Operation Gratitude - 12 years, still going strong

  • Published
  • By Senior Master Sgt. Ellen Hatfield
  • 349th Public Affairs
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  Twelve years ago, Senior Master Sgt. (ret) Caryl Anne Hathaway and Col. (ret) Richard
Hum, cooked up the idea of a brunch to thank the veterans at the California Veterans Home, Yountville, for their sacrifice and service, on behalf of our country.

This year's celebration June 16 was better than ever, with about 50 volunteers, including the 349th Air Mobility Wing, the 60th AMW, family and friends. Some of the wing's Airmen have family living at the Home, and they took the opportunity to enjoy this special day before Father's Day.

Master Sgt. Amy Lukens-Malone of the Band of the Golden West, sang our National Anthem, and a jazz combo from the band provided nostalgic music for the guests. Wrapping up the fun every year is a lively raffle of prizes donated by our local Solano County benefactors.
The first year of the celebration, the Home still had two living World War I veterans. Over the 12 years of this celebration, more have passed on. Sadly, Colonel Hum passed away shortly before last year's event. A tireless advocate and volunteer for veterans and their cause, his Air Force career spanned three wars - World War II, Korea and Vietnam. He was the first American of Chinese descent to be assigned as a military attaché with diplomatic accreditation in the U.S. Foreign Service. He was awarded five Legion of Merit medals during his career.

He and his wife, Jane, had lived at the Home since 1996, where he was well-known, admired and loved. His proudest accomplishments remained his long and loving marriage to his wife, and his children and grandchildren. Of those, his son, Richard, is a retired Air Force chaplain, and his grandson, Capt. David Hum, a U.S. Air Force Academy graduate, is a MC-12 pilot at Beale AFB.

It was altogether fitting that both his widow and grandson were in attendance this year, as Operation Gratitude chairperson Tech. Sgt. Jeff Forzaglia, 79th Air Refueling Squadron, presented the newly created Col. Richard F. Hum Award, for exemplary community service, volunteerism, and devotion to veterans, to Stanley Davis. Davis, a member of the Travis Regional Armed Forces Council and generous supporter of not only the base but the greater Solano communities, has been a tireless advocate and volunteer for our military and veterans.

"I don't know what to say," he said, accepting the accolade. "Except that this award isn't for me, it belongs to all you veterans."

(To see all the photos from this event visit the 349th AMW Facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/349AMW)