Published: July 03, 2008 09:36 am            

What Hagerty gave us

My ancient Webster’s Dictionary defines hero as “any man admired for his courage, nobility, or exploits, especially in war.”

On June 13, Stillwater saluted Maj. Scott Hagerty, a fallen hero who gave his life for our country. As we celebrate our nation’s independence, Stillwater owes one of its own young men a great debt of gratitude.

Hagerty’s death put a face on the tragedy of war. His death put a face on the meaning of service to one’s country. In coming together to honor Hagerty, Stillwater gained a sense of collective inspiration and patriotism.

During my school board years, I met many school district employees, a few of those acquaintances becoming friends. Shirley Hagerty who was a Will Rogers teacher and her husband Don were in my friends category. I visited with them last week.

Shirley told me Scott always wanted to be in the military service because he wanted to serve his country.

How simple that sounds, but think about what courage it takes to volunteer to serve one’s country, no matter the danger. Scott volunteered to go where the U.S. Army sent him. Since 2004, he’d been deployed to Iraq, Uganda and Afghanistan. Shirley showed me his 18 medals for that period.

She gave me a letter one of his co-workers had written. The USDA’s agricultural adviser described Scott “as a team leader, he was very focused and committed to the mission objectives at hand yet was compassionate and understanding. He treated all of his team members equally with respect and professionalism often putting their needs and security in the forefront. He had a common sense approach to doing things and was admired and respected by everyone.”

He continued, “Scott was so intensively involved in his mission objectives in an effort to wrap things up that he forgot to shave. This invariable earned him the nickname Festus Hagan from the western series ‘Gunsmoke.’

“The name stuck, but in reality the true person Scott most closely exemplified would be more characteristic of Marshal Dillion both in stature and dedication to his work and mission here in Afghanistan.”

His death inspired Stillwater from the hundreds who attended his funeral or lined the streets waving flags to the many who wrote letters to the NewsPress or the online memorial book.

The letter writers were eloquent:

• Joe Chandler, a Patriot Guard rider, observed, “I’ve never been more proud of a community than I was of Stillwater.”

• Sidney Williams said, “The gallantry of our fallen brave heroes will not be forgotten.”

• Louie Geiser wrote, “We simply wanted to be there when the cortege passed by, and let our flags tell the family how we felt.”

• Calvin Oyster’s beautiful words included, “I don’t know what you saw on June 13 but I saw God. I saw the people of Stillwater stop their daily activities and pay tribute to a fallen soldier.”

• Bonita Warren expressed the thought that “Friday’s outpouring of love and loyalty for the Hagerty family and our country gives us hope” for the world.

Hagerty, through his death, gave Stillwater a shining example of courage, valor and patriotism.

We can all be proud of Stillwater’s claim on Scott Hagerty, an American hero.

Julie Couch is a Stillwater resident.

        

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