Photo By Sgt. John Weaver | Retired Navy Capt. Bill Dodge, who served as Army Spc. Evan Mettie’s guardian ad...... read more read more
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JOINT BASE LEWIS-McCHORD, Wash. — Family, friends, Soldiers and members of the Yakima community gathered together Tuesday to witness the dedication and renaming of the Selah Airstrip on Yakima Training Center, Washington, to the Mettie Airstrip in honor of Spc. Evan John Mettie - a Yakima native and Army cavalry scout awarded the Purple Heart.
On New Year’s Day 2006, during his second deployment to Iraq with Alpha Troop, 1st Squadron, 33rd Cavalry, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Mettie was seriously injured by a roadside improvised explosive device, leaving him paralyzed with a severe traumatic brain injury and Locked-in Syndrome.
“After Evan’s injuries, his fight did not end there,” said Lt. Col. Roger Gavriluk, the Yakima Training Center commander.
Following his medical retirement, Mettie returned to Yakima to be cared for by his parents. Being the first TBI case from Operation Iraqi Freedom, the Veteran’s Administration had no treatment plan in place and Mettie and his family faced significant challenges. The community rallied around him though, adding on to the Metties’ house to make it more accessible and creating a customized sidecar to enable him to participate in parades.
In 2007 his mother, Denise Mettie, testified before Congress to advocate for increased awareness and benefits for wounded warriors. Mettie’s example would ensure current and future service members would receive better access to healthcare and treatment, but on Oct. 14, 2018, Mettie passed from complications to his injuries.
“He was, if you will, a poster child of goodwill towards military service - someone who sacrificed everything and deserves to be remembered,” said former U.S. Rep. Sid Morrison, who grew up in Yakima and proposed the dedication to the training center. "This naming perpetuates a dedication to service that should inspire all of us, and all of those people yet to come. This is America at its best.”
The mile-long Mettie Airstrip offers Soldiers and Airmen the opportunity to simulate real-world combat situations, enhancing readiness by allowing units to fly in and deploy with live rounds and munitions. It is one of only three facilities in the nation with that capacity.
“This connects the Yakima training center with the rest of the world,” Morrison said. “This naming process is not just for Evan. It’s for a community that has provided support for this training center through the years. For the thousands of people who have been trained here - for those lives who have been saved through the training provided here at Yakima.”
| Date Taken: | 10.21.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 12.10.2019 12:26 |
| Story ID: | 349306 |
| Location: | WASHINGTON, US |
| Web Views: | 178 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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