We are committed to honoring those who have served by connecting churches, volunteers, and communities with veterans in need — especially those facing hardship, homelessness, or isolation.
Serving those who are serving, have served, and those who paid the ultimate sacrifice. Through outreach, fellowship, and partnership, we ensure that no veteran stands alone.
We connect veterans with churches, volunteers, and community partners across Alabama — building relationships, restoring dignity, and reminding every veteran they matter.
We support the 110-bed veterans shelter at the Colonnade through fellowship, practical assistance, and personal engagement — helping restore hope, dignity, and stability.
Local Sunday School classes and church groups adopt and encourage veterans through meals, visits, prayer, and ongoing support — living out faith through action.
Join us on May 27 at 6:00 PM as we gather to honor those who have served and remember those who gave everything.
This year’s banquet will feature special guest speaker Jeff Struecker, whose story of courage and faith was portrayed in Black Hawk Down.
Together, we will reflect, recommit, and stand in support of Alabama’s veterans.
Briarwood Presbyterian Church, PCA
May 27
6:00 PM
We believe in patriotism, love of our great country. Men and women who serve in our military have the ultimate patriotism. They are willing to serve, defend and in some cases give their lives for their country – our country, America.
The positive things that can be said of our nation are ones attained through the blood, sweat and tears of many different types of soldiers: our forefathers, who literally gave their lives for our nation. They framed the Constitution and it still stands today as one of the single greatest documents ever written. It ensured many rights for us and our “pursuit of happiness.”
Soldiers, whether Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard or Marines are all soldiers serving our country and keep it safe. They may go by different names: soldiers, seamen, airmen, guardsmen and Marines, they are all soldiers to us. We do not distinguish between which branch of our served they serve it – they serve and they are our soldiers for freedom.
We owe a great deal of gratitude and respect to those who are willing to “lay down their life for his friend,” John 15:13.
So when you have the chance, hang a flag in your yard, or on your car or truck. More importantly, hold one in your heart and hold it high. Be proud to be an American, “let freedom ring” because we are “the land of the free and the home of the brave.” Our servicemen and women are a large part of why it is.
While we may be patriotic, we can’t all serve in the military , be a policeman or fireman, but we can serve in other ways.
As Lance Cpl. Thomas Rivers Jr. patrolled Afghanistan’s Helmand Province, he knew God was with him. He felt protected by Psalm 91:1, which was tattooed on his back: “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.” Faith guided Thomas from youth into manhood.
In an essay he turned in to his 9th-grade teacher on November 12, 2003, he explained why he had longed to serve his country since the age of ten. “I think if I put my mind to it, and with God’s help, I could make it in the Marines,” Thomas wrote. “I believe that joining the Marines would be a good experience for me because it will teach me to rely on God to make it through.”
For Thomas, joining the Marine Corps would not be as simple as signing a piece of paper. Dyslexia made classroom work very difficult, and he also faced early physical limitations that made it hard to succeed in sports. Even so, he was a hero long before he joined the Marines. He overcame countless obstacles, transforming himself from a thin child into a strong, determined warrior.
The Marines gave Thomas extra motivation to focus on both his studies and his physical training with renewed determination. He struggled in high school until a Marine recruiter told him he needed a diploma to enlist. After that, low grades were no longer an issue.
Thomas joined the Marines immediately after graduating high school in May 2007. While basic training and deployments change almost everyone, Thomas held firmly to his values. He returned from his first overseas tour in Iraq in February 2009. In March 2010, he was deployed to Afghanistan—this time as a Team Leader.
At just 22 years old, Thomas already had a combat tour under his belt. He prepared for another deployment with the same focus, faith, and strength that had guided him through Iraq. Thomas was never a conformist—he always knew he was a warrior.
During a six-week period in Afghanistan, Thomas began reading the Bible with one of his best friends, Lance Cpl. Matthew Proctor. On Wednesday, April 28, 2010, Thomas prepared for a mission he had volunteered for and prayed with Proctor before they left together on patrol.
During that patrol, Thomas stepped on an IED. Three of his friends, including Matthew, knelt beside him. Matthew held his hand as they recited the Bible verse tattooed on Thomas’s back. Thomas was surrounded by people who loved him when he died.
Lance Cpl. Thomas Rivers Jr. stood for overcoming obstacles, finding common ground, and offering love—even in the midst of uncertainty and violence. To truly honor his sacrifice, we can learn from how he lived and how he died.
