Fort Hood Survivor Sergeant Alonzo Lunsford paid a visit to Lubbock over Memorial Day weekend, to honor fallen service men and women.
“One of the things that upsets me, and would really upset any veteran, is when you say ‘Happy Memorial Day,'” Lunsford said, “This is not a day to be happy. This is a day of reflection. A day of honor.”
Sergeant Lunsford was shot six times during the Fort Hood shooting that killed 13 people in the 2009 terror attack by Nidal Hasan.
The attack left Lunsford partially blind due to his injuries. Lunsford said you can’t truly understand the sacrifice military members make every day until you serve in uniform.
“Everyone that’s in uniform, they’re in uniform because they want to be. And they know that at any given moment’s notice, they’re going to be called up to go to fight and they may not come home the same way they left,” Lunsford said, “Or they may not come home at all. But that’s the price you’re willing to pay, so that the next man may live. That’s a lot of weight to carry on your shoulders, but you do it because it’s the love and the pride and loyalty that you have toward your country.”
Sergeant Lunsford said he encourages every not only to thank a veteran on Memorial Day, but to ask them about the truth of their service, and what it means to serve in uniform.
