NORTH SALT LAKE — Those who stand between “the citizens and the dangers,” were honored Sept. 9 in an evening tribute held in conjunction with the anniversary of the Sept.11 attacks.
Gen. Robert C. Oaks addressed a crowd that gathered on the ninth fairway of the Eaglewood Golf Course Sunday, at a memorial program that also featured the 23rd Army Band.
“Those in the military, the policemen and the firemen have said, ‘I’ll stand between the citizens and the dangers,’” he said. “And whether it’s fire, robbery or military attack, they’re there to do it.”
Expressing gratitude is the best way to support the men and women who serve, he said.
“Some are deployed to very difficult places,” he said. “We sit here in our most pleasant surroundings, but I know in Afghanistan there are young men and young women sitting on a hilltop” where, he said, conditions can be miserable.
“They’re defending our freedom,” he said. “They wouldn’t be there if they didn’t feel they were there for a cause greater than themselves.”
Oaks retired in 1994 as a four-star general in the U.S. Air Force, after serving for 34 years.
His service included deployment as a fighter pilot during the Vietnam War, where he was shot down over the Mekong Delta.
Those were years when military service was not respected, he said, when returning servicemen were “sorely abused” by our country. He said he is glad to see that has changed.
For more information check out the Sept. 13 edition of Davis Clipper.
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