On July 16, 2023, approximately 20 members of the Northwest Houston Vettes and Rods Club met at Buc-ee's on Highway 290, in Waller, TX to convoy to Austin to visit the “Price of Liberty” Monument (TexasWarMemorial.com), located at the corner of 12th Street and San Jacinto. A few members came from Bastrop after attending “The Invasion.” The monument was dedicated in 2017 to Texas military members and their families, who served since September 11, 2001, in the Global War on Terror and following operations. Club members in attendance were able to take photos of their cars in front of the $500,000, 30' bronze monument which was dedicated in 2017. After visiting the site, we drove to Vic & Al's, a Cajun/Creole restaurant for a nice brunch.
As a point of history, our Club Member, Colonel Jim Stryker attended a National Military Family Conference in around 2007, with Joy, and while at the conference, he discovered that several states had already established plans to erect monuments to honor Service Members serving since 9/11/2001. As a Vietnam Vet, Stryker said, "I wonder why Texas, one of the largest contributors of military personnel, has not built a monument to honor these patriotic volunteers. I do not want these service members and their families to wait 40-50 years, like Vietnam Veterans, to see that Texas appreciates their sacrifices." Jim had personal knowledge of what it was like to say goodbye to his wife for over a year since Joy deployed to Afghanistan. When she returned, her duties necessitated attending many deployment ceremonies and funerals and often, Jim attended with her. Jim watched as soldiers bravely prepared to deploy. More importantly, he observed and spoke with the spouses and children as their loved ones went off to war and an uncertain future. Funerals, where he watched his wife give folded flags to grieving families made a huge impact. This was the catalyst to get the ball rolling, Jim woke up one morning and told Joy, “We are going to build a monument.”
The Northwest Houston Vettes and Rods Club became involved after Jim hired an artist to make a small bronze replica of the proposed monument. They displayed the replica at Guitars & Cars. Two of the Club's Founding Members, Joe Beatty (now deceased) and Jim Swenke stopped by to discuss the monument and expressed an interest in assisting in the worthy effort to build the monument. They were immediately enlisted as Board members. Our Club President Tony also expressed an interest in helping since he is a Veteran. The rest is history. Through these members’ contacts, the Texas Car Community ended up being major contributors.
NWHVR Club was present at the dealerships for the presentation of their monument replicas in recognition of their major financial support. We stood proudly holding flags for these presentations at Tony Gullo, John Eagle, and Chris Gillman dealerships. It should also be noted that Club member Norm Kobler donated food at each of these events. The Houston and Dallas Automobile Dealer Associations were also major contributors. Tony Gullo was an exceptional supporter and helped secure much of the funding from his fellow dealers and associations. In fact, it was at the Concours d' Elegance of Texas where we met up with Richard Rawlings of Gas Monkey fame and secured his generous donation. As you can see, the car community should be proud of their patriotism and dedication in recognizing the valor of our great troops and their families. So, it's about time that our Club basks in the glow of the monument they helped make a reality in 2017.
