Hazlet Memorial Day to feature retired Capt. Peter Wikul (SEAL)

Mayor Scott Aagre and Deputy Mayor Sue Kiley have invited retired Navy Captain and former SEAL Peter Wikul to speak at the Memorial Day activities in Hazlet. Captain Wikul spoke last year and presented a flag to the Hazlet First Aid Squad which had been carried into combat in Iraq by other SEALs. The Hazlet First Aid Squad has sponsored Captain Wikul to return to speak again. He has just attended the awarding of the SEALs’ next Congressional of Medal honor recipient to Master Chief Britt Slabinski on the 24th of May. I had the high honor to be invited to attend the event also. My friend and guest, Tara Clark joined Captain Wikul and I at the ceremony.

Last year, Captain Wikul reminded the crowd that Memorial Day is not a celebration rather a commemoration of the sacrifices young men and women make in defense of our country. Too many young men and women make the ultimate sacrifice defending our country. We should be mindful of their loss and their families’ loss on this day.

While we will have to wait to hear Captain Wikul’s speech this year, expect him to tell the crowd about our latest Congressional Medal of Honor RECIPIENT. Recipient, not a WINNER. You win the lottery, not the Congressional Medal of Honor. Men died and others were grievously wounded in the operation when Master Chief Britt Slabinski was noted for his valor above and beyond the call of duty. I have had the high honor to meet and know Medal of Honor recipients. To a man, they would cheerfully trade their medal for the return of lost comrades. Sadly, most Medal of Honor recipients are awarded the medal posthumously. So Memorial Day is a commemoration of the sacrifices our military has made in defense of our freedom, not a celebration. This day it is our solemn task to remember those who have provided our freedom at their peril.

"We sleep safely at night because rough men stand ready to visit violence on those who would harm us." -Winston S. Churchill

About Captain Wikul, he has the title of “Bullfrog #13” as he was the longest serving SEAL (almost 40 years). As SEALs are frogmen at their core, the BULLFROG always rules the pond. He has commanded SEAL teams in all theaters in which SEALs have been deployed since the1970ies. He is the only SEAL to be a co-recipient of the (1988) Nobel Peace Prize for his unarmed peacekeeping work in Lebanon. Most importantly, he is my oldest, dearest friend and comrade in arms, truly he is my brother.

Leadership matters.