Saluting America's bravest

Matt Doak (T-G Photo by Brian Mosely) [Click to enlarge]

Matt Doak wears two different, but dangerous hats -- one as a Shelbyville Fire Department captain and the other as a U.S. Marine.

Either time he puts on one of the two uniforms, there's a chance he won't be coming back -- whether he fights fires or the nation's enemies.

With that in mind, Doak spoke of the sacrifices made by local service members during Wednesday's One Nation Under God Luncheon held by the Bedford County Exchange Club at First Community Bank of Bedford County.

The luncheon followed a theme set forth by the Exchange Club in 1964 to promote awareness of the country's rich religious heritage and to remind Americans to trust a higher power for guidance, protection and strength.

The event was also attended by veterans of World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War and the War on Terror. Bryan Dial of the Exchange Club introduced Doak and said he wouldn't be free to do what he likes if it were not for men like Doak and others in the room.

"God truly put something in these men," he said.

Aside from being a firefighter, Doak serves as a squad leader in the Third Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, stationed out of Nashville.

Doak said he was honored to speak in front of so many veterans who have fought in previous wars. He said that it is the efforts of the men who served before him and alongside him that makes all his freedoms possible.

To illustrate this point, Doak read the words of Staff Sgt. Marcus Andrew (Marc) Golczynski, with whom Doak served before Golczynski was killed earlier this year in Iraq.

Some members of Golczynski's family were having a hard time with his second deployment to the war zone, and the sergeant e-mailed them two weeks before he was killed to say why it was so important to volunteer for the mission.

"I want all of you to be safe. And please don't feel bad for us. We are warriors. And as warriors have done before us, we joined this organization and are following orders because we believe that what we are doing is right. Many of us have volunteered to do this a second time due to our deep desire to finish the job we started."

"We fight and sometimes die so that our families don't have to," Golczynski wrote. "Stand beside us. Because we would do it for you. Because it is our unity that has enabled us to prosper as a nation."

Those words were read by President Bush at Arlington National Cemetery during this year's Memorial Day ceremonies.

Doak said that many people today are constantly hearing the negative side of the conflict and said returning soldiers don't like talking about the conflict "because people will get pretty heated with you ... but that's their right as an American."

"But we're making leaps and bounds and we're fighting a really determined enemy that wants to destroy us. There's nothing you can do with them but deal with them ... face to face if you can find them." He added it is hard to put his life and the lives of his men in danger.

Doak also recounted the actions of Marine Pfc. Daniel McClenney, who was awarded the Silver Star after he was killed in combat in Afghanistan in 2004.

McClenney was with two other Marines when they were ambushed from two locations. One was killed instantly, while the other took a bullet in the back. McClenney was hit in the abdomen, but stayed alert despite the severe pain and kept fighting.

McClenney was on the radio calling for backup, having already spent all his ammunition, but help was too far away and the enemy closed in and executed him at close range.

Doak met the sole survivor of that attack, who would not be alive but for the final efforts of McClenney.

"Everything that those guys do everyday is so we can do all the little things we do everyday, just so our kids can have a safe life."