Hall of Honor, Brittany and Christian Jacobs, Medal of Honor Recipient Gary Wetzel, Honor America's Valor, Woodstock Harley-Davidson, Gold Star Families, Sacrifice

This weekend, I had the honor of meeting some courageous people and photograph an event that honored the great sacrifices of those who serve.

The Woodstock Harley-Davidson photographic museum, the Hall of Honor, was dedicated on Sunday. The photographic museum is the heartfelt work of U.S. Marine Corps veteran Timothy J. Crabb, supported by WHD owner and general manager Doug Jackson.

The museum holds iconic canvas prints representing the price of freedom (all images in this section are in color) and black-and-white images from the WWII through present-day conflicts. Crabb’s intent was that the room be a space to contemplate the military sacrifice and the great cost that comes with it – for the individual, for the families, for the country.

Brittany Jacobs, Gold Star wife, knows that sacrifice well. Her husband, U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Christopher Jacobs, was killed in a training accident on October 24, 2011, leaving her and her young son Christian to navigate life without the person who held them together.

A photo of Christian putting a Marine Corps cover on his father’s headstone in Arlington hangs in the Hall of Honor. She and her son traveled from North Carolina to see the image on the Price of Freedom wall. After she spoke about the sacrifices military families make, she chose that day to read a letter that she had written to Christian three years ago.

She told me that she felt he was old enough to understand and appreciate the letter, so she thought the dedication ceremony would be a fitting time to share it with him. Christian stood and listened while the audience wept emotional tears, feeling the sacrifices our military families endure every day.

But Brittany is a woman of courage. She spoke with a strength that most wouldn’t be able to understand. She and I had a telephone call before the event. She was multitasking in a way super moms do, but she made sure that I knew how much her husband meant – and how much her son meant to both her and to her husband.

“He couldn’t wait to be a dad,” I remember Brittany saying. It broke my heart when she told me that she had purchased a monkey costume for Christian and they were going to fly out to meet him in California for Halloween trick-or-treating on the base, but, instead, they brought Christopher’s body back to say goodbye. And when she talked about an 8-month-old Christian being mesmerized by his young father’s uniform medals while he lay in a casket, the sacrifices were glaringly clear.

Christian met President Trump in Arlington on Memorial Day 2017, running up to him and asking him if he would like to meet his Dad. Trump spent time with him and listened to his story. Since then, Christian has been an honored guest of the Commander-In-Chief at other events, recalling his bravery in the face of the loss of his father.

Christian had the opportunity lead the crowd in a recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance.

U.S. Army Specialist Fourth Class Gary Wetzel also spoke. A Vietnam veteran who served in the 173^rd Assault Helicopter Company, 11^th Combat Aviation Battalion, he received the Medal of Honor for his courageous actions in battle.  Critically wounded and losing consciousness, he managed to assist in bringing an aircraft commander to safety.

His message, though, was clear. He asked everyone in the audience to look at the flag. “Look into that flag,” he said. “Think about the sacrifices made [in the name of freedom].”

With the Medal of Honor around his neck, Wetzel explained that he wore the medal not just for himself, but for everyone that the medal represents.

With a coolness about him and humbleness of heart, Wetzel effortlessly took any focus off of him and then calmly inspired the audience to show honor and respect to those who have protected our nation, continue to do so, and who have paid for our freedom with their lives.

Mark Titre, president of Honor America’s Valor – an organization which honors the men and women who have given their lives in service as members of the military as well as first responders, spoke about sacrifice.

He honored Gold Star families as well as first responder families in an emotional presentation. Honor America’s Valor presents personalized prints for families created of the image by artist Leslie Michaels.

Finally, the audience witnessed the unveiling of the Hall of Honor. They finally were able to walk through the doors once guarded by U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Matthew Paulin and U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Mario Hill.

Though the Hall lies within a Harley-Davidson dealership, it is open to everyone – and the power emoted by the canvases speaks courage through every image.

You can read more about the Hall of Honor here.

Brittany Jacobs dresses her son Christian before the Hall of Honor unveiling ceremony.

Steve Firak and Flora McIntyre sing the National Anthem.

Medal of Honor recipient U.S. Army Specialist Fourth Class Gary Wetzel speaks at Woodstock Harley-Davidson’s Hall of Honor dedication asking everyone to “look into the flag,” and to “think about the sacrifices” that have been made for the sake of freedom.

Seven-year-old Christian Jacobs of North Carolina, whose father, U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Christopher Jacobs, was killed in a training accident in 2011, recites the pledge of allegiance during the dedication of the Woodstock Harley-Davidson Hall of Honor.

Seven-year-old Christian Jacobs listens to a letter that his mother, Brittany, wrote to him three years ago, telling him of his father U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Christopher Jacobs who was killed in a training accident in 2011. This was the first time Brittany had read the letter aloud, and she felt the dedication of the Woodstock Harley-Davidson Hall of Honor, where her son’s photo by his father’s headstone is displayed, would be a good time to share the message — in the presence of veterans and motorcycle riders. She explained that motorcycle riders have been a huge support as she navigated her grief. “They are always there for us. They have been there every step of the way.”

Christian was given a hat with his father's name and dates written on the back.

U.S. Army veteran and Medal of Honor recipient Gary Wetzel gives Christian Jacobs his coin in the Hall of Honor.

Christian and Brittany Jacobs with Medal of Honor recipient Gary Wetzel.

Christian Jacobs looks at the photo of him by his father's headstone in Arlington.

U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Matthew Paulin and U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Mario Hill guard the doors to the photographic museum on Sunday during the Hall of Honor dedication at Woodstock Harley-Davidson.

Gold Star Mothers, Cody's Farm and Orchard, Awareness

Last weekend a local farm, Cody’s Farm and Orchard, in Marengo held a day to honor those who have paid the ultimate price for our freedom.

Sharon Purdom, who organized the event, ensured that those who had sacrificed so much were not forgotten. Purdom's friend and Gold Star Mother Barb Nurnberg, who lost her son, Spc. Keith Nurnberg, in Iraq in 2007,  was one of the inspirations behind this day.

She ended up as the keynote speaker, and she truly spoke from her heart. But it was Nurnberg's description of her son’s heart that resonated with me. She reminisced about how much he cared for people and how he took the time to know what they needed. It was clear that he took after his mother.

Nurnberg described the moment she found out her son had been killed, and how, in the weeks and years after his death, she discovered that her son had volunteered to be in the position he was at when his life was lost. She carefully explained how she believed his heart was so large that, had he survived and someone else perished in his place, he would have had a difficult time dealing with that. So she chose to focus on the verse John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this; to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

There is no more powerful verse for me than that when I think about those who serve – whether military, police, fire/rescue– first responders of any sort. They are the ones who rush in where others run out.  Their kindness, their generosity, their strength – it never ceases to impress upon me their great sacrifice, and the sacrifices of their families. It is such a beautiful gift they possess to have the compassion and the courage to put the lives of others before their own. They live that verse … every day. And I am humbled thinking about it.

But Nurnberg also emphasized caring for those who have come home from service. As we, as a nation, continue to wrestle with and to seek to change the heartbreaking statistic of 20 veterans a day being lost to suicide, Nurnberg said she couldn't bear to lose those who already had sacrificed so much. She encouraged friends, family and civilians alike to care, to reach out, to offer support, to let them know they are not alone.

Be the person who asks the hard questions. Be the person who checks in on them. Be the person who asks how life is going -- and have the courage to listen. It isn’t easy to reach out, but it is one of the most beautiful things you can ever do.

Thank veterans for their service. Shake their hands. Sit with them. Hug them. Listen to them. They have a story; they will tell it when they are ready. And, if you know they need assistance, help connect them with the people, places and agencies that can do so. Let them know that you care – you never know what your kindness can do.

Reach out to Gold Star families, too. Talk about their children. Let them share stories with you. Sit with then, too.

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Cody’s Farm and Orchard features a military-themed corn maze, an apple orchard, all sorts of harvest goodies, and a lot of fun activities for the family, but being there to hear about the love and sacrifice these local military families endure was powerful. I'm so thankful that my family went.

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Thank you for your service, and thank you for your sacrifice.