Badges never worn honor courage of the fallen

Jim Sheeler, Rocky Mountain News

Published July 22, 2006 at midnight

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They are medals often presented in private - in homes, or on military bases in quiet ceremonies. Medals that nobody will wear.

Throughout the year, somewhere in the nation, posthumous medals are awarded for troops killed in support of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Many times, they are given in ceremonies that go unseen.

According to Marine Maj. Steve Beck, they are events that shouldn't be hidden. In some ways, he said, they should be seen by everyone.

"It's not just the Marines and the family who need to see it. Society needs to see it. Over and over and over. Because we need to remember. This nation's at war, and we're all a part of it, and we need to share it," said Beck, site commander of Marine Air Control Squadron 23 at Buckley Air Force Base.

"When a Marine, soldier, airman or sailor dies, we all need to share a little bit in this grief. But it's not just grief. We also share in the positive experiences, and we're mindful of the sacrifice."

Last year, Beck and his Marines organized an event to present the medals to family members in a setting that he says they deserved. He called it "Remembering the Brave."

At the formal banquet, the full summary of action is read, describing in detail the gunfire, explosions and valor that led to each medal. Vases of yellow roses are placed at each table, one rose for each year of the Marine's life. Members of the fallen Marine's unit are brought in to help the family learn about how their son or daughter lived - and, often, how he or she died.

The success of the event spawned a nonprofit organization also called Remembering the Brave (www.rememberingthebrave.org), formed by Beck and Betty Welke of, Rapid City, S.D., whose son, Joe, was killed in 2004, and for whom Beck served as casualty assistance calls officer.

"The respect that was shown to Joe was just phenomenal, and we realized that the respect should be shown to all of them," Betty Welke said. "I really, truly believe that every soldier and every Marine who comes home deserves this honor, and not all of them get it."

The organization is all-volunteer, including Beck. Members of the Marine Corps Association have helped mount sets of replacement medals for all of the families of Marines killed in action.

During this year's event, tonight at the Radisson Hotel Denver Southeast, Marines will present a Silver Star, Purple Heart and Navy and Marine Corps Commendation medal, among others, to families of those killed in action. Michael Thornton, who earned the Medal of Honor during combat in Vietnam, will speak.

Beck had hoped to organize a larger gathering to award medals to all branches of the service in Colorado, but he says he simply ran out of time. Next month, he will be transferred to a position in Washington, D.C.

"I could do this in every state. There are people who want me to do this in every state," he said. "The problem is that I'm a Marine and I've got to move on."

By forming the organization, he said, he hopes to continue the annual "Remembering the Brave" event in Colorado, while educating service members throughout the country about how to conduct similar ceremonies.

The medals that nobody will ever wear, he said, should be the ones that reflect the brightest.

"These medals will ensure that the footsteps of these men are not forgotten," he said. "It's not an ending. It's not a period at the end of their lives. It's a semicolon. The story will continue to be told."

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