More than 500 Mid-Missouri veterans gathered in St. Martins to once again to remember the valor of our country's military heroes.
This year's honorary guests included the parents of three Navy SEALS killed in action in Afghanistan and the parents of a local Marine killed in action in Iraq.
The three SEALS honored Thursday evening were part of Operation Red Wing, a mission that took place in June 2005 in the Hindu Kush Mountains of Afghanistan.When the mission went awry, four men - Matthew Axelson, Danny Dietz Jr., Michael Murphy and Marcus Luttrell - found themselves facing overwhelming numbers of Taliban fighters.
Ultimately only one man, Petty Officer Luttrell, survived to recount the story.
Don Hentges, a former Vietnam veteran and president of the Jefferson City Veterans Council, told listeners about Axelson's, Dietz's and Murphy's heroism.
He noted the only chance Murphy had to get his men out of that firefight alive was to climb out onto a mountain ledge, expose himself to enemy fire and make a call on his satellite phone.
"Lt. Murphy knew this would be a one-way trip," Hentges said. "Michael not only successfully made the call, as he was dying he thanked his superiors before he hung up the phone."
Each of the Gold Star parents thanked Jefferson City for its patriotic welcome.
Speaking from the podium, Maureen Murphy said: "I have to tell you, I had a lump in my throat, coming here tonight."
"There were people on the side of the road ... flags waving," she said. "I'm just so honored to be here among a room full of brave men and women who served before Mike."
Speaking to the veterans - many of whom served in World War II, Korea and Vietnam - she mentioned she works for the VA.
"And I feel I can't do enough for the brave people who served before Mike and the boys in Red Wings," she said.
Murphy said her son was a "real good boy."
"He never gave me an ounce of trouble. We went to Penn State. He was going to be a lawyer. But he came to me and said: "Mom, I can't sit behind a desk. I want to become a Navy SEAL,'" she said. "Of course, I tried to talk him out of it, I'll be honest with ya."
But she was proud of him, in the end.
"I just thank God every day I had him. And thank God I had others," she said. "Through this tragedy, I have met the most decent people."
The other parents also talked about their sons.
Donna Axelson said her son was a "strong Christian" and that has been a comfort to their family.
Like Murphy, Matthew graduated from college and went to work, but didn't find it fulfilling. He told him parents he wanted to serve his country.
Axelson said many people know how physically strenuous the Navy SEAL program is, but fewer understand the mental toughness it requires. Of the 237 people who started in her son's class, only 26 graduated with him.
"We knew he would be successful," she said.
Like Murphy, Axelson was touched by the outpouring of support from the Jefferson City community.
"I've never been aware of anything like this (Operation Bugle Boy) in other communities," she said. "It's nice to be around people who love our country and support our troops. It's very heartwarming. Just being able to be here ... it's part of the healing process for all of us."
Thursday's event also honored Sandy and Dale Deraps, whose son, Lance Corp. Leon Deraps, was killed in action in Iraq in May 2006.
Dale Deraps uttered the honest musings of a father.
"If the truth were known, I kind of wish none of this had ever happened to us," he said. "Each of us Gold Star parents, we start out, we raise a kid, we do the best we can, we get them to church, we get them into Scouts, we kick them in the rear, get them out of bed, we take them to school.
"And they are all just the best thing we could do. We did our best."
Deraps said there are three kinds of people: sheep, wolves and sheep dogs.
"Leon was a sheep dog. He was the one whose hair would stand up on the back of his neck. He was right up there, doing what he had to do," he said. "He won a coin toss so he could drive the lead Humvee. He wanted to be out front, getting it done.
"So, we've got to honor these guys. But, it occurs to me, there are lots of guys and gals who we need to keep in our prayers and remember. They went straight to the bottom of the North Atlantic in a submarine. Their plane fell out of the sky over Austria in 1944. They were evaporated on Iwo Jima. They were lost in Vietnam. Some of them just died of the flu. ...
"My prayer is that God can keep his love and mercy and his perpetual light shining on them."
Event organizer Chris Jarboe said teaching the next generation is an important aspect of Operation Bugle Boy. He noted 103 students from four local high schools participated.
Blair Oaks student Sam LePage said reading the inscriptions on the graves of the unknown soldiers buried in Europe was one his most-compelling travel experiences.
"To me, you are heroes," he told the crowd of veterans. "On behalf of all of us, thank you for your service and all you do."