Beyond The Call

This weekend was a special one for our heroes as we gathered in Las Vegas for the Day of Gratitude, hosted by , commemorating the 82nd anniversary of D-Day while celebrating heroes of all generations with a meaningful day of community, friendship, and gratitude.

Our VP of Beyond The Call, Elizabeth Suter, was pulling double duty all weekend, not only volunteering to help care for our WWII veterans, but also leading the entire production effort for a one-hour documentary special through the tv network she works for. The program will air this November and will feature WWII Veteran Don Graves.

This was our first time attending the event, and every detail was thoughtfully centered around our WWII veterans. One of the highlights was watching our heroes, Don Graves and Tony Pagano, rock out with and perform for the crowd!

A special thank you to our dear friend , who served as Don Graves’ guardian throughout the weekend. Kelly generously volunteers her time with numerous veteran organizations, helping make experiences like this possible for our nation’s heroes.

We’re grateful to CityServe Network and everyone who helped make this weekend possible! 🇺🇸 ❤️

For the ones who gave everything for a country and the people they loved, we remember. 🇺🇸

Today we placed leis at Punchbowl in remembrance of some of our personal heroes whose lives and stories we hold dear to our hearts.

May we never take the sacrifices that have been made for granted, and may we strive to live each day worthy of the freedoms these heroes fought and died to protect. ❤️🇺🇸

Honored to spend the weekend with our Liberty Jump Team family in Corsicana as they celebrate 20 years of service and impact in the veteran community. 🇺🇸

WWII heroes Charlie Braun and Al Chatwin joined us as we gathered as a team. Moments like this are a reminder of how important it is to show up for those who served and carry the legacies of those no longer with us.

Grateful to stand alongside this team. AATW 🪂 🇺🇸

One of the greatest gifts we have ever been able to give, and honestly to receive, was bringing Keith Kohler to Iwo Jima to retrace the footsteps of his father Charlie and his uncle Eddie.

This mission began nearly two years ago after our beloved friend and WWII veteran Charlie Kohler passed away. It was always his wish that his son would one day stand on the battlefield where he served, and where his younger brother Eddie was killed in action on the very first day of the battle. Eddie, a flamethrower, was just 40 feet away from Charlie when he died.

That small 8 square mile island shaped the course of Charlie’s life, and in many ways Keith’s as well.

There is so much more to this story that we will share in time as we continue working with Black Rifle on the documentary. But one moment will stay with us forever.

Keith stood overlooking Yellow Beach 1, where his father came ashore, while just beyond, off the coast, lay the waters where his uncle Eddie is buried at sea. We had Charlie’s ashes with us. For the first time in 81 years, these two brothers were as close to each other as they had been since that day Eddie died.

Keith, thank you for honoring your father, for paying tribute to your uncle, and for reminding all of us why this mission matters. To ensure these stories live on long after these heroes are gone.

Charlie welcomed us as family, and we are forever grateful those bonds continue. How lucky were we to know a man like Charlie Kohler. And how meaningful it is to help fulfill one of his final wishes.

In that moment overlooking Yellow Beach, Keith and I looked at each other and said, “We did it.”

For Charlie.
For Eddie.
For every man who served and sacrificed on that island 81 years ago.

This was more than a trip. It was a promise to carry their legacy forward so future generations will always know the men who fought on Iwo Jima. 🇺🇸

In a simple but powerful gesture of reconciliation, Yosh*taka Shindo, grandson of General Tadamichi Kuribayashi, held the hands of WWII veterans Don Graves and Jim Tucker as they sat together, former enemies now united in friendship. 🇺🇸🇯🇵

The warmth and welcome shown by the Japanese to our veterans and team was deeply felt by each of us, transforming ground where so many lives were lost into a place of remembrance, reconciliation, and peace.

We will never forget the sacrifices made on this island, and we hope moments like this continue to bring understanding and inspire future generations to protect the freedoms we have today, freedoms that came at the ultimate cost. Lest we forget. 🇺🇸❤️