Bucks for the Brave Contest Winners

Celebrating Heroes Through the Bucks for the Brave Contest

STAFF REPORT

The 2020 Record Rack® Bucks for the Brave Contest recognizes the men and women that served in our armed forces, and as first responders, had jobs that required them to be willing to sacrifice their own lives every day in order to protect or save someone else’s. Not many of us can say that, nor understand what that truly means. What they have witnessed and the sacrifices they’ve made in their daily lives can have a profound impact on them. Bucks for the Brave is a platform that allows these loved ones and communities that support them, to share their stories and unite us all in honoring and recognizing their service to our great nation.

This contest allowed people to nominate Veterans (no longer serving) and retired First Responders (Law Enforcement, Firefighters and EMTs) to win the hunt of a lifetime. This all-inclusive hunt was slated for Veteran’s Day weekend, November 11-15, at Trinity Oak’s Thumbtack Ranch in Batesville, Texas. The contest recognizes one winner from eight categories: Air Force Veteran, Army Veteran, Coast Guard Veteran, Marine Corps Veteran, Navy Veteran, Retired Firefighter, Retired Law Enforcement and Retired EMT.

Ricardo Soto USAF VETERAN & CURRENT LEO

“WHOM SHALL I SEND? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” Isaiah 6:8

This is the what my husband heard when he decided to enlist in the United States Air Force. Since September 11, 2001, he knew that he had to do something to make this world a better and safer place. He knew he was called to serve our nation. At just 17 years of age, he enlisted in the Air Force and waited patiently to begin his training. He completed his training in 2006 and headed to serve overseas in his new position in Security Forces.

He was deployed twice and did all he could to serve our nation well. He separated from the military in 2009 and began working on life after the military. It was a bit of an adjustment, to say the least, but he still felt called to serve. He remained in the USAF Reserve and pursued a career in law enforcement.

Though he no longer serves our nation through the military, his calling is still the same. He knew something needed to be done to make this world a better place and safer for our generations to come. I believe he is deserving of this hunt because he continuously puts others before himself, whether he is wearing a uniform or not.

This hunt would be a dream hunt because not only would he get to live out his dream to get an amazing buck, but most importantly he would get the camaraderie that only happens with other members of the military. My hope is that you select my husband because of selfless, sacrificial service in the United States Air Force.

Jeffery Mallory RETIRED COAST GUARD VETERAN

JEFF IS A RETIRED SENIOR CHIEF Boatswain’s Mate with the US Coast Guard (19802008). He currently resides in Northern Michigan with his wife of 38 years. Jeff has three children and four grandchildren. He touched countless lives during his 28 years in the Coast Guard. Being a Chief at the Stations, Jeff shaped the lives of many young people into high quality productive adults for this great nation. Jeff is a certified boat operator on vessels ranging from 14-foot ice skiffs to 140-foot icebreakers. Jeff has operated boats and cutters on the Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, Great Lakes, Saint Lawrence Seaway and Alaskan waters. Operation of these boats was conducted day and night, including the harshest weather conditions and the most urgent situations when lives were on the line. Jeff was the Executive Officer of Coast Guard Station Manistee, Mich., and Station Marbleheard, Ohio, during his career. Both of these stations were multi-mission stations including search and rescue, law enforcement and ice rescue. For example, when Jeff was at Station Marblehead, he was the on-scene commander for the largest ice search and rescue case in Lake Erie history. These heroic acts saved 175 people off of an ice shelf that had broken away from shore. Jeff was Executive Officer of Coast Guard Cutter Point Ledge, home port in Fort Bragg, Calif. This cutter’s mission included search and rescue and fisheries law enforcement. While assigned to Fort Bragg, Jeff earned a Coast Guard Achievement Medal as Coxswain of a 44-foot Motor Lifeboat (MLB). During this rescue a trawler was disabled in the Surf in heavy weather. Jeff was the Coxswain of the 44 MLB and was able to battle the breaking surf to tow

the trawler into deeper water during this horrific storm. Three days passed before the storm subsided enough to allow Jeff to safely tow the trawler back to shore, saving the crew and trawler.

Jeff was First Lieutenant of Coast Guard Cutter Neah Bay, home port Cleveland, Ohio. Cutter Neah Bay is an Ice Breaker in the Great Lakes. Their mission included ice-breaking in the Great Lakes, St. Lawrence Seaway and all connecting waterways. Jeff is a certified Surfman - the highest level of Coast Guard boat operations. He’s received two Coast Guard Commendation Awards, four Coast Guard Achievement Awards and nine Coast Guard Good Conduct Awards.

After retiring from the Coast Guard, Jeff has continued to honor his country and local community. Jeff now serves as the Harbormaster for the city of Frankfort, Mich. He has been a high school softball coach in Frankfort for 21 years. He gives back his time to the community on the Frankfort Board of Athletic Association. Jeff has always been an outdoorsman with a passion for fly fishing. Jeff is a member of Sport Fish Michigan, where he passes his love and knowledge for fly fishing to others.

James Walker RETIRED NAVY & ARMY VETERAN

JAMES JOINED THE NAVY ON HIS 18TH BIRTHDAY and turned 19 in boot camp. He served on five different submarines in his first 14 years. He survived the fire and loss of the USS Bonefish where he lost three shipmates.

He didn’t hesitate to take orders to four more submarines. He received his officer’s commission as a nurse and served 10 more years.

He deployed to Kuwait and served with the Army Coordinating medivacs out of Southern Iraq and Kuwait. After his retirement, he was hired by The Army as a nurse and continues to serve our active duty service members and their families. On Aug. 25, he completed 35 years of continuous service between the Navy and Army. He currently works in the mental health field working with families struggling with mental health issues and coordinating care to make sure our servicemen and servicewomen can focus on the mission. Thomas Stone RETIRED ARMY VETERAN & CURRENT LEO

TOM SERVED IN THE ARMY FOR 25 years, retiring as a Sergeant Major. He was active duty, National Guard and Reserves. He was deployed to combat three times in his 25 years, and during his service received a Bronze Star with Valor and a Purple Heart. Tom served in Desert Storm, Iraq and Afghanistan. After active duty, he became a police officer, and has been with the LAPD for 22 years. He has worked several assignments and is now a sergeant in the Metropolitan Division. In 2017 Tom joined the board of directors of Dark Horse Project. It is a 501C3 veteran and first responder charity organization. Tom has done so much for others and given his life to service and helping others.

Steve Oswald RETIRED EMT

STEVE IS A VIETNAM VETERAN, 1ST Army Cavalry Division, 82nd Airborne, retired firefighter and paramedic. He has been spending part of his retirement teaching his son-in-law and granddaughter how to hunt.

Bingham Hefner RETIRED FIREFIGHTER BINGHAM IS A RETIRED CHARLOTTE, N.C., FIREFIGHTER. HE SERVED FOR 27 years/ During his service, he received several medals of honor for his rescue and bravery. He has a humble side and never boasts or brags about the rescues he made during his time of service. Just another day in the life of a firefighter was the motto he lived by.

Since retiring, he continues his work for the line of duty. He rides bicycles 500-600 miles in a week with the Brotherhood organizations around the country raising money for the families of the line of duty deaths (police, firefighters, EMTs, and service animals killed in the line of duty). He has traveled from North Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana, Kentucky and Texas to honor these families. Last year, he nominated Danny Foley. Danny was a FDNY firefighter that lost his brother FDNY Tommy Foley when the South Tower collapsed on Sept. 11. Danny spent 11 days at Ground Zero and found Tommy. Sadly, Danny developed pancreatic cancer from all the toxic exposures at Ground Zero. He got to enjoy this hunt while battling the cancer. We lost Danny in February of 2020.

Bingham is an avid hunter and fisherman. He also competed on the rodeo circuit as a bareback rider and steer wrestler for many years. But more importantly, he loves the Lord, his wife of 34 years, three sons and two beautiful daughter-in-laws. He is a family man. He has passed on his love of the sport of hunting, fishing and rodeo onto his sons.

Joe Pizzini RETIRED USMC & USAF VETERAN

JOE SERVED IN KOREA WITH THE MARINES that got surrounded by the Chinese at the Chosen Reservoir. He loves to share stories of how he survived, especially how cold it was and how they all froze during the fighting. He also served in the Air Force during Vietnam. He tells stories about his time there and other countries that he was stationed at. He also took part in the nuclear bomb testing that was done in the ocean. He was on one of the ships when they exploded nuclear bombs to see what the effects if any would be on him and the others. He ended serving over 20 years in between the Marines and the Air Force before retiring.

Patrick Burns RETIRED LEO & MARINE CORPS VETERAN

TO SAY THAT PATRICK BURNS IS A ROLE model does not do it justice. The oldest of seven, Patrick and his younger siblings grew up in a very abusive household. At a young age, he was forced to leave his home. In 1968, at the height of the Vietnam War, Patrick chose to drop out of high school and enlist with the U.S. Marine Corp.

At the age of 17, Patrick deployed to Vietnam where he proudly served his country. During this time, Patrick was infected with malaria and was severely wounded while in battle, requiring several operations and hospitalization or one year. His heroic efforts as a Marine in Vietnam led to him being awarded a Purple Heart.

While recovering in the hospital, he managed to obtain a GED. Once he returned home, Patrick decided he was not done serving. In 1972, he joined the City of Miami Police Department, where he served for 25 years, eventually retiring in 1995 as a Major. During his service with the police department, Patrick virtually worked in every capacity of law enforcement including training field officers and commanding tactical units.

Prior to retiring, Patrick received the very prestigious Medal of Honor from the City of Miami for his work in the 1980 Miami riots (a very violent time in Miami’s history).

Due to growing up in such an abusive household, Patrick wanted to do his part to make sure kids in a similar situation had a chance to make something out of themselves. As a police officer, he introduced an inner-city boxing program aimed at keeping young boys off the streets and out of trouble. What started as his own project soon became a City of Miami Police Department Community Relations program with five boxing gyms located in the most trouble-stricken neighborhoods of Miami. Patrick is responsible for keeping a number of kids out of the gang life and for giving them something to fight for.

He eventually went on to coach six world champions in the sport of boxing, including some popular names you may know today. In 1988, Patrick would go on to marry the woman of his dreams and now has two wonderful children that are also doing their part to make an impact in this world. Although he is on 100% disability from his injuries sustained fighting the Vietnam War, there is nothing that Patrick loves more than hunting. Patrick is someone that so many people can say had such an amazing impact on them and to this day, he would still give you the shirt off of his back. Speaking from my heart, Patrick is someone that deserves nothing but the best.