“He got here to Texas as quickly as he could,” Andy Davis, the First Baptist Belton pastor said when he introduced Belton’s mayor, Jim Covington, who spoke briefly to the crowded auditorium.
Davis recognized many that attended the concert, including Representative John Carter’s liaison, Greg Schannep, as well as the Temple, Holland, Harker Heights, Copperas Cove and Salado mayors among many other city officials.
Brig. Gen. Christopher Tucker spoke at the event before leaving to serve as the senior military adviser in Saudi Arabia for the National Guard.
“We wish you Godspeed to Saudi Arabia,” Davis said as he introduced Tucker.
Tucker drew a few laughs as he lowered the microphone.
“You don’t mind if I adjust this do you?” Tucker said. “There was a tall guy standing here.”
He asked those who were currently serving in the military to stand.
“Central Texas is the best place to be a service member,” Tucker said. “Central Texans care about those in uniform.”
The Worship Choir of the First Baptist Belton, dressed in red polo shirts and khaki pants stood behind the 4th Infantry Division supporting their troops with their soaring voices. Patriotic images flashed on the two large screens in the corners of the room, a woman in the audience dabbed her eyes with her red T-shirt.
The audience clapped and stomped as the infantry division band played Sousa’s “The Stars and Stripes Forever,” beginning a flag presentation. Flag runners waved a large American flag around the auditorium, passing the flag like an Olympic torch as each of the runners gave way to exhaustion after gallantly trotting around their designated route.
After the runners put away the flag, there was a laying of the wreath to the lonely cry of “Taps.” A soldier in combat gear addressed the audience and recited the soldier’s creed, “I am an American soldier,” which ends: “I am a guardian of freedom and the American way of life.”
One past American soldier who served for 28 months in Vietnam sang to the music throughout the program. The veteran, Roger O’Dwyer, the Copperas Cove mayor, said he served in the military for 26 years and has attended the annual God and Country ceremony for years.
“I’m a very patriotic person,” O’Dwyer said.
ccarlisle@temple-telegram.com
