and to all the veterans!
ReplyDeleteCaptain Ed is an amazing man. Nice way to tribute the troops!
ReplyDeleteAmen! Thanx to them! You go many great photos of them and they all look good and happy. :) I love the one girl's braided hair!
ReplyDeleteWhat a nice post to remember what this holiday weekend is REALLY about. Frankly, I don't usually give it much thought and just associate it with being the unofficial beginning of summer. Thanks for reminding me!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely beautiful of you to do this.
ReplyDeleteYou brought tears to my eyes.
Lovely. Thank you
I LOVE how you featured so many soldiers with their photos here. I am glad to take a moment and look into the eyes of those who serve our country. This was a really wonderful post.
ReplyDeleteHeros !
ReplyDeleteBeautiful.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of such service, I thought they are just family and friends!
ReplyDeletebrave smiles!
ReplyDeletehats off.
A salute to Captain Ed and all the Pease Greeters!
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ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful and heartwarming tribute to the heroes! :D
ReplyDeleteOh how wonderful! Thank you for doing your part to support our Military!
ReplyDeletesorry i missed this yesterday...a wonderful tribute to those that give all...happy memorial day!
ReplyDeletegreat tribute - I love the faces of individuals instead of the vagueness of the term VETERAN. Last winter while on my way to Sarasota - at the airport in Atlanta there were 100s of solders waitng to deploy. I avoided taking pictures.... seemed an invasion while they were waiting.... but I covetted looks - trying to memorize faces.
ReplyDeletethank you.
what a wonderful thing to do.....My new husband is a Vietnam Vet and had a horrible homecoming....this wouldve meant the world to him...
ReplyDeleteWe dont have to agree with the politics of war but we should honor the people who are doing their jobs......