As Veterans Day approaches, I am devoting this column to a Fulton youth organization which has seen several of its members enlist in the United States military. The Fulton Wrestling Team, now in its 60th year of record-breaking success, trains hard, fights for every victory and supports each team member—all important qualities of those who serve our country. At last count, since September 11th, 2001, twenty-five former wrestlers have enlisted in our armed forces. Here are a few of their stories.

In my April 2017 column about Fulton Wrestling, I included comments from team member Eddie Van Buren, a 2001 G. Ray Bodley graduate. Eddie, who grew up without many extras in life, credited the wrestling program and its coaches as being “the core of everything I’ve accomplished.” Eddie said that wrestling “teaches you that no matter what you look like, what your body type is, or what your skill is, you can train harder to achieve…In Fulton, success is always about the team.”

Eddie brought that team spirit into his college and military careers. After serving in the Army, including a fourteen-month Iraqi tour, Eddie returned to the States to command three companies, became an assistant professor of military science, earned his Master’s Degree and is currently working on his Doctorate. When he reflected on why he joined Fulton wrestling, Eddie explained, “I was looking for a challenge bigger than myself; I wanted to be a part of something truly special.”

Derrik Wise understands how being part of the Fulton Wrestling Team can be special. When he gave six years of his life to the United State Army, Derrik brought the lessons he’d learned in wrestling with him.

“Self-discipline is a key characteristic that many in the service possess and wrestling is the only sport that accelerates the discovery of how disciplined someone truly is,” Derrik explained. “When I wrestled, our entire team understood that discipline induced perseverance and toughness; we understood that if one teammate failed, the entire team failed.”

Derrik feels fortunate to have further developed those characteristics in his Army career. “I was confident that each soldier would be dedicated and self-disciplined enough to accomplish his or her own individually assigned task(s) in order to accomplish the mission.”

Former Fulton wrestler Matias Garcia, who served the United States in the elite Airborne Infantry Regiment of the 173rd Airborne Brigade, experienced how soldiers, like wrestling teammates, must depend on one another. Matias described one mission that reveals how deep that dependency goes:

 “Our mission was called Operation Dab Sar, [which was designed to] disrupt the movement of Taliban fighters in the Dab Sar Valley. My platoon was moving up the mountain on foot. There were Afghan houses in the rock face and we could see caves just above them. Once we got past the village, a second platoon came up on a suspected weapons cache in a cave and they fired their rocket launchers into it. That set the whole thing off. Instantly, the enemy opened fire on us from three sides.”

Fighting alongside Matias was his buddy, Cook. “We were a team, Cookie and me,” he explained, “and we were as close as combat buddies could be. I would tell him about my family, friends and Fulton. Cookie told me about his home, Hungry Horse, Montana. We would argue about which place got more snow. [We were both wrestlers and] we would tell each other about our teams and tournaments we had been to... Together we talked about our dreams and hopes for the future, and what we were going to do when we get out. At that moment, on that mountain, we were fighting for each other.”

Matias described the hour-long battle he and Cookie fought. They alternated firing guns; one standing up from behind the boulder for a few seconds, firing a quick burst, then dropping down to take cover while the other one stood and fired. As Matias described it, “Enemy fire seemed to be coming from everywhere. I went down to reload and Cookie stood up and pulled the trigger. That was the last time I saw my friend stand.”

Giving your life is the ultimate sacrifice a soldier can offer. Matias saw it in his closest military buddy, and the city of Fulton felt it when Specialist Ken Haines was killed in action in Iraq on December 3, 2006.  Ken was serving his second tour of duty within the war zone. Just 25 years old, he died when an improvised device exploded near his vehicle. 

Ken left behind an admirable Fulton Wrestling career. When he graduated from Bodley, in 2000, he represented Fulton Wrestlers at the Empire State Games and as a member of Fulton’s Section 3 Championship wrestling team. One of his coaches, Mike Conners, remembered Ken:

"This is the kind of kid you want representing your country, because he's a man of honor and loyalty. He showed that as an athlete. A lot of people talk about team, commitment, wanting to be part of something. Ken lived it.”

The United States honored Ken’s service by presenting his family with the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, the Army Commendation Medal and the Combat Action Badge. He was also awarded service medals for Operation Iraqi Freedom and the Global War on Terrorism. Here in Fulton, his wrestling team found their own way to remember Ken, naming their annual holiday competition The Haines Memorial Tournament.

Along with Ken, Matias, Derrik and Eddie, these Fulton wrestlers have served our country since September 11, 2001: Noah Keib, Eric Smith. Connan Ingham, Miah Richardson, Victor Garcia, Tomas Garcia, Chris Woods, Garrett Hilton, Derek Shue, Matt Elliott, Toby Bartlett, Paul Slaver, Clint Hutchinson, Bill Filipkowski, Roy French, Adam DeMauro, Jake May, Joe DeMars, Jacob Bailey, Dakota Diezel, Devon Viscome.

On Veterans Day, each of them deserves our praise and thanks.