Comanche Indian Veterans Association Honors Veterans at Powwow

Three veterans were honored at the Comanche Indian Veterans Association’s (CIVA) powwow on Saturday, December 9, at the Comanche Community Building in Apache, Oklahoma.

Each honoree received a blanket, a plaque, a gift bag and a monetary gift.

Stephano Ruiz-Harrison served in the Marine Corps, Thomas Boyt served in the Air Force and Jarred Lee served in the Navy.

Ruiz-Harrison was active from January 2014 through July 2020. He said being honored was a new feeling because he’s used to being a background character.

“So, this hasn't really happened to me a lot or at all,” he said. “It's a new experience, and it kind of, I'd say it feels good because it's like whenever you get out, it kind of feels as if like everything you've been through just kind of fades away.”

Ruiz-Harrison said his favorite memories involve his brothers.

“Not even like doing like operational stuff, just like things in the background like hanging out on weekends or anything like that,” he said. “Because, like, when you get out, you don't really know it, but that's kind of what you miss the most is just the people you're with.”

Ruiz-Harrison said they still maintain communication.

Boyt said he was humbled by being honored at the powwow and didn’t expect the gifts he received.

“I had never expected anything like this, and to be with just even the two guys, let alone the rest of the CIVA, it's just a humbling thing,” he said. “I just I don't feel like I fit. It's really awesome.”

He said CIVA is a great group.

Boyt said his highlight was getting married.

“As soon as I graduated from the Air Force Academy, we got married at the Air Force Academy with the sabers and all that stuff,” he said. “That was the highlight, and now, 50 years later, we're still married and just celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary. So that's huge.”

Boyt wanted a combat role within the Air Force.

“I had volunteered for Vietnam. This was in 1973, and we were pulling out of Vietnam, so there wasn't anything for me to do. So, a buddy of mine and I went in and asked for any combat, any combat role anywhere in the world, and they gave us nuclear missile launch officers, and that's a combat, we were called combat missile, combat crew commanders,” he said. “So that's what we did. Got in the service, and here I am, 23 years old with 10-minute man missiles, and it takes more than just me but command of 10-minute man missiles along with four other capsules, but that's pretty heavy responsibility for a 23-year-old guy.”

Boyt said he loved it and comes from a military family and was honored to do it.

He was injured in a launch control capsule and has been in crutches or wheelchairs for the past 50 years.

“And I don't care. I mean, I took the oath just like everybody else did,” Boyt said. “It comes with the job, and it's just life. It's all good.”

He said that other veterans who have been injured need to know their life isn’t over.

“You press on, you do things, and I'm a veterinarian. I also have a PhD in business,” Boyt said. “I've done a lot of things in my life. I could have just quit because of this. Don't quit. Just keep going. Life's good.”

He said he was grateful for the care he received with the Veterans Affairs.

Lee served six years and said it felt fantastic to be honored at the powwow.

He said some of his fondest memories are with the friends he made.

“I served on the USS Salt Lake City, so I worked around guys for four years non-stop, being up with them for 12 hours at a time, 18 hours a day, sleeping six hours a day with them. That was a bit like being stuck in a house with them all the time,” Lee said. “So, you get to either learn to like them or learn to hate them, so you better learn to like them. So, we got to be really close.”

He said when the lack of sleep hits, that’s when the bonds are tested.

“Because then you really learn who you can rely on, and even the guys that you really didn't like that much, you learn that they really you could really rely on them even in the darkest time,” Lee said.

He also said the connections on shore were different than being on the sea.

“Well, even those guys, even the guys that you didn't really get along without at sea, but when you came in, they were nobody better mess with them because they were your guy that you didn't like,” Lee said. “I don't care if somebody else didn't like them they couldn't do anything to them either. That was my brother that I didn't like. So even when we were all rolled into town together, we didn't let anybody do anything to one another even if we didn't get along out at sea, we all were one big group when we rolled into town.”

Lee said being young helped with being a part of the Navy due to the fact his crew was also under 40.

Comanche Nation Princess McKenzi Sovo, Comanche Nation Jr. Princess Vivien Parker and several princesses attended the powwow.