Hometown Heroes: Featuring Senior Airman Michael J. Buras
Its hard to believe how fast this year has been. It seems like just last week, I was writing about Thanksgiving. Christmas always comes as a time of reflection, of what we have accomplished within the past year. It also comes as a time to gather with family, laugh with loved ones, and glare from the window as your family’s version Cousin Eddie pulls in the driveway. For others, its a time to remember loved ones. The Buras family is no exception. This Christmas, I would like to introduce the Hometown Heroes series. Our featured hero comes from my hometown, Senior Airman Michael J. Buras.
We all remember our first encounter with war. For the oldest living Veterans, they may recall President Roosevelt’s address to the nation following the attacks on Pearl Harbor, for the grandparents among us, you may remember sitting in your living room as the Vietnam war was televised in real-time. Or, you may have been in Vietnam yourself. For our fathers, we remember the invasion of Iraq and Kuwait. For our younger fathers, we remember 9/11. For me, I remember my first encounter with war. I was very young when the planes hit the Twin Towers. Growing up, I was one of the only ones in my age group that could remember that day. I don’t remember much, but I do remember my mother standing in the living room, on the phone with what I suspect would have been my dad when the second plane hit. I didn’t grasp what was going on then, but I realized it wasn’t good. Thousands of Americans answered the call after 9/11. Senior Airman Michael J. Buras is one of those great Americans. When we think of Christmas, we often think of coming together. We gather with family and friends whom we haven’t seen all year. While we eat, drink, and laugh with loved ones, we often forget about those who make the ability to gather freely a reality.
Michael and I share the same hometown, Fitzgerald, Georgia. Michael was born in July of 1987 in Tifton, Georgia, the nearest civilization from Fitzgerald (30-minute drive). Michael enlisted in the Air Force in April of 2006. Following basic training, he was trained as an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) technician at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, from July of 2006 until June of 2007. He was then assigned as an EOD technician with the 99th Civil Engineer Squadron at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, from June of 2007 until he was tragically killed in action, in Kandahar, Afghanistan, on September 21, 2010. During his life, Michael deployed 3 times in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. He is buried at Andersonville National Cemetery in Andersonville, Georgia. Michael was killed in action by a roadside bomb. Michael is a decorated Veteran, evidenced by his pictured ribbons.
Just like families come together for Christmas, our whole community came together for Michael and his family. That is where my first real memory and impression of war came from. When I say the whole community stopped what it was doing, I mean it. When Michael returned home, police, state patrol, sheriff’s department, and many others gave Michael a presidential-style escort into town.
The streets were lined with members of the community waiving American flags proudly and somberly. People waited in long lines to pay their respects to the family and his final services were broadcast on the local radio station. Just like at Christmas, everyone came together. Everyone. Very rarely are we truly united anymore. The nightly news is good at finding what divides us, but rarely will you hear a story of total unity. This event, as terrible as it is, is one that brings hope. It shows we as Americans can still come together to support one another, and can continue to do so. Michael’s memory lives on in many ways, one of which includes an annual memorial 5k run.
When you gather with your family this Christmas, I hope you will think of Michael, and thousands of other Veterans who make our freedoms a possibility. If you know of a hometown hero I should feature here, drop me a line. It has been an amazing year. I have been able to helped more Veterans than I ever would have thought possible. To me, every Veteran is a unique example of what makes this Country great. Michael sure is one. Let’s not forget we still have the ability to come together, no matter what the occasion, no matter the struggle, no matter the odds.
Merry Christmas and Godspeed.