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Beginning in the last four years of my tenure as Benton County Sheriff, we felt it was important to do something special for the men and women who had served in our Armed Forces. We heard about several hundred Veterans in our area that had not received the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal that they had earned during WWII. (Click here to see this site about the medal). Our office contacted local VFW Posts and asked them to assist us in identifying and locating the Veterans in our area who had not received their medal.

In a special ceremony held annually during the next three years, an active-duty two star General would award approximately 600 Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medals to those men and women veterans. At the close of each ceremony, we arranged a military “missing man” fly-over formation. Vintage WWII aircraft flew over during the third annual ceremony. The celebrations ended with a sit down lunch that provided time for reflection and visiting with fellow veterans and their families.

We enjoyed the three ceremonies so much. It was important to continue the annual event of honoring our Veterans. In the forth year, the “Benton County Sheriff’s Office Annual Appreciation Lunch for Veterans” was born. The hope was that after my retirement the event would continue. Unfortunately, it did not. However, I can assure you that when I am re-elected as your Sheriff, this annual event will once again become an important event.