Gosport VFW Post #7850 hosts annual Patriot Day event

On a hot and humid, but beautiful late-summer afternoon, community members, local veterans, and families gathered in Gosport Town Park for the annual Patriot Day celebration hosted by the Gosport VFW Post #7850. Attendees came together to honor the victims of Sept. 11, 2001, and recognize the generation of service members who answered the nation's call in the decades since, with a ceremonial presence provided by the Owen County Honor Guard and the Morgan County Young Marines.

The ceremony opened with master of ceremonies Joanna Wall, Auxiliary Vice President of the 7th District and Auxiliary President of Post #7850, who spoke movingly about the Gold Star family members in attendance and the enduring sacrifices borne by military families. Following the presentation of the colors, Kelly Jo Rooney performed the National Anthem, and minister Michael Wall delivered the invocation.

Honoring service and sacrifice

Post Commander David Cornett took to the podium to reflect on the historical weight of Sept. 11 and the profound bonds shared by veterans of foreign wars. He emphasized that commitment to service does not end when a uniform is put away, highlighting the ongoing duty to support returning service members and welcome them back to small-town communities like Gosport.

7th District Junior Vice Commander Mike Oaks also addressed the crowd, paying tribute to specific local and national fallen heroes, including U.S. Marine Corps Lance Corporal Jonathan Kyle Price, U.S. Army Private First-Class Brett Everett Wood, and U.S. Marine Sergeant Justin A. Harris. Oaks underscored the importance of keeping their memories alive and supporting Gold Star families.

Major General Timothy N. Thombleson

The keynote address was delivered by retired Major General Timothy N. Thombleson, a veteran with 40 years of service in the Indiana Army National Guard who concluded his career as Deputy Commanding General, Army National Guard, 5th Corps at Fort Knox, Kentucky.

Addressing the crowd, Thombleson reflected on the foundation of the nation's military excellence.

"One of the things I became quite confident in is there are two reasons the United States military is the strongest in the world, second to none,” he said. “The first, very strategic: our ability to project power, to use aircraft carrier groups, to use cargo aircraft, to move troops and to sustain them for a fight, at a very strategic level. But at a more tactical level, our strength, unequal to no other army in the world, is the strength of our noncommissioned officer corps."

Reflecting on the Global War on Terrorism, Thombleson praised the bravery of the nearly three million Americans who enlisted following the attacks on the World Trade Center, noting the difficult choices faced by those answering the call.

"Those young men and women, maybe the hardest thing they had to do was go down and raise their hand, because the brotherhood that they joined would help them out from there on forward," he noted.

Thombleson walked the audience through the evolution of conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, noting the grueling conditions and enduring bonds formed during deployments. He emphasized that while military engagements shift, the primary mission now is welcoming veterans home safely and integrating them back into supportive local communities:

"Our job now is to welcome them back and to transition them back safely into these beautiful small-town communities that we have here in Indiana and around the world," he said.

Concluding his remarks, Thombleson read a personal roll call of fallen service members who left an enduring mark on his life, including Army Cpl. Darrel Smith, Army Specialist William Jeffries, Army Sergeant First Class Craig Boling, Army Sergeant David Davis, and Army Sergeant Gary Henry, before offering a final blessing to the veterans, families, and the nation.