VOL 11 No. 45
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FORT BEND FAIR. BALANCED. INFORMATIVE. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2018
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Official newspaper of Fort Bend County & Missouri City
Warriors Remembered documents 100 Vietnam memorials It mattered not what politicians argued. It mattered not what history would reveal. We had no expectation but to serve where duty called us. We asked for no reward except a nation’s thanks.
The rain-streaked face of this marine cannot help but haunt veterans who have lost a friend in their arms. This Vietnam War Veterans Memorial in San Antonio is featured in Warriors Remembered: Vietnam Veterans – Welcome Home, a photo documentary of 100 Vietnam veterans memorials from all 50 states, published by Col. Albert J. Nahas (Retd.) who lives in Sugar Land. Visit www.warriorsremembered. com.
Austin High School Marching Band & Angels Dance Team Advance To State Championship On October 6th, the S. F. Austin High School Marching Band, Angels Dance Team, & Color Guard performed this year’s show “Mary,” and won 1st Place in Class 3A at the Houston Bands Of America Regional Championships in Conroe. In addition to winning 1st place in Class 3A, they also won Best Music, Best Visual, and General Effect. After receiving straight 1s at the UIL Region 13 Contest at Hall Stadium in Missouri City, the SFA Marching Band advanced to the UIL Area E 6A Contest on
October 27th at the Challenger Columbia Stadium in Webster. At the area contest, they finished in 5th place, which qualified them to advance to the UIL State Marching Band Contest held on November 5th & 6th at the Alamodome in San Antonio. The title of this year’s show is “Mary,” and is a musical and visual journey of the story of Mary Poppins and the magical events of Cherry Tree Lane. The music in the show comes from the well-known movie Mary Poppins. Band Director, Ryan
By SESHADRI KUMAR “Warriors Remembered” is different from memorials of other wars. Here you will find no white granite generals or parade ground uniforms. “Rather these memorials include names of the fallen engraved on black granite, dark bronze fighting men, or the wounded and the nurses who cared for them. Often they reflect the anguish of war and its aftermath,” says Albert J. Nahas, A West Point graduate, with 26 years of military career behind him. The 240-page, coffee table book took six years and 35,000
miles in the making and in 285 photos conveys the stories of the struggles and dedication of the memorial creators and highlights Vietnam memorials’ unique diversity and their impact on the nation. Nahas researched and compiled the list from out of hundreds of memorials scattered all over the country, visited these locations , spoke to the people who erected the memorials and took photographs. “The book is dedicated to all American warriors and the my 29 West Point classmates lost in Vietnam and it represents “Thank you for your service” and “Welcome Home” that many Vietnam veterans have never heard,” Nahas says. Each memorial tells its own distinct story. The Kentucky Vietnam Veterans Memorial, for example, is unique. More than 58,000 Americans gave their lives during the Vietam
war. Among that number, 1105 were Kentuckians. The blue-gray granite plaza of the Memorial contains the names of Kentucky’s 1105 citizens who died. Each name is precisely located so the shadow of the sundial pointer, touches each veteran’s name on the anniversary of his death. Thus, each individual is honored with a personal tribute. Accordingly, every day is memorial day for a Kentucky Vietnam veteran. There is a Vietnam war memorial in Houston too on Bellaire Blvd. in southwest Houston and the Vietnamese community established this memorial. The book won the 2016 Gold Medal Award based on content, visual, style and technical from Military Writers See WARRIORS, Page 3
Demkovich said, “Their hard work and dedication to this program is inspirational to me and everyone that comes in and works with them. The UIL State Marching Contest is the premiere marching contest in the state of Texas, and is one of the most competitive marching contests in the entire country. This is a special group of students and we are all very fortunate to have this opportunity to share in this accomplishment together.” For more information, go to http://www.sfaband.org/. Austin High School Marching Band & Angels Dance Team with the Texas trophy.
Child Advocates of Fort Bend Christmas Home tickets now on sale
Anna Pack, left, of The Design Firm, Child Advocates of Fort Bend Development Officer Lisa Moore, Home Tour Committee Member Simmi Chaudhary, Kara Wuellner of The Design Firm and Home Tour Committee Member Dana Looper.
Visit fbindependent.com or https://www.fortbendcountytx. gov/government/departments/county-services/elections-voterregistration/election-results for the Nov. 6 general election results. Fort Bend Independent will carry complete results of local races and analysis next week.
Tickets to the 27th annual Child Advocates of Fort Bend Christmas Home Tour are now available online at www. cafb.org and at Fort Bend area Randalls stores. The Christmas Home Tour features five private homes in Fort Bend County beautifully decorated for Christmas. Neighborhoods and homes vary each year, so guests who have been to the Home Tour before are guaranteed to see something new each year. This year’s homes are in historic Richmond, Lakes of Williams Ranch, Alkire Lake, Sienna Plantation and Sienna Point. One ticket allows entry to all homes during tour hours, allowing busy guests to see the Tour all at once or visit a few homes each day, depending on their schedule. The Tour runs Friday, December 7 from 10am until 4pm and 6pm until 9pm and Saturday, December 8 from 10am until 4pm. A complete list of ticket sales locations is available at www.cafb.org. “Our plans for the Christmas Home Tour are in full swing,” stated Child Advocates of Fort Bend Development Officer Lisa Moore. “We’ve got a lot of fun things in store for Home Tour guests
this year, including our 5th annual wreath raffle. We’re in historic Richmond and Sienna Point, two neighborhoods that are new for us. There will be refreshments in all of the homes – home baked cookies in three houses, appetizers in one courtesy of Dream Dinners Missouri City and an ice cream cart in another home, courtesy of Southern Ice Cream. In addition, Santa will be on-hand at one of the homes and we’ll have valet parking available for guests at two of the five homes on Friday evening.” The Home Tour is a fun event but, most importantly, it is a fundraiser. Nationally, one in four girls and one in six boys will be sexually abused by the age of 18 and it is estimated that only 1 in 10 ever tells anyone. “The number of children and families served by our Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC) increased 25% in 2017 alone and has increased 58% in the last five years. In fact, by August 31, we had conducted more forensic interviews for children who made outcries of abuse than in all of 2017,” stated CEO Ruthanne Mefford. “By sponsoring or participating in
the Home Tour, you can help us ensure that all child victims of abuse get the therapy and healing services they desperately need.” The Home Tour is one of Child Advocates of Fort Bend’s largest fundraisers. In fact, 94% of the money raised by the tour goes toward programs and services. Sponsorships are still available for $100 - $15,000. “All sponsors who are participating at the $375 level and above are invited to the Sponsor Party prior to the Home Tour and they are in for a real treat this year,” stated Moore. “Our Sponsor Party will be held at The Design Firm. If you haven’t been there before (and even if you have), you’re in for a real treat. There are rooms and rooms of displays in every corner. Between the catering by Churassco’s, an edible gingerbread house, homemade macarons and a festive signature cocktail – you are guaranteed to leave there in the holiday spirit!” To become a sponsor or to volunteer or for more information go to https://www.cafb. org/events/home-tour/ or contact Lisa Moore at 281-3445108 or lmoore@cafb.org.