21ST ANNUAL HEROES PATRIOTIC LUNCHEON - HONORING THE GREATEST GENERATION

2024 Luncheon Keynote Speakers: John Fenzel

John Fenzel is a retired senior Army Special Forces officer who has served worldwide in key roles, including as military assistant to the Secretary of Defense, Special Assistant to the Vice President of the United States, and White House Fellow during the Clinton and Bush administrations. He commanded the Special Forces Training Battalion and an Army brigade. Following the September 11th attacks, he served as Staff Director for Tom Ridge in the Office of Homeland Security, where he designed the Homeland Advisory System, the nation’s color-coded alert system. He has also served as Founding President of the NewDay USA Foundation.

John is an alumnus of Tulane University, the Naval War College, and the National War College. Originally from Iowa and raised near Chicago, he now resides in Annapolis, Maryland, with his wife and three children. In addition to his military career, John is the acclaimed author of four novels.

Honored Guests

Sammy Lee Davis

Sammy Lee Davis is a retired U.S. Army Sergeant First Class who was a recipient of the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions in the Vietnam War.

In 1965, Davis joined the Army from Indianapolis, IN. On 18 November 1967, he was serving as a Private First Class with Battery C, 2nd Battalion, 4th Artillery Regiment, 9th Infantry Division, in the Republic of Vietnam.

On that day, his unit was west of Cai Lay when they fell under heavy mortar attack by the Viet Cong as around 15,000 VC swarmed the area. Upon detecting an enemy position, Davis manned a machine gun to give his comrades covering fire so they could fire artillery in response. Davis was wounded, but ignored warnings to take cover, taking over the unit’s burning howitzer and firing several shells himself. He was subsequently promoted to Sergeant and received the Medal of Honor in 1968.

In the 1994 blockbuster film Forrest Gump, during the scene in the movie when Tom Hanks’s character receives a Medal of Honor for his bravery in Vietnam, Hanks’s head is superimposed over real footage of Sammy L. Davis (the man Forrest Gump is based on) receiving the Medal of Honor from President Lyndon B. Johnson.

Bruce Perry Crandall

Bruce Perry Crandall is a retired U.S. Army Colonel who was born in Olympia, Washington. He was a recipient of the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Battle of Ia Drang Valley.

During the battle he flew 22 missions in an unarmed helicopter into enemy fire to bring ammunition and supplies and evacuate the wounded. By the end of the Vietnam War, he had flown over 900 combat missions. Crandall’s exploits are depicted in the 2002 movie, We Were Soldiers Once…And Young, where he is portrayed by Greg Kinnear.

He studied at the University of Washington. After retiring from the Army he worked several jobs in different states before settling down with his wife in his home state of Washington. Crandall was married to Arlene Louise from 1956 until her death in 2010. He is currently an Arizona resident.

Join us at the Veterans Medical Leadership Council’s 21 Annual HEROES PATRIOTIC LUNCHEON held on November, 7th at the Commemorative Air Force Museum at Falcon Field, Mesa.

Sponsorships available. Please contact Tom Eisiminger at 360.433.8937 or [email protected].