I never had the good fortune of meeting Tony Snow. Our organization—Vets for Freedom—however, was fortunate enough to cross paths with Mr. Snow during our early days.
In December of 2005, while hosting his daily Fox News Radio program, Mr. Snow read an op-ed live on the air that was written from a returning soldier. The soldier, David Bellavia—now the VFF Vice Chairman—felt that his leadership in Washington was failing our efforts to win the war in Iraq. Mr. Snow would later write a follow up piece on this topic.
Wade Zirkle, the godfather of Vets for Freedom, noticed Mr. Snow’s mention of David Bellavia, and within a few short weeks, David and Wade made contact, along with a handful of other combat veterans, and Vets for Freedom was up and running.
From that moment forward, while Mr. Snow was at Fox, anytime he needed a viewpoint from a veteran serving in Iraq he called Vets for Freedom. And when a fallen soldier’s father was trying to get a monument built in his son’s honor but was spurned by local officials…VFF called Tony Snow. He always did all he could to support the troops, their families, and their mission.
I’m told that in early 2006, Wade Zirkle, David Bellavia, and Mark Seavey (OEF vet and VFF co-founder) had the chance to meet with Mr. Snow at his radio studio. Once again he took the time to thank them for their service and say how proud he was of the organization. He even provided his home phone number, should they ever personally need anything.
Mr. Snow had no obligation to help a young, inexperienced veterans organization. But he did—because he believed in their mission, and had a heart for America and her warriors.
On Saturday America lost a patriot, and Vets for Freedom lost a friend.