Veterans for Trees stands tall in honoring America's heroes

  • Published
  • By Mike Strickler
  • 95th Public Affairs director
PALMDALE, Calif. --  On a scorching Sunday morning that cried out for shade, attendees of the Antelope Valley Veterans Community Action Coalition's July 4th celebration breakfast did the only sensible thing: they planted trees.

While not in pristine conditions for such arborous labor, Antelope Valley veterans, representatives, citizens and servicemen took up shovels July 3 to honor the men and women who took on more daunting tasks in defending America, and keeping her free.

Richard Sheffield, Air Force veteran and founder of Veterans for Trees, said the effort to plant the Groves of Honor began with the death of Kern county resident Army Staff Sgt. Cody Prosser. Sergeant Prosser was one of the first Soldiers to die in Operation Enduring Freedom, giving his life Dec. 5, 2001, near Tarin Kowt in south central Afghanistan.

According to Sheffield, then Kern County Supervisor Ken Peterson and local veterans established a national veterans monument in Frasier Park, Calif., to honor Prosser's service and sacrifice. "However, there were no trees near his memorial," Sheffield said, "and I saw an opportunity to plant a Grove of Honor near it to honor him and all our veterans."

So in 2009 Sheffield founded the non-profit organization and, with the help of sponsors and partners, planted a 10-acre tree farm near Lake of the Woods, Calif. From it, Sheffield and Veterans for Trees hope to plant a tree for every American veteran who has served.

From his account that's nearly 25 million trees.

"For many veterans, when we leave the service, we need another mission," Sheffield said to those attending the breakfast, which was held at Birdies restaurant and driving range in Palmdale. "We have found there is therapeutic value in planting memorial trees, both for the veterans and their families," he said."We are honoring life by creating life," he said.

Col. Gregory E. Schwab, 95th Air Base Wing commander and the event's guest speaker, reminded the assembled that every veteran's story is unique and special, and always the source of pride and awe for the veterans and their families.

"It is the stories of our veterans that give our county the rarest forms of character -honor, duty, respect and responsibility," Colonel Schwab said. "They have a unique perspective on the sacrifices necessary to accomplish the mission."

"The veterans' stories continue even today, and the Antelope Valley has a long line of patriots that are serving around the world even as we speak," he said, "and Edwards Air Force Base is constantly deploying and redeploying our Airmen and Marines to combat missions."

Colonel Schwab told those assembled - several of whom attended from the Pete Knight Veterans Home in Lancaster - that remembering the sacrifices of all veterans with the planting of trees is a noble gesture.

"In today's American experience the knowledge of our veterans' sacrifices will continue to become more and more remote from the lives and experiences of our citizens," he said. "Thank you for keeping their stories alive and the knowledge of those sacrifices present in the minds of all Americans."