Gold Star Mother’s and Family Day is Sunday at the Northern Nevada State Veterans home
Wolf Pack players on the gridiron have been learning more about life this semester but from the perspective of another field of battle. Every late summer and autumn for four months, Nevada players don their uniforms and prepare to face a common foe and ready to face a challenge; yet, their challenges on a Friday night or Saturday afternoon differ from those serving in the military, especially those who never return home alive.
As part of this year’s rollout of the Battle Born Shield in late August, Nevada players and their coaches realized how war’s tragedy devastates Gold Star mothers and families. The fifth annual Gold Star Mothers and Family Luminary event is Sunday at the Gold Star Family Memorial Monument on the grounds of the Northern Nevada State Veterans home, 36 Battle Born Way in Sparks.
The customary ceremony begins at 6 p.m., and it includes a reading of the Gold Star Mother and Family Proclamation and the placement of the Luminary. The event is free and open to the public.
“I’ve been really involved with the Gold Star family,” said John Galloway, director of the USS Nevada Project.
Galloway has joined others in the community to recognize and remember loved ones killed in service to their country. Jon Yuspa and David Sousa, both Honor Flight Nevada and the Nevada Gold Star Memorial Foundation members, formulated an idea for a Gold Star memorial in Northern Nevada more than six years ago.
INSPIRATION FOR A MEMORIAL
The inspiration came from those who lost loved ones, including Steve Ward’s son Eric. A fifth-generation Marine, Eric Ward, died in combat in Afghanistan on Feb. 21, 2010, and is interred at Arlington National Cemetery. As a father who lost a child, Ward knows the importance of healing and now sharing.
Coincidences are too common among Gold Star families. The Wolf Pack players were introduced in August to Virginia resident Terri Campbell, who also had a son in the Marines. A sniper killed her 19-year-old son in Afghanistan on Feb. 18, 2010.
“Every day is Memorial Day for Gold Star families,” she said. “We can never allow our fallen to be forgotten.”
Marine Lance Cpl. Kielin Dunn died three days before Ward’s son lost his life. Both Marines deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Dunn was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Ward was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment.
Campbell said she became familiar with veterans interred in the same section as Dunn. She remembers seeing Ward’s headstone, another coincidence tied to Nevada. Both Marines are interred in section 60. Dunn is at site 9055, while Ward’s final resting spot is at site 9068.
“I always tell people although the military is a huge organization, it can also be a small world,” she pointed out.
Campbell said her son took the place of a fellow Marine as his battalion drove into a Taliban stronghold near Marjah in southern Afghanistan. ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) conducted an operation in the region from Feb. 13, 2010, to Dec. 7, Pearl Harbor Day. It wasn’t long before her son and fellow Marines encountered the enemy.
“Being on a deployment and being that person out front, he was inclined to fight to the very last breath,” she said. “He was killed by a sniper.”
In battle, Dunn’s weapon jammed while returning fire.
Campbell’s voice grew quieter and more measured. The Gold Star mother wanted others to remember her son’s laughing and smiling regardless of the situation. The young Marine wanted others to feel better.
Dunn was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and had also earned the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and NATO International Security Assistance Force Medal.
Campbell said it’s important to keep legacies alive. “If we don’t tell our stories, who will?” she asked.
SHIELD AND SACRIFICE
Galloway said Nevada Football Coach Jeff Choate saw the importance of the shield and sacrifice. He noted the coach’s passion for honoring veterans as demonstrated by former governor and current university President Brian Sandoval and Athletic Director Stephanie Rempe. Galloway said the timing was good because the university opened its doors in Elko in 1874, a decade after Nevada, known as the Battle Born state, was admitted to the union.
Campbell learned much about Choate and the university program before she sent the letter to the first-year coach. “I shared many of my stories and John was a catalyst to the coach,” she said. “I learned more about coach from John and I did my own research.”
Campbell said Galloway’s passion and Choate’s values and principles impressed her. She is more than happy to help the public understand the meaning behind the Gold Star family.
Likewise, Choate reflected on service and sacrifice. “The pride they (families) take in knowing their loved ones laid down their lives for their country represent what I will always walk away with,” he said.
During practice, Choate read a letter from Campbell and showed the players the Marine’s Purple Heart. The yelling from practice grew to silence, and the players’ eyes fixed on Coach Choate.
“When John Galloway sought permission from me and my husband Gary to engrave a special dedication to Kielin on the reverse side of the Battle Born Shield, we were, of course, extremely honored and humbled, but also curious to why, of the hundreds of thousands of fallen military persons and first responders he chose Kielen.”
ALL FOR OUR COUNTRY
Galloway had told Campbell the university’s motto is Omnia Pro Patria, “All For Our Country.” He told the family they embodied the slogan, referring to President Abraham Lincoln’s reference to wounded soldiers, fallen warriors, active-duty soldiers and veterans.
Campbell, the wife of a Navy veteran and the mother of three — an active duty Air Force pilot, a U.S. Coast Guard veteran and a Gold Star mother — continued her comments in the letter, which is displayed in a frame with other memorabilia related to her son on a wall near the football room.
“The shield itself means to give everything you have. So tell your players that when they tap the Battle Born Shield, that is exactly what they must do, every time; give everything they have; on the football field, in the classroom, to the community, and throughout life.”
Choate said her words are a salute to the military and life. “It is very fitting, and it’s a great honor we honor them and remind our players and ourselves (that) every day when we walk by it, that this is way bigger than football and that these people made the ultimate sacrifice.”
