Military Appreciation Day Aug. 28 (photos)

On Saturday, Aug. 28, Armed Forces Appreciation Day will be presented by Fort Walton Beach Medical Center at the Northwest Florida “Bull Rigdon” Fairgrounds in Fort Walton Beach, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

 The day will include vendor booths, arts and crafts, food, beverage and children’s activities, along with an amazing lineup of entertainment included with admission. Beer will be available for purchase at the venue. Vendor booths are still available for this unique tribute to our own American heroes, and over 10,000 people are expected to attend the celebration at this all-day event.

The theme of the entertainment is “American Idols for Our American Heroes.” The headliner is Taylor Hicks, Alabama native and soul singer and 2005 American Idol winner, who will perform on the main stage at 8 p.m.

Kimberley Locke, an American Idol finalist in 2003, will perform at 6 p.m., and there will also be a performance at 4 p.m. by “1964” The Tribute, “The No. 1 Beatles Show on Earth.” Rounding out the entertainment lineup will be a performance at 2 p.m. by the Full Spectrum Jazz Ensemble from the Band of the U.S. Air Force Reserve.

There will be music for every taste. Fans should bring a lawn chair to enjoy the performances in comfort; bleacher seating will be available. No coolers will be allowed.

In the “Hall of Heroes,” attendees will have the rare opportunity to meet many of the real-life heroes depicted in the HBO epic mini-series “Band of Brothers” and “The Pacific.” These veterans will be available to meet and greet, and to sign books about their experiences. For a complete list of the veterans scheduled to attend, please go to www.fwbchamber.com/brothers. Many of our local military heroes will also be featured.

There will be a cultural component of the day’s activities as well, with exhibits focusing on the contributions and accomplishments of diverse cultures that have long associations with the military. These will include: African-American, Asian, Caribbean, German, Hispanic, Irish, Italian, and Native American exhibits. Come and learn about these cultures’ unique contributions, sample some of their cuisine, and enjoy the cultural entertainment presented on Stage 2 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Sponsors of the day’s activities include the Fort Walton Beach Medical Center, Okaloosa County Tourism Development Council, the Northwest Florida Daily News, InDyne, Inc., Boeing, and the Greater Fort Walton Beach Chamber of Commerce.

Tickets may be purchased for $5 in advance at the Fort Walton Beach chamber office at 34 Miracle Strip Parkway, SE or at any of the nine branches of Eglin Federal Credit Union. There is an additional $1 per ticket charge to purchase them online at www.fwbchamber.com/afad until Friday, Aug. 20.

Tickets purchased on line will be mailed to the purchaser, beginning the week of Aug. 9. From Monday, Aug. 23 through Friday, Aug. 27, tickets may be purchased in-person at the chamber. Tickets purchased at the venue on Saturday, Aug. 28, will be $10 per person (free admission for individuals younger than18).

For more information, contact Patti Bohnsack at the Greater Fort Walton Beach Chamber of Commerce at 244-8191.

Veterans who will be in attendance at military appreciation day:

R. V. Burgin: As a Marine in World War II, R.V. Burgin fought with K-Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, on Cape Gloucester, Peleliu, and Okinawa, where he was awarded the Bronze Star. Burgin was the platoon sergeant featured in Eugene Sledge’s classic book “With the Old Breed” and was recently portrayed by actor Martin McCann in the epic HBO mini-series The Pacific. Burgin is the author of “Islands of Damned: A Marine at War in the Pacific.”

 Maj. Gen. Frederick C. "Boots" Blesse: Maj. Gen. Frederick C. “Boots” Blesse was one of the greatest aces of the Korean War era. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1945, flew two combat tours during the Korean War, completing 67 missions in F-51s (after World War Two the US Air Force changed all “P” (pursuit) designations to “F” (fighter) designations so the Mustang was re-designated the F-51), 35 missions in F-80s and 121 missions in F-86s. During his second tour in F-86s, he was officially credited with shooting down nine MiG-15s and one La-9. At the time of his return to the U.S. in October 1952, he was America's leading jet ace.

Blesse remained with fighter aircraft for practically his entire military career. During the 1955 Air Force Worldwide Gunnery Championship, he won all six trophies offered for individual performance, a feat never equaled since. During the Vietnam War, he served two tours in Southeast Asia; while on his first tour in 1967-1968, he flew 156 combat missions.

He retired from the USAF in 1975 as a major general, with more than 6,500 flying hours in fighter aircraft and more than 650 hours combat time to his credit.

 Sid Phillips (sponsored by Beach Community Bank):

Sid Phillips enlisted in the USMC the day after Pearl Harbor because the Marines promised to put him “eyeball to eyeball” with the Japanese. Passing beneath the Golden Gate Bridge, he departed his land a nervous 17-year-old. Two years later, when he kissed the docks in San Diego, he had come home a hero. Together Sid and his brothers in the legendary 1st Marine Division won the first epic victory of the war, saved Australia, and stopped the Japanese juggernaut in the Pacific. Today, Sid and his sister, Katharine, have become internationally known after their notable roles in Ken Burns’ documentary, The War, and the Tom Hanks/Steven Spielberg miniseries, The Pacific. Phillips is the author of “You’ll Be Sor-ree! A Guadalcanal Marine Remembers the Pacific War.”

 Katharine Phillips (sponsored by Beach Community Bank): Katharine Phillips, the older sister of Marine Sidney Phillips, and lifelong friend of Eugene B. Sledge, was a sophomore at Auburn when Pearl Harbor was attacked. She returned to Mobile, Ala. after graduation in 1944 and regularly volunteered at the Red Cross Canteen at the railroad station, serving coffee and donuts to the men on troops trains as they passed through. She drove officers around town as a volunteer with the Red Cross motor pool as well, and corresponded frequently with all the boys she knew who were stationed overseas. She learned to cook without sugar, butter, and other essential ingredients, saved fat and tin cans, and followed the news of the war in the newsreels, on the radio, and in the Mobile Register, scanning the daily casualty lists for familiar names.

Buck Compton (sponsored by Wright Plaza): Buck Compton was born in Los Angeles in 1921. While studying at UCLA from 1939 to 1943, he lettered on the football and baseball teams. Compton was on the UCLA team that played in the 1943 Rose Bowl. He participated in ROTC for four years then left his studies to attend Officers Candidate School at Ft. Benning, Ga., where he was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in May 1943.

Compton joined Company E, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, in England in December 1943. He participated in all of 101st Airborne Division's major campaigns in the European Theatre of Operations. He received the Silver Star and Bronze Star awards for valor and the Purple Heart for being wounded in the line of duty.

Compton remained in the active reserves from 1946 to 1966 and retired as a Lt. Colonel. He completed a degree in law, and subsequently served as an LAPD detective, as a Deputy D.A., and as Chief Deputy D.A. for LA County. In 1968, Compton handled the prosecution of Sirhan Sirhan for the assassination of Robert Kennedy. Gov. Ronald Reagan appointed Compton as an Associate Justice of the California Court of Appeal, a post from which he retired in 1990.

Ed Mauser: Easy Company’s oldest surviving veteran, Ed Mauser began his military service at age 24, on Jan. 15, 1942, when he was drafted shortly after Pearl Harbor. He joined the 101st Airborne at Ft. Bragg and Easy Company’s 2nd Platoon.

On D-Day, Mauser parachuted into the hedgerows of Normandy with Chalk No. 69. He landed alone before linking-up with Sgt. Robert “Burr” Smith outside the town of Vireville. They soon found themselves in a vicious firefight around a farmhouse near the town. Although assigned to a machine gun squad, Mauser served primarily as a rifleman throughout the war, trusting his M-1 from the initial fight on D-Day to the Alpine forests of Austria.

During Market Garden, Mauser was one of 23 E-Company men who participated in the famous mission to cross the Lower Rhine on the night of Oct. 22, 1944 to rescue 120 British paratrooper survivors of the 1st British Airborne Division after their battle at Arnhem.

Following Holland, Mauser made the truck ride to Bastogne, clad in his regular fatigues. He endured the “toughest” battle of the war, “thanks to good fortune and the brotherhood that was Easy Company.” He reports being blessed by having a foxhole complex built by “someone who knew what he was doing.” The sturdy structure with a roof saved his life. Mauser was wounded in the fighting around Noville, Beglium, and was sent to a hospital in France.

He rejoined Easy Company as it moved along the autobahn toward Hitler’s alpine home in Berchtesgarden. Mauser spent his time there securing homes and farms and enjoying the beauty of the area in the absence of combat. Later, in Kaprun, Austria, Mauser was awarded the 85 points he had earned and shipped back to the states. On Sept. 17, 1945 he was discharged from the Army in Chicago. Today, Mauser enjoys his retirement, proud of the fact that he is the oldest survivor of Easy Company at age 92.

Ed Pepping: As a boy, Ed Pepping was fascinated with tales of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, who he described as, "extraordinary warriors who lived with service, honor and valor." He adopted their creed.

Ed joined the paratroops and at Toccoa, Ga., passed the tests to become a medic and a founding member of Easy Company, assigned to 3rd platoon under Lt. Fred "Moose" Heyliger.

Ed jumped on D-Day and received a Bronze Star for Valor after just one day in Normandy, on June 7, 1944. As Ed watched, Col. Bill Turner, the CO of the 1st Battalion of the 506th, directed a tank's fire against a German gun emplacement. Behind his tank was a line of six others, waiting to enter the fight. A German sniper shot Turner in the head, causing him to fall into the turret of the lead tank. Ed ran to his aid and pulled him from the tank, but Turner died in his arms. Ed's Bronze Star award reads:

"Acting without regard for his own life or safety, he attempted to save the life of a battalion commander who had fallen critically wounded on top of tank commander, not only halting the advance of the six-tank column, but making the whole column potential targets for destruction by the enemy as well."

Days later, Ed was himself wounded, probably by artillery, in Carentan. He awoke with his leg in a cast. Though he later went AWOL to rejoin Easy Company, his wounds prevented him from future combat.

Amos "Buck" Taylor: Amos "Buck" Taylor (at left in this photo) was an original member of Easy Company having joined the company at Camp Toccoa. Buck served with Easy Company's 3rd Platoon fighting throughout Normandy, Holland and Bastogne. Following his service in World War II, Buck continued to serve his country in the CIA's Far East division until his retirement. Today, he remains an active supporter of our troops having recently traveled to Kuwait on a "Band of Brothers" USO tour and to Fort Campbell, Kent., during a visit with returning soldiers of the 101st Airborne.