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Monday, May 31, 2010

Camp Pendleton Marine Honors Vietnam Veterans

For the last eight years, he's been seen by hundreds of thousands of veterans as he stands there saluting the reason they all came. Sacrifice! People from around the country descend on Washington DC every year. Hundreds from the Nam Knights (Vietnam veterans, police officers, firefighters and other veterans including Iraq and Afghanistan) and hundreds of thousands from Rolling Thunder, all on motorcycles, and you can hear their engines coming from far away. All of these people pass by him but few even know his name.

Staff Sgt. Tim Chambers, from Camp Pendleton, travels across the country to be there every year in full uniform because he says, "It is a reminder of their sacrifice for me." This year, I had a conversation with his parents Randy and Diane Hoge. Staff Sgt. Chambers was recovering from pneumonia he had two weeks ago. He was still just as determined to stand there saluting until the last bike went by. These pictures are from some of the years he's been there to honor our Vietnam Veterans.



The Nam Knights had their ride on Saturday but most of the members also joined Rolling Thunder on Sunday. They pulled out of the hotel at 9:00, due to pull out of the Pentagon Parking lot at 12:00. By all accounts when the bikes started to roll back into the hotel area it was 5:00 and there were still bikes passing through. Hundreds of thousands of veterans being touched by this act of honor by this honorable Marine just wanting to show his appreciation.

One generation honoring Vietnam veterans for their service as Staff Sgt. Chambers' heart is tugged every year. Standing there like the passing of a torch, saluting for four hours or more, in the heat and while many Vietnam veterans wipe tears from their eyes as they see him, they know they are remembered by other generations.

This is so important to them to see this Marine greeting them as they make their way to the Wall. Preparing their hearts for the magnitude of the emotional rush of seeing the names of people they knew engraved on the massive Wall, sadness replaces the joy of riding with their brothers. They remember the cost, they remember the fallen and they also remember how they were treated when they returned back to these states.


I don't know if any has thanked the commanders of Camp Pendleton for sending him or not, but they should be very proud of the impact they have had of Vietnam veterans as well as the newer generation. Many of the Vietnam veterans have sons and daughters serving right now. I know this is true for the Vietnam veterans in the Nam Knights. Some of the veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan were riding in both groups on Saturday and Sunday. I also know this is true with members of Rolling Thunder.

There are so few combat veterans in this nation considering the size of the population. So few understanding what the price of our freedom really is and even less being reminded of the men and women who laid down their lives for it. The reminders of service engraved in the hearts and memories just as surly as the names are engraved on the Wall, connected by this act of appreciation and honor from this Marine from Camp Pendleton. The service trumps generations connecting them in a bond few others can understand.

When we honor the fallen on Memorial Day, we do not honor just one generation, but all of them and this example of dedication stands as a testament this is a family. They grieve for a "brother" and they grieve for a "sister" just as they would grieve for a blood relative. Staff Sgt. Chambers is connecting like a son because he is the son of a Vietnam veteran.

6 comments:

  1. The Nam Knights have the utmost respect for SSgt. Chambers. We met him last year when he showed up at our hotel. He had seen the NK Old Line Chapter's run shirt for that year which featured a photo of the sergeant on it. He wanted to buy one! We of course gave him and his family shirts and they stayed for hours speaking to our group. This year we were deeply honored to have him and his parents as our guests at our hotel and at our private run and memorial visits. At the Old Line picnic SSgt. Chambers also treated us to a song, yes he sings too. He and his family are now a part of ours.

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  2. Hi Slider,
    Thank you for the comment and added information on Staff Sgt. Chambers. His parents are wonderful too. After talking to them and the stories they told, what you just posted doesn't surprise me at all. Imagine wanting to buy a shirt with your own image on it! Amazing man.

    His parents told me about a little girl going up to him last year. Her Dad was killed in action and she went up to him to thank him. Staff Sgt. Chambers pointed to the flowers at his feet and said "These flowers are for your Dad and all the others we came to honor." He talked to her for a while until the emotional rush eased for her.

    Last year I was on the ride to the Old Town chapter and it was wonderful. Sorry I missed the picnic this year but a few brothers took us on a tour so that we could see some of the monuments we didn't have time to see last year. We also had a chance to go to the Wall and my husband found his friend's buddy's name to bring him back an etching. I'll post more about the trip later today.

    I can assure you that the Nam Knights are very highly regarded by the guests at the hotel. I talked to a lot of them and they said how impressed they were with how welcoming all of us (wives too) were.

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  3. Good afternoon,

    This blog brought a tear to my eye. It caused all the emotions to run through my body and make me re-live the smiles, tears, and sorrow that have rushed through my body for the past 8 years that has kept me on my moral path. This is not a one day of the year dedication for me. I just wanted to share with you a little more about me in a short list of blogs that I wrote over the years to bring you even closer to my life and commitment to our Nation. I have never recieved any accolades for what I have done in the Marine Corps aside from a letter a few years ago from a Commandant telling me good job and keep it up. I do not expect any. I love the Marine Corps there is nothing more sacred in my heart and our Corps. As you glance at my blog you will see the first year I was in DC and became a Partner with the 50th Anniversary of the Korean War Commemoration Committee. I had a permit from the dept of interior to put up a display and honor the Korean War Veterans for 3 days. That is what prompted me to reach out the following year in my blues at the Nations Capitol (disregard the date in the pic, this was posted on a website for our section a few years later and tech support wrote the wrong year on the pic). I stepped off that curb 8 years ago with a desire to reach all the Veterans, Families, and Concerned Citizens who I consider Patriots. Any time you reach out to another in need you are a Patriot of America. Once again thank you for your kind words and your love gives me the strength to disregard the 10% and continue to make a difference.
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  4. Anonymous thank you for your kind words but more for doing what you've done giving back. This world would be a much better place to live in if all of us did what we could to help someone else.

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  5. to readers,,,,,
    It turns out that our Anonymous comment came from none other than SSgt. Chambers himself. This is how humble this man is! Just amazing as they come.

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  6. I love the Marine Corps there is nothing more sacred in my heart and our Corps. As you see at my blog you will see the first year I was in DC and became a Partner with the 50th Anniversary of the Korean War Commemoration Committee. I had a permit from the dept of interior to put up a display and honor the Korean War Veterans for 3 days. That is what prompted me to reach out the following year in my blues at the Nations Capitol (disregard the date in the pic, this was posted on a website for our section a few years later and tech support wrote the wrong year on the pic). I stepped off that curb 8 years ago with a desire to reach all the Veterans, Families, and Concerned Citizens who I consider Patriots

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