BILLINGS - The Montana Governor’s Veteran Commendation honored 51 veterans, including four in Yellowstone County.
Those four veterans received recognition on for their military service and continued service in their hometowns:
- First Sergeant Mike McManus, U.S. Air Force, 1987-2007
- Sergeant Donald Jones, U.S. Air Force, Vietnam
- Specialist Mike Foos, U.S. Army, 1987-1991
- Specialist Clifford Holmes, U.S. Army, Vietnam
Gov. Greg Gianforte, R-Mont., and his wife Susan honored four of the veterans at the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 6774 in the heights on Wednesday
“Veterans are absolutely in the central part of the fabric of our communities,” Gianforte said.
Watch Montana Governor's Veteran Commendation here:
Fifty-one have been honored for 2024 with a total over the years of more than 170.
“When I served in Congress, I was proud to start this tradition of recognizing outstanding Montana veterans,” Gianforte said. “As governor, I've been thrilled to continue it because we owe our veterans an eternal debt of gratitude."
Gianforte does not hold a big ceremony but instead honors the veterans in their communities where they live.
“This is one of the greatest honors that I have, to say thank you to our veterans,” Gianforte said. “The freedoms we enjoy every day are ours because of the sacrifice of these veterans and our communities are more vibrant because these veterans continue to serve.”
And the families are a big part of the commitment for the veterans who serve.
“I also want to express my heartfelt gratitude to my wife for her unwavering support through the years, the occasional kick in the butt, and to my parents,” said McManus.
“I've got to thank my family,” said Jones. “They've supported me a long time. But I can't take credit for all this. The people I work with at the Legion here are fantastic.”
“I want to thank my family,” said Fuss. “And ditto on everything Mike said. “Thank you.”
“I'd like to thank all the family members, friends of the community for my support and everything,” said Holmes. “It's been a great pleasure to serve this community.”
“It's amazing the heart of service that our veterans have,” said Gianforte.
“Father, we come to you in the name of Jesus and give thanks for these men, give thanks for their friends who have supported them, for their wives who also go that extra mile,” the Chaplain for VFW Post 6774 said in a prayer.
Citizens can nominate a veteran from Sept. 2 to Oct. 20.
