By Doug Stauffer
Okaloosa County gathered together to celebrate the military, first with the U.S. Air Force’s 75th Anniversary celebration, followed the next day with a salute to several veterans inducted into the Florida Veterans’ Hall of Fame at the Northwest Florida State College Mattie Kelly Arts Center in Niceville. The Hall of Fame event took place at Magnolia Grill in Fort Walton Beach.
Eglin Federal Credit Union and the Greater Fort Walton Beach Chamber of Commerce hosted both events. Boeing and Northwest Florida State College also sponsored the 75th-anniversary celebration.
Nine panelists discussed the role played by the Air Force during major events in U.S. military history. Topics featured many first-hand accounts from people involved in training for the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo, Operation Desert Storm, the Iran Hostage Rescue Mission, Osama bin Laden Raid, Vietnam War, Korean War, Operation Enduring Freedom Afghanistan and more.
The celebration included several special guests, including SEAC Ramón “CZ” Colón-López, the senior enlisted adviser to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Retired Capt. Dale Dy, a decorated Vietnam War Marine. Dye is the founder and head of Warriors, Inc., a technical advisory company specializing in portraying realistic military action in Hollywood films. He has offered his expertise to television shows such as the HBO miniseries “Band of Brothers” and “The Pacific.”
Ted Corcoran Corcoran IOM, President/CEO of the Greater FWB Chamber, stated, “It’s just amazing that our neighbors and friends were involved in these crucial military operations throughout the world.”
Corcoran pointed out that the Air Force, and the military as a whole, are loved in Okaloosa County. “Our community loves the Air Force. In honor of their 75th Anniversary, we wanted to show them how much we appreciate what they do for our world—by focusing on some of the military operations based on Eglin and Hurlburt. Having some of the Air Force reps involved with the operations tell the story from their perspective—really made it personal,” said Ted.
Among the featured speakers were Cindy Cole Chal (the daughter of the late Colonel Dick Cole, who served as Col. Jimmy Doolittle’s co-pilot in the lead B-25 in the April of 1942 bombing raid on Toyko, Japan), Col. Howard Hill, Col. Larry Ropka, Col. Bill Keeler, Chief Master Sergeant Bill Walter, Lt. Col. Kirby Locklear, Lt. Col. Corby Martin, Col. Allison Black, L. Gen. Marshall “Brad” Webb. and well-known actor, author, and military film consultant, Dale Dye.
“To be with the United States Air Force in a place like Fort Walton Beach was like going home again,” said Dye.” You could see the heritage of 75 years of service to this nation. Congratulations to the Fort Walton Beach Chamber of Commerce for being the “stick stirrer” of this successful event.” The riveting stories brought the news headlines to life.
The state established the Florida Veterans’ Hall of Fame in 2013 to recognize and honor military veterans who have made a significant contribution to Florida through their years of service. Nine Okaloosa County veterans have been inducted since 2016.
Florida Department of Veterans’ Affairs representative Bob Asztalos spoke about the importance of the Veteran’s Hall of Fame. The chamber presented two plaques to Okaloosa County Commissioner Trey Goodwin to display in the county’s two courthouses.
“This is not to recognize the veteran for their military service, it’s their post-military service. It’s for what they did when they came back,” said Asztalos. “It’s incredible to me how veterans will go off to war, will serve this county, will do all of that, and then come back and continue to keep giving. And that is who we are honoring tonight.”
Corcoran concluded by saying, “The quiet professionals that we have here in the Air Force don’t pat themselves on the back very often; it’s our job to do that.”
