David Petraeus, the West Point graduate who made the Army a career and became a four-star general, didn”™t have to give any military speeches, sit through Congressional hearings or answer questions from the press June 25.
His visit to Cornwall, planned several months before President Obama put him in charge of the war in Afghanistan, was to attend his class of 1970”™s 40th high school reunion. His trip home would include a tour of the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor in nearby New Windsor and spend time with family and friends, who include Alan Seidman, former Orange County legislator.
Andy Komonchak, who sits on the Hall”™s board, asked Seidman if he could persuade his high school buddy to come and spend a few hours with veterans and Gold Star families while he was visiting last weekend. The message was relayed, and Petraeus accepted.
Komonchak, along with friend and partner Richie Lay (executive director of Leadership Orange) and a host of volunteers, soon found themselves overwhelmed with requests from veterans to be included in the afternoon event.
Komonchak hoped to attract 800. By the time the group reached 1,200, they had to close the reservation book ”“ Anthony”™s Pier 9 had run out of room for the planned luncheon and program. Still, “When we told the Bonura family we would have 400 more people than we planned, the answer was, ”˜No problem,”™” said Komonchak.
More than 100 Purple Heart veterans ranging in age from 30 to nearly 90 were in attendance, along with Gold Star families (who have lost a son or daughter in war) and hundreds of veterans from all walks of life who went into battle, “Where all gave some ”“ and were witness to those who gave all,” said the general.
Rounding off the crowd were business people who helped to contribute to the event with time, finances or both.
Petraeus personally thanked each Purple Heart recipient, welcoming them to join him stage and presenting each with a Commander”™s Coin in honor of their service, saying he was “humbled by the unbroken chain of heroes ”“ a long ”˜purple line”™ ”“ each personally experiencing what it was like to be bruised, bleeding and broken in service to their country … who wear a purple heart sought by none, but respected by all.”
Petraeus acknowledged a comrade from every war with their personal story, ending with Captain Scott Smiley, wounded by an IED (improvised explosive device) in northeastern Iraq in 2006 which left him permanently blind. Despite his injuries, Smiley remains on active duty, working with wounded warriors at Keller Army Hospital at West Point.
Petraeus said soldiers fighting in the Middle East “confront ruthless and barbaric enemies. They stand on the shoulders of those who came before them and draw strength from them. They are neither cocky or arrogant ”“ and when asked to fight the Taliban in Afghanistan or extremists in Iraq will say, ”˜Send me.”™ We are incredibly blessed to have those who have answered the call to duty.”
A stained-glass window depicting the official Purple Heart stamp will be placed in the Hall opf Honor in Petraeus”™ honor, created by Thomas Munterich in Cornwall and paid for by USA Datanet, Advance Testing and Cornwall High School”™s Class of 1970.
Petraeus said his goodbyes to a cheering crowd and made his way over to Cornwall High School to give the commencement speech to the Class of 2010, then on to his own 40th class reunion. Then, it was back to the business at hand: the war on terror and the challenges in the days and weeks ahead.
