Veterans receive community honor

COEUR d’ALENE — Behind them is a long, distinguished line.

Veterans from World War II, Korea and Vietnam.

Thursday, it was time for the younger generation to receive their tokens of gratitude in the form of commemorative Buck Knives, the special blades the Post Falls knife company awards service men and women as a way of saying thanks.

Appreciation shouldn’t be taken lightly, either.

“Every time someone from the community thanks us or shows their appreciation — even just shaking your hand, saying ‘thank you for your service’ — you don’t get that everywhere,” said Marine Sgt. Alfred Negron, who recruits the next generation of Marines from the branch’s Hayden office. “Idaho’s one of the few places that I’ve been where people just at random show appreciation for what we do.”

Army Staff Sgt. David Hammond received a knife along with Negron during a Military Appreciation Day luncheon hosted by the Hayden Lake Rotary Club at Sergeants Restaurant in Hayden.

But aside from working as recruiters, the knives were a symbol of appreciation for what the soldiers have already done: Between the two service men are six tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Or as presenter Graham Crutchfield described it before a packed room of veterans: “For your willingness to put your lives on the line, for us.”

“I wasn’t expecting to have one for myself,” Hammond said of the gift. “I’m very appreciative. I’m from Idaho, that knife was made in Post Falls. That’s a special thing for me. I’m never going to use it. I’m going to put it on a mantel or someday or eventually give it to my son.”

Brainstormed by Crutchfield and supported by Buck Knives Chairman Chuck Buck, the personal gifts aren’t for sale, and only given to service men and women at the team’s discretion. Community donations allow Crutchfield to buy the roughly $200 knives at cost which he then distributes.

Since 2005, they’ve given out around 1,200 of them.

“It means that the community does care about the service men, even if they don’t return,” said Vietnam veteran Bill Conner, who was presented a knife in 2007 after his son, Bradley Conner, was killed by an improvised explosive device in Iraq.

Bill Conner was on hand to see the presentation.

“It’s a tremendous feeling,” he said.

And the line will continue to grow. Crutchfield is still trying to line up awards for the Navy and Air Force recruiters in the future, too, but coming up is a trip June 3 to the Montana State Convention of Disabled American Veterans: A never-ending process of showing support.

Which isn’t taken lightly.

“It’s not something you see every day,” Negron said of the region’s military recognition. “It makes (serving) very easy.”