Northern California Veterans will gather Saturday, Oct. 24, to honor one of their own, Korean War Veteran Jack Tolbert.
Tolbert, 86, lost both legs while serving his country during the Korean War. In 1953, while his unit was under heavy attack one night from Chinese troops, a live grenade thrown by an enemy combatant landed near a group of Tolbert's fellow soldiers.
Without thinking of his own safety, Tolbert, then a staff sergeant, threw himself on the grenade and absorbed much of the explosion, thus saving the lives of those around him.
For his bravery, Tolbert was given the Distinguished Service Cross Award and the Purple Heart.
Billed as a tribute to an American hero, a patriotic awards dinner and presentation will be held starting at 5 p.m. in the Shasta County Veterans Memorial Hall on Yuba Street in Redding.
Tickets for the event are $12 and only 300 tickets will be sold.
Tickets may be purchased from Shasta County Supervisor Linda Hartman (949-0051); Bill Philen of the Military Order of the Purple Heart (339-0339); Jim Gibson, president of Shasta County Veterans Affiliated Council (515-1444); Kim Chamberlain of the Korean War Veterans (365-4689); or John Cleckner of Victory Ensured Through Service (243-2100).
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Comments » 0
Be the first to post a comment!
Share your thoughts
Comments are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. You agree not to post comments that are off topic, defamatory, obscene, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned. Click here for our full user agreement.