American Valor Quarterly Issue 10 - Summer 2013 | Page 7

As is tradition, the Annual Conference closed with The
American Veterans Center Awards, a black-tie gala honoring
heroes from World War II to the present day. For the first
time, the Awards were filmed for a Veterans Day television
special airing on The Pentagon Channel (a screen shot of
the broadcast is pictured at right).
Awards programs have become increasingly popular with
Americans of all ages and backgrounds. Yet, until now,
there was no awards program honoring those who most
deserve it - the heroes who have defended our country
and preserved our liberties. The American Veterans Center
is proud to have brought the Awards to television, with
plans to further expand the broadcast for 2013 (please visit
www.americanveteranscenter.org in the coming months to
see how you can tune in to watch).

Over the next several pages, you will read the citations of the
American Veterans Center’s 2012 Honorees, which included the
Heroes of Midway and Montford Point Marines from World
War II all the way to Salvatore Giunta, the first living recipient
of the Medal of Honor for valor in Afghanistan.
Pictured left, retired Major General Frederick “Boots” Blesse
accepts the Raymond G. Davis Award for his heroic service
during the Korean War, where he would complete his tour as
America’s leading “ace” pilot of the war to that point. Sadly,
General Blesse passed away several days following the Annual
Conference and Awards, a reminder of the urgent importance
of honoring our veterans and preserving their stories while they
are still with us and able to share them.

During the Awards show, the American Veterans Center
was honored for its work in preserving veterans’ histories
by the United States of America Vietnam War
Commemoration, a Congressionally authroized program
administered by the Secretary of Defense to honor
Vietnam veterans on the 50th anniversary of the war.
Pictured right, AVC Honorary Chairman General Richard
Myers, AVC and World War II Veterans Committee
President Jim Roberts, and the AVC staff are honored
by the directors of the Commemoration.

The American Veterans Center’s Annual Conference is open for all to attend,
with the 2013 event taking place from November 7-9 in Washington, DC. It
is always an event to meet friends, old and new, and always includes a few
surprises. Among the surprise guests for the American Veterans Center Awards
was Greta Friedman (left), recently identified with near certainty as “the nurse”
in Alfred Eisenstadt’s legendary photo “VJ Day in Times Square” by the book,
The Kissing Sailor from the United States Naval Institute Press.
AVQ

AMERICAN VALOR QUARTERLY - Spring 2013 - 7