Area veterans have a ball for Navy Seabee birthday

Navy Seabee Veterans Support Alliance Secretary Ingrid Engle invited veterans to stand when their specific branch music played before Island X-3 Senior Vice Cmdr. Brian Parker fittingly illustrated the reason those who serve regard each other as brothers and sisters.

“(I) don’t care where he’s from, what color he is, who he voted for, or even who he prays to; he is still my brother because he chooses to put himself second and his country first,” Parker said. “For all I know, he has walked where I have walked, dropped sweat where I have dropped sweat, and dropped blood where I dropped blood, too. And that, too, makes us brothers.”

The All-Military Ball has long been regarded as a family reunion as well as a birthday celebration, which is why Parker also made sure to remember those who could only attend in spirit.

A presentation of the Missing Man Table marked a somber but necessary turn to the evening’s proceedings, punctuated by a haunting performance of “Amazing Grace” by CWO Jerry Cannon and members of the Appalachian St. Andrew’s Pipes & Drums Band.

U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde, a Navy Seabee veteran himself, was invited to the podium to speak. Briefly, Clyde gave some background about the American conflict with Iran and asked that America’s troops be raised up in prayer.

“Never forget that it’s our troops who have kept the faith as the folks here participate, and they have given us the freedoms that we enjoy today,” Clyde said. “We are a nation that believes in peace. We are a nation that believes in prosperity for everyone. We are the last bastion of freedom and liberty in the entire world. I’ve been to just over 50 countries, and no country is as exceptional as this one.”

Retired U.S. Army Col. Harvey “Butch” Teston served as the keynote speaker this year. Hailing from Mississippi, Teston attended the University of Southern Mississippi where he earned a baccalaureate degree with a major in political science and a minor in communications.

Teston has received a number of awards and decorations for his service in the Army, Navy and Coast Guard, and he came prepared that night with stories about his experiences. In particular, Teston focused on his time in the Navy.

Keeping the audience hooked with comedic timing and stellar punchlines, Teston utilized humor to engage with his fellow veterans. Nevertheless, he allowed himself to be vulnerable when relating to the politically charged atmosphere that some troops may experience today.

“We never talked about politics – we didn’t ever, except for one time,” Teston admitted, setting the scene by describing the atmosphere in 1977 Panama. Following the signing of the Torrijos-Carter Treaties, Teston said his “guys weren’t happy.”

“We had to pull our American flag down and ran the Panamanian flag up, and that was honestly very heartbreaking,” Teston said with a sigh, explaining that Americans were more than frustrated with the results of the treaties.

“It was very upsetting … (not just) because we gave up the defense of the canal, but we gave up something more. People have to understand, about 50,000 to 60,000 Americans lived in the canal, and they had jobs, they had businesses, they had churches,” Teston described. “It would be like me saying to you, ‘Hiawassee, you’ve got to clear out in 18 months.’”

The frustrations surrounding such a tense time resulted in Teston’s men voicing their displeasure in a rare bout of political venting. Still, Teston revealed that he “doubts” a lot of political talk is going on among America’s troops today “because we don’t need to do that.”

Following applause for the statement, Teston pivoted the night back toward celebration by lightening the mood with more humorous stories.

After his presentation, Chaplain Richard Hoibraten and Parker led the room in singing the Song of the Seabees, with more songs – and dancing – marking an after-party filled with camaraderie and merriment.