TEXARKANA MAGAZINE
SOME OF GREG BECK’S... ORGANIZATIONS • President: Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) #278 Texarkana, Arkansas • Trustee and Founding Member: Texarkana Area Veterans Council (TAVC) • Senior Vice Commander: Disabled American Veterans (DAV) #222 Texarkana, Arkansas • Lifetime Member: Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) #4562 Texarkana, Arkansas • Judge Advocate: Marine Corps League #1149 Texarkana, Arkansas • Board Chair: Texarkana Community Veterans Engagement Board (TCVEB) • Member: The American Legion #58 Texarkana, Arkansas • Member: Elks Lodge #2771 Texarkana, Texas • Member: Masonic Lodge #341 Texarkana, Arkansas • Member at Large: American Veterans (AMVETS) AWARDS • Awarded Accommodation Medal for outstanding service by VVA National HQ • VVA Region 7’s member of the year, twice. • “Extra mile” award granted by the Texas Veterans Commission for selfless service with Wagons for Veterans program. CITATIONS • National Defense Service Medal • Republic of Vietnam Service Medal, with one-star device • Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces Meritorious Unit Citation of the Gallantry Cross with palm • Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, with (1960-) device • Rifle Marksman’s badge
Greg Beck receiving recognition at Red River Army Depot on behalf of his VVA chapter for their Defense Logistics Agency tour.
Service Officer, Thomas Ornberg, shares, “Greg is the lifeblood and master of all Texarkana veterans’ events. He lives by the Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) motto, ‘Never again will one generation of veterans abandon another,’ and his actions show he means it!” The city initiated the construction of a Korean and Vietnam War monument on the border of Texas and Arkansas to memorialize those missing and killed in action in the four-states area. However, when plans faltered, Beck and Dan Nicholson, “took the reins,” Ornberg said, “and finished the project within five years. Beck brought the community together through business donations and community labor. The memorial is now the meeting place to honor and remember those lost during the Korean and Vietnam wars.” In 2018, through VVA #278, Beck pioneered the Wagons for Veterans annual fundraiser. Chuckwagons from all over the country make the trip to take part, and 100 percent of the proceeds go towards the nonprofit charity. To date, $64,000 has been raised to help pay for utilities, home repairs, wheelchair ramps, food boxes, etc., for veterans in need. In addition, Beck initiated and has spearheaded the annual local veteran information fair for the past 25 years, inviting various veterans service organizations to all come together in one place to connect veterans to their earned benefits. Through the Texarkana Area Veterans’ Council (TAVC), he also drove numerous functions to raise funds for the purchase of a Disabled American Veterans (DAV) van, which provides free transportation for veterans to and from the VA Medical Center in Shreveport, Louisiana. He continuously directs the annual Veteran’s Day parades and the annual Memorial Day events. This year’s Veteran’s Day parade, November 11, at 11 a.m., will feature 103-year-old World War II combat veteran Jesse Linam as the grand marshall. The theme this year is 150+ years of veterans in Texarkana, in conjunction with the celebration of the Texarkana sesquicentennial. Beck has championed patriotism through the flag project, where hundreds of flags adorn veteran’s graves at both Chapelwood and Memorial Gardens cemeteries in Texas and Arkansas, respectively. His dedication and shining example inspired the Texarkana VFW to
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BUSINESS & POLITICS
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