By MATT PIKE
Before his talk tonight at Wyatt Park Baptist Church at the Patriot Day Tribute, Captain Guy Gruters visited the 139th Airlift Wing at Rosecrans.
Base commander Colonel Barrett Golden says it means a lot to have someone with Gruters experience come onto the base and give young airmen motivation as they train
"And you do that through providing history,” Golden tells reporters. “And we always talk about you want to do lessons learned and not lessons observed, well if you can provide some of those lessons learned that he provided, it gives airmen some inspiration to continue to do their job and be prideful of how they serve their country.”
Gruters says it meant a lot to him as well to get to speak to so many young people preparing to serve the country
"I love service people, I just really do, they put their life on the line for the country and for each other and I think the world of them,” Gruters says.
Gruters is a retired Air Force Captain who was taken prisoner during the Vietnam War and is the subject of the book Faith Conquers Through Courage Tested.
The name of the book is also the name of Gruters talk tonight and Gruters hopes people take two things away from the talk.
"If you trust in God everything will turn out ok, but you have to pray to have that happen,” Gruters explains. “Another wards the basic thing is, whether it’s macro or micro, as a country or as an individual, you have to pray and do the right thing and then just trust God for the outcome because it’ll be good.”
Golden says he hopes hearing the stories of how Gruters unit never quit, despite the hardships, motivates those young servicemen who attended
"So, I think it inspires some of our airmen to absolutely never quite in the most dire of circumstances,” Golden says.
During his visit to the 139th Gruters got a mission brief on the operations at the air guard base.
Golden says it's special to be able to advocate for the base to an American hero like Gruters
"Not only would he potentially take that forward and then maybe perhaps when he’s at the national level can go you know I just saw an amazing place like the 139th Airlift Wing and they have this thing called the Advanced Airlifts Tactics Training Center, sure that’s like a one off opportunity for him to advocate for us,” Golden says.
But what Golden is more prideful to have shown off to Gruters is the history of the base, and how far they've come with the Advanced Airlift Tactics Training Center
"From four years ago to know in the Advanced Airlifts Tactics Training Center, and to see the smile on his face that we’re still getting after things, we’re still the best United States Air Force, the best Air National Guard in the entire world,” Golden explains.
Gruters, and others, will speak tonight at Wyatt Park Baptist Church beginning at 6pm during the Patriot Day Tribute. Doors open at 5pm.
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