Appreciation day brings together yesterday's, today's Warriors

  • Published
  • By Capt. Mike Meridith
  • 319th Public Affairs
Grand Forks Air Force Base, N.D. --  The sharing of perspectives between several generations of Warriors was one of the main highlights of the base’ s annual Retiree Appreciation Day, held here May 13. 

Approximately 100 retirees, representing nearly all the branches of military service – and their family members – attended the event, which included remarks from experts on veterans’ issues, an information and health fair and tours of one of the base’ s KC-135 Stratotankers. For many of the guests, however, the best part of the event was the chance to speak with today’s Warriors of the North. 

“It was an excellent event,” said Harvey Bakke, an Air Force and Navy veteran who retired in 1971. “We’ve been coming to these events for decades, but today’s Airmen are a really outstanding and knowledgeable bunch.” 

That sentiment was shared by retired Air Force Col. Tom Saddler, Grand Forks County’s Veterans Services Officer and a former security group commander at Grand Forks Air Force Base. “It’s good to see the communication [between veterans and Airmen],” said Mr. Saddler. “It gives us retirees a great feeling to see the talented and skilled young men and women who are carrying on the mission.” 

Veterans weren’t the only ones that valued from that communication, however. Many Airmen involved with the event likewise expressed their appreciation for the opportunities the event offered.
“I’ve always been a big history buff, so I really enjoyed hearing their [the
retirees'] stories” said Airman 1st Class William Paul, 319th Aeromedical-Dental Squadron. “I get a lot of inspiration in knowing that I’m helping to carry on the important work they started.” 

The value of veterans’ contributions to the nation was a recurring theme of Retiree Appreciation Day, and one summed up by Col. Bill Bender, 319th Air Refueling wing commander, who recalled recently witnessing a spontaneous burst of applause for a group of redeploying guardsman at the Atlanta airport. 

“You are an important part of that [recognition] by your support of our military. A day like this is important because it gives us the chance to show how appreciative we are of what you’ve done to carve out the freedoms and liberties we fight for today.”