8
Smoke Signals
AUGUST 1, 2019
‘The ultimate sacrifice’
Gold Star families honored at seventh annual Veterans Summit
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
Earning a gold star in school is
usually a positive experience.
Earning a gold star as a military
family definitely isn’t.
Gold Star families are so des-
ignated because they have lost a
family member – husband, wife,
sibling or child – in battle.
The seventh annual Veterans
Summit: Gathering of Warriors
held at uyxat Powwow Grounds on
Thursday and Friday, July 11-12,
heard from two Gold Star parents
who spoke about losing their sons
in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Yakama Nation Veterans Affairs
Program Manager Shawn Marceau
(Blackfeet) described the heart-
breaking events that occurred after
his 22-year-old son’s death.
Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Joe
Michael Jackson’s vehicle drove
over an improvised explosive de-
vice during Operation Enduring
Freedom in the Helmand province
of Afghanistan on April 24, 2011.
Marceau said he went from being
a Blue Star father (child in battle)
to a Silver Star father (child wound-
ed in battle) to a Gold Star father
in the space of 20 minutes.
“It is the highest honor,” Marceau
tearfully said during the Veterans
Summit on Friday morning. “Even
a higher honor than my own ser-
vice.”
Marceau served in the Marine
Corps from 1990 to ’94 in Desert
Storm and Somalia.
Marceau recalled how he gave his
son a coin before he was deployed
to Afghanistan, saying that as long
as his son possessed the coin that
his father and family would be with
him.
“That coin was blessed by a lot of
people,” Marceau said.
Photos by Timothy J. Gonzalez
Gold Star mother Shirley Schmunk hugs Veterans Affairs Western Regional Tribal Government Relations Specialist
Terry Bentley after receiving a blanket after sharing her story on the death of her son, Jeremiah, on the second day of
the Veterans Summit: Gathering of Warriors held at Uyxat Powwow Grounds on Friday, July 12.
However, those blessings did not
prevent what all military parents
dread: The knock on the door by two
Marines wearing green dress uni-
forms to deliver the terrible news.
“The next 10 days were a total
blur,” Marceau recalled.
He said that he takes solace in
knowing that his son’s death oc-
curred before Osama Bin Laden
was killed in May 2011. “There was
still a purpose when my son was
killed. He was still hunting the bad
guy who did such a terrible thing
to our nation,” he said. “All of this
has changed my life. … Gold Star
families have made the ultimate
sacrifice.”
Marceau was joined by Shirley
Schmunk, who lost her son Jeremi-
Gold Star father and Yakama Nation Veterans Affairs Program Manager
Shawn Marceau wipes a tear while sharing the story about finding out about
the death of his son, Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Joe Michael Jackson, during
the second day of the Veterans Summit: Gathering of Warriors held at Uyxat
Powwow Grounds on Friday, July 12.
ah on July 9, 2004, during an am-
bush in Iraq while he was deployed
with the Army National Guard out
of Washington state.
After dealing with her grief, she
formed Time of Remembrance, a
nonprofit organization that helps
other Gold Star parents deal with
their emotions and loss. The orga-
nization has a Facebook page.
Both Marceau and Schmunk re-
ceived standing ovations and hugs
following their presentations.
The seventh annual event, first
held in Grand Ronde in 2013, start-
ed Thursday afternoon with the
Grand Ronde Honor Guard bring-
ing in the colors. Tribal Council
member Steve Bobb Sr. carried the
U.S. flag, Al Miller the Oregon flag,
Raymond Petite the eagle
staff, Louis Rober the MIA/
POW flag and Rich VanAtta
the Grand Ronde flag.
Tribal Council Chairwoman
Cheryle A. Kennedy, Tribal
Council members Denise Har-
vey and Kathleen George and
Secretary Jon A. George on
drum accompanied 13 veter-
ans on to the newly installed
artificial turf at the powwow
grounds. Tribal Council mem-
ber Jack Giffen Jr. arrived
shortly after the opening cer-
emony.
Navy veteran Nick Sixkiller
(Cherokee) reprised his role as
master of ceremonies, calling up
Charles Tailfeathers (Blackfeet)
with the Native Wellness Institute
to talk about military trauma and
reconnecting to healing.
Army Ranger John Courtney also
spoke about his traumatic expe-
riences while serving in Iraq and
his arduous road to recovery when
he returned to the Warm Springs
Reservation.
Veteran Gil Calac (Paiute Mis-
sion) then shared his story of trau-
ma following his return from the
Vietnam War and encouraged
attendees to develop some kind
of faith to get themselves through
the pain.
“After seven years of this sum-
mit, now it really makes sense to
me to help another veteran heal,”
Tailfeathers said.
Shalene Joseph (A’aniiih) and
Josh Cocker (Tongan/Kiowa) from
the Indigenous 20something Proj-
ect then encouraged attendees to
play several “getting to know you”
games before they were offered
the opportunity to participate in
See SUMMIT
continued on page 9
Veterans listen to stories from Gold Star family members about
the loss of their sons on the second day of the Veterans Summit:
Gathering of Warriors.