‘Variety Salute to Service’ Special Spotlights Veterans Pursuing New Ways to Inspire Others
13.11.2023 - 20:25
/ variety.com
Caroline Brew editor Seven veterans who have transitioned into various careers and pursuits that inspire others were honored in “Variety Salute to Service” presented by the History Channel. Marine Corp and Navy veteran Montel Williams hosted this year’s special, which premiered Monday on the History Channel and was produced by A+E Factual Studios. Williams explained that the veterans highlighted are those who, “continued to answer the call of duty long after their act of service was done.” He first introduced Jeremy Locke, Sgt.
1st Class, U.S. Army (Ret.). Locke cofounded Aerial Recovery, an international disaster response group focused on rescuing people from natural and manmade disasters.
Aerial Recovery has rescued more than 8,000 civilians since its inception. “Our mission statement is to save lives and stop evil. We find veterans that need healing, and then we retrain, repurpose them and we redeploy them out in natural, manmade disasters and to combat human trafficking,” Locke said.
Aerial Recovery spent most of 2022 assisting in Ukraine, as well as with Hurricane Ian. The team also did anti-human trafficking training with six Indian nonprofits in Mumbai and helped rescue people affected by earthquakes in Turkey. Christy Gardner, Sgt., U.S.
Army (Ret.), was the next veteran to be highlighted. While serving overseas, she lost her legs as a result of an attack on her unit. Thanks to her service dog Moxie, she regained her lease on life after struggling both physically and mentally.
“With Moxie, I didn’t kill myself because I didn’t want to let her down. I didn’t want her to feel like she failed her job. And that was really the only reason I stayed,” Gardner said.