Service Members Honored at State of the Union

I saw a man in uniform sitting next to First Lady Laura Bush at the State of the Union speech.. Nowhere do I remember him introduced, but that may be me, Looking for who it was I found that several members of our Armed Services were honored guests

Clarence W. "Bud" Clay Jr., father of fallen Marine (Pensacola, Fla.)

Bud Clay's son, Staff Sgt. Dan Clay, 27, was killed on Dec. 1, 2005, in Fallujah. He was on his second tour of duty in Iraq, assigned to 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, of Twentynine Palms, Calif., attached to the 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force. Staff Sergeant Clay was a member of the Junior ROTC program and enlisted shortly after his high school graduation in 1996. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Sara Jo Clay, mother of fallen Marine (Pensacola, Fla.)

Sara Jo Clay is the mother of Staff Sgt. Clay and the wife of Bud Clay.

Lisa Clay, wife of Fallen Marine (Aurora, Ohio)

Lisa Clay is the wife of Staff Sgt Clay.

Technical Sgt. Jamie Dana and Rex, USAF (Smethport, Pa.)

Dana joined the Air Force in 1998 and is stationed at Peterson Air Force Base outside of Colorado Springs, Colo. Her dog, Rex, is a 5-year-old German shepherd former working military dog.

Dana and Rex trained together for three years before deploying as a team first to Pakistan and then to Iraq. While in Iraq, their assignments included supporting Army personnel by clearing vehicles at checkpoints and searching buildings for booby traps and explosives.

On June 25, 2005, the pair was riding in a Humvee when a roadside bomb exploded, wounding Dana. Later, as she recovered at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, she sought to adopt Rex. A law prohibited the adoption of working dogs before the end of their useful lives, but this prohibition was lifted as a result of the Defense Appropriations Bill that the president signed into law on Dec. 30, 2005, and the Air Force granted her permission to adopt Rex.

Sgt. Wasim Khan, USA (New York, N.Y.)

Born and raised in Pakistan, Khan and his family moved to the United States in 1997. He entered the U.S. Army in 1998 and subsequently deployed with the 2/3 Field Artillery Battalion to Iraq. He was wounded during an RPG attack and is receiving treatment at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

Khan's awards and decorations include the Purple Heart, Army Commendation, Army Achievement (6), Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, NCO Professional Development Ribbon, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal and the Air Assault Badge. He holds a bachelor's degree in physics and mathematics and speaks five languages.

Commander Kimberly Evans, USN (Mason, Ohio)

Evans has served in the U.S. Navy since 1988. She served seven-and-a-half months commanding a Provincial Reconstruction Team in Afghanistan in 2004-2005, becoming the first female Navy officer to command such a team. She oversaw 80 U.S. Army soldiers and 90 Afghans and directed operations in a physically demanding environment that spanned three provinces in western Afghanistan. Commander Evans' awards include the Meritorious Service Medal, the Navy Commendation Medal and the Navy Achievement Medal. She and her husband, Michael, have two sons, 15 and 10.

Second Class Aviation Survival Technician Joel Sayers, USCG (Dublin, Va.)

Sayers has served in the U.S. Coast Guard since 1994. He is credited with heroic efforts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, organizing the rescue of 167 people in New Orleans. In one instance, AST2 Sayers descended from a helicopter to rescue a woman from a rooftop and subsequently returned to the roof with an ax to free her physically handicapped husband who was trapped in the attic. AST2 Sayers is stationed at the Aviation Training Center in Mobile, Ala.

Sgt. Nicholas "Nick" Graff, USMC (Webster Groves, Mo.)

Graff served in Iraq as a Mobile Electronic Warfare Support System Vehicle Commander during Operations Al Fajr and Matador and various other Operation Iraqi Freedom missions. He is a highly proficient Arabic linguist and has applied his linguistic skills, operational knowledge and combat experience to developing a comprehensive training package for the 2nd Radio Battalion Signals Intelligence Support Detachments.

While serving in Iraq, he suffered injuries during Operation Al Fajr in Fallujah. He was awarded a Purple Heart and volunteered to return to Iraq after his recovery. Presently, he is stationed at Camp Lejeune conducting training and skill development for his battalion.
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Our armed forces are filled with people such as these. I wish more venues would highlight them. So much is said about the mundane issues in Washington, and so little about people who offer everything to serve their country.