- April 19, 2024
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Tom Piekarski and his family. Piekarski won the 2021 Colonel Gary E. DeKay Flagler County Veteran of the Year Award. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Vince Cautero sings "God Bless the USA" Photo by Brent Woronoff
The youngest veteran in attendance, 21-year-old Marine veteran Mikal George, was the second person to cut the cake at the city's Veterans Day barbecue lunch at Central Park in Town Center. Photo by Brent Woronoff
The oldest veteran at the barbecue, 93-year-old John Vidota, who served in the Third Army under General Eisenhower in World War II, was the first person to cut the cake. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Randall Scott Morris wears a replica uniform of the one worn by his fourth great-grandfather, Lt. Andrew Putnam. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Flagler County Veteran Services Officer David Lydon, Hank Mangels and Randall Scott Morris. Photo by Brent Woronoff
The combined Junior ROTC programs at Matanzas and Flagler Palm Coast high schools served as the Color Guard. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Navy veteran Earl Presley belts out the national anthem. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Participants get ready for the Veterans Day Ceremony. Photo by Brent Woronoff
The American Legion Riders and their director, Coast Guard veteran Ron Dean, right. Photo by Brent Woronoff
The American Legion Riders of American Legion Post 115. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Flagler County Commissioner Joe Mullins. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Flagler County Commissioner and retired Navy Captain David Sullivan. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Veterans Day Ceremony participants. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Hank Mangels of the Flagler County Veterans Advisory Council introduces Special Guest Speaker Randall Scott Morris. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Humans and horses from the 2K Ranch in Bunnell had a good view of the ceremony. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Frank Consentino recites a poem about a Naval battle in the American Revolution. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Flagler Beach Commissioner Jane Mealy reads a message from the Flagler Women's Club. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Tom Piekarski urges people to help serve their communities. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Randy Stapleford, Military and Veteran Affairs caseworker for Rep. Michael Waltz, presents Tom Piekarski with a challenge coin. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Tom Piekarski accepts the challenge coin in a handshake from Randy Stapleford. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Marine veterans sing "The Marine's Hymn." Photo by Brent Woronoff
Veterans and their families get ready for the ceremony. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Scouts in attendance at the Veterans Day Ceremony. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Color Guard from Flagler Palm Coast and Matanzas high schools. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Army veteran Richard Bolleurs. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Vietnam veteran Oral Groves. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Air Force veteran Tommy Tucker. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Army veteran Larry Wolfe. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin welcomes veterans and their families to the city's free barbecue. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Tom Piekarski served in three branches of the military. As a volunteer, he is equally ambitious.
Piekarski received the Col. Gary E. DeKay Flagler County Veteran of the Year Award at the Veterans Day Ceremony on Nov. 11 at the Government Services Building.
In accepting the award, Piekarski, 72, urged people to help those who have served their country.
"It's our duty to assist our veterans," he said. "Veterans sacrifice a great deal to serve our country. Let's continue to honor our veterans by becoming active veterans club members and help when you can."
Piekarski is active in many service organizations. He is junior vice commander at the Palm Coast Veterans of Foreign Wars, assistant chaplain at the Palm Coast Disabled American Veterans, a member at large in the American Legion, a member of the Flagler County Veterans Advisory Council and a member of the Flagler County Volunteers.
The Veterans Day Ceremony began with the posting of colors by veterans service organizations and a joint Color Guard from the Flagler Palm Coast and Matanzas high schools' Junior ROTC programs. Lt. Col. Harry Gilman, a retired Army chaplain, delivered the invocation and benediction.
Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts led the Pledge of Allegiance, and Navy veteran Earl Presley performed the national anthem.
Randall Scott Morris, who served in Vietnam and is a member of the Flagler Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, was the special guest speaker. A staff sergeant in the Army, Morris was awarded the Bronze Star.
Morris wore a replica of the uniform worn by his fourth great grandfather, Lt. Andrew Putnam, who fought in the American Revolution. Morris noted that Veterans Day is a time to honor those in the military who have served our nation, but he added that everyone who is a family member of a veteran has also sacrificed.
Piekarski, who is one of 11 children, said his inspiration was his parents, who volunteered in many veterans organizations. His three daughters all serve their communities in some way, he said, as does his wife, Eileen.
Following the ceremony, the city of Palm Coast served a free barbecue lunch to veterans and their families at Central Park in Town Center.
Mayor David Alfin noted there are about 12,000 veterans in Palm Coast.
"Few duties as mayor mean more to me than recognizing our veterans," he said. "We civilians don't know all of you, but we owe all of you."
After lunch was served, the oldest and youngest veterans in attendance cut a sheet cake. The first to wield the sword was John Vidota, 93, who served in the Third Army under General Dwight Eisenhower in World War II. Mikal George, 21, a Marine veteran, was the youngest.
Here are a few stories from some of the veterans who attended the ceremony and barbecue:
Bolleurs, 46, served in the Army for 22 years, retiring in 2015 as a chief warrant officer 2. He did a tour in Iraq. His last position was as an accountable officer.
"Everyone sends their orders to us, and we ship them out," he said. "I call it the Amazon of the military."
In Iraq, he was in badging control, doing background checks and vetting people who wanted access to U.S. operations or bases, even if they were in the State Department, he said.
Bolleurs has lived in Palm Coast since December, 2020.
Wolfe, 75, retired from the Army in 1972 after two and a half years of active duty and six years in the reserves.
He was an operating room technician at Fort Sam Houston.
But that did not end his service. Wolfe was a Washington D.C. firefighter for 28 years. Since moving to Palm Coast three years ago, he has been a volunteer for the Flagler Beach Fire Department.
"I like serving the people," Wolfe said.
Groves, an Army veteran, served in the 169th Engineer Battalion in Vietnam. He was a power production specialist.
"We did depot repair on power generators," he said. "In Saigon, every installation had a power plant. I was also a substitute operator, and the things I saw stationed at the hospital were wrenching -- guys with no limbs. That's why I continue to serve at a number of organizations."
Groves is a procurement officer for the Disabled American Veterans.
The Air Force veteran served in Thailand during the Vietnam War. He retired as a master sergeant after 26 years of active duty and 22 years of civil service, also with the Air Force.
His son, Tommy Tucker IV, also served, retiring after 21 years. Now, he works for the Veterans Administration in Crestview.
Before moving to Palm Coast six years ago, Tommy Tucker III was an information assurance officer at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City.
"I kept an eye on our network, making sure the bad boys stayed home," he said.
Tucker said the computer network supported 2,000 airmen and 5,000 civilians.
The Flagler County Veteran of the Year began his military career in the Navy. He was stationed in the Philippines during the Vietnam War. He retired from the Air Force and had time in the Army too, he said.
"I spent a lot of my life around helicopters," he said. "An Army Aviation unit in the Philippines, all helicopters. A search and rescue unit in the Air Force, that was helicopters."
