IN SERVICE TO THEIR NATION
Founder ’ s Message Hello and Welcome to AHERO Magazine !
Lee Stuckey here . As many of you may already know , I am officially retired from the Marine Corps after 22 years of service . I was blessed to have my absolute dream job as a Marine with the ability to serve our country and , as an officer , to serve my Marines .
Now , though , it is time to pass the torch and move on to Chapter Three of my life . Which happens to also be coming just as the 20th year anniversary of 9 / 11 reminds us that we are all Americans – all patriots who pulled together to meet the emergency of a terrorist attack on the country we love .
I ’ ll miss putting on the uniform , as you can imagine , but I am extremely excited to be able to continue to serve our Veterans , many of whom joined up specifically to answer that threat . How I and all of AHERO ’ s volunteers and supporters will do that is through AHERO and its impactful and exciting programs . And by reflecting so much of what our Veterans have been through and how our supporters are helping them get back into enjoying life .
But today we ’ re at a moment in our history that has to be commemorated . AHERO honors those who died on that September day and those who went forward to put themselves in harm ’ s way to ensure our nation ’ s security remained intact and the challenge to its leadership of the free world would fail . That those brave men and women were successful goes without saying .
As we honor those who lost their lives on that day , we will also honor those who , over the course of these 20 years , have fought against the enemy who tried to destroy us . To do this , we have shifted our magazine ’ s story line-up a bit … but we also feel that the stories of those who serve or have served to defend America are always worthy to receive “ high priority ” with us .
Our lead story in this issue is by someone who is a perfect example of an American soldier who understood , and completed , the harrowing missions he volunteered for or executed as ordered to perform . As you ’ ll see when you read Army Veteran Dave Glover ’ s story , he did it with some cost to himself .
But this is also a time to remember all that we as a country are a force for good . It ’ s a time to celebrate : We are hopefully on the back side of COVID and have been able to host or plan some terrific events , thanks to the great Americans who stepped forward to run those or are committed to do so . They include the folks at The Wharf at Orange Beach who made AHERO ’ s Warrior Hook-Up there a wonderful success in May , as well as the great helpers at the various events at AHERO Farms and in Pensacola . We also have initiated a new “ AHERO Ambassador ” in Vet Church Chaplain Matt Williams , whose column , “ TheArts4AHERO ” will now feature his work along with that of other Veterans who have talent in the arts . Check out what the Chaplain has to say along with his artwork in section 3 .
Add to these the patriots ready to make our upcoming 10th Annual AHERO Pensacola Beach Warrior Hook-up in late August the blowout-best ever , and also our good friends at House in the Woods in Maine who invite our heroes to come “ see ” the bears ! And ( I am very excited to mention ) the members of the Poarch Creek Band of Indians ( PCI ), who have graced us with permission to hold some future AHERO events on the beautiful PCI Reservation !
Finally , I want to thank our AHERO Magazine readership and many interested AHERO fans in general whose ongoing generosity and responsiveness are what make our programs possible .
6 AHERO MAGAZINE SUMMER 2021