San Angelo Schedules Benefit Dinner for Victims of Midland Veterans Train Accident
(San Angelo, Texas – January 8, 2012)
The Support for Veterans foundation, the San Angelo, TX co-sponsor of the annual “Show of Support/Hunt for Heroes” organization which suffered the horrible tragedy on November 15 in Midland, TX, when a Union Pacific freight train traveling at 62 mph mowed down a flatbed semi-trailer truck carrying a dozen wounded warriors and their spouses during the annual parade to honor them, killing four decorated servicemen and injuring another 16, which included both Purple Heart winners and their wives, will hold a benefit banquet Friday night, January 11, to finance both an education fund for each of the eight children of victims of the parade accident, as well as, provide monetary relief to the injured warriors and the surviving families of the deceased.
San Angelo, which was to be the next stop of the tour for the two dozen wounded veterans and their wives, was cancelled after the tragic train accident. The stop was planned to include a welcoming parade followed by a ranch steak dinner and a deer hunt for the veterans.
“We will raise the funds at the banquet Friday night and distribute them,” attested committee member Mike Boyd. “We felt like that was a need.”
“The dinner is an expression of thanks to those who have supported us in the hunts we’ve had for veterans,” said “Hunt for Heroes” organizer Sonny Cleere of the event planned for the San Angelo Convention Center.
Scheduled speaker for the event, retired Army Special Operations Sgt. Major Hugh Foskey, who was deployed to the Middle East seven times, and who was awarded two Bronze Stars and a Purple Heart for his service during those campaigns, described the tragic events of November 15 as “Hell for Midland and San Angelo.”
“We have to continue doing this,” said Sgt. Maj. Foskey of the activities accompanying and involving the “Show of Support/Hunt for Heroes.”
“We served our country, came back home, recovered, went through Hell and dealt with it for our country, our families and our way of life,” Foskey continued. “Coming back to San Angelo is like coming back to visit my family.”
The 26-year veteran of the U.S. Army participated in the “Hunt for Heroes” in person in both 2010 and 2011, and continues to nominate wounded servicemen for inclusion in the annual project.
