WASHINGTON — It’s like the Oscars for military heroes.
On Saturday, just days before Veteran’s Day, an awards
ceremony honoring the military took place at the Mayflower Renaissance
Hotel
in Northwest D.C.
“It’s the only awards program in the United States that honors our military,
believe it or not,” says Jim Roberts with the American Veterans Center.
Each year, the AVC selects the honorees from World War II, Korea, Vietnam,
Iraq
and Afghanistan conflicts. They also have an award for women in the military.
“[If] you think about it, there are awards programs for everything else,”
Roberts says. “You have the Oscars for film, the Country Music Awards and on
and
on and on. There is no other awards program for the U.S. military and they are
… the people who deserve it the most.”
U.S. Army Ranger Joe Kapacziewki is one of this year’s honorees. On Saturday
evening, he was honored with the Paul Ray Smith Award for being the first U.S.
Army Ranger to return to combat with a prosthetic limb.
The award is named after Sgt. First Class Paul Ray Smith, who was killed in
Iraq
and awarded the Medal of Honor. Smith was the first solider who served in Iraq
or Afghanistan after 9/11 to receive the Medal of Honor.
“It’s a very humbling experience to be picked out of the military and all of
our
service members,” says Kapacziewki, who’s been deployed 11 times to the Middle
East, even after losing his leg below the knee in 2005 in Iraq.
“I didn’t want it to stop even though I lost my leg; I wanted to continue with
my service. I work with a great bunch of guys who enjoy what they do so it
makes
it well worth it.”
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