500 honored

Medals pinned on veterans, young and old, from all campaigns

SHIPROCK

Pastor Robert Tso of Shiprock felt more should be done to honor the Navajo Nation’s veterans. The solution, he said, came to him as a vision from God.

In a moving tribute last Saturday at the Phil Thomas Performing Arts Center, Navajos from across the Nation were presented with medals of valor for their service in the U.S. Armed Forces.

“Each of you has paid a price and borne the scars,” said keynote speaker Brig. Gen. (ret.) Jack Fox. “We are here, free, able to come together, because of the price you were willing to pay when others were not.”

Fox currently serves as New Mexico’s cabinet secretary for veterans services.

The “Honoring our Navajo Veterans Pinning Ceremony” was organized and presided over by Tso, a Vietnam War veteran who thanked veterans for their service and recognized the widows and survivors in the audience.

It was hard to find a dry eye in the auditorium, which was filled to capacity.

“We come alongside you in your grief,” said Tso. “We honor the service of your husbands, sons and daughters.”

Fox, former Navajo Nation presidents Ben Shelly and Joe Shirley Jr., and Vice President Jonathan Nez (filling in for President Russell Begaye), served as the “pinners” of the medals. Each veteran in attendance received the medal commissioned by the Navajo Nation.

How it came to be

Tso was born and raised in Los Angeles. He joined the army in 1968, did a tour in Vietnam, and came out in 1971.

“I was messed up until I was 39, then I gave myself to Jesus Christ,” said Tso.

After that, Tso came back to “the rez” in Shiprock, and started working with people with addictions.

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