Veterans support group ensures that Ratzlaff is remembered

It’s been more than 10 years since Green Forest’s Tommy Ratzlaff perished along with 29 other American service members when their helicopter was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade on Aug. 6, 2011, in Afghanistan’s Wardak Province.

The Navy SEAL’s memory lives on, however, thanks to his family and to organizations like Carroll County’s Recon VI.

On Saturday, Recon VI held its second annual Service & Sacrifice bass tournament on Table Rock Lake out of Cricket Creek Marina in Omaha. The event was a fundraiser to help raise money for Recon VI to take traumatize veterans and first responders on hunting trips this fall.

But before the winning anglers were presented with their plaques, Recon VI president Vince Eastwood had a more important presentation to make. Eastwood presented Ratzlaff’s sister Julie Adams with a proclamation in her brother’s honor. Adams then was presented with a Gold Star flag representing her family’s sacrifice and loss.

After the presentation, Adams said she was honored to be recognized on her brother’s behalf.

“It’s always an honor to know that your family is remembered,” Adams said. “I’m very honored to be a part of it. And the work that Recon VI does for the veterans and the first responders is just amazing. I think they support our community in a great way.”

Adams, who was three years older than Ratzlaff, said she and her brother were “very close.” She said he would have been “humbled” by Saturday’s recognition.

“He would be humbled and he would think he was not worthy of it,” Adams said. “He was more of a team guy than an ‘I’ guy. He enjoyed being part of a group and did well with that.”

The annual Rat Race 5K run in Green Forest is another way that Adams and others keep Ratzlaff’s memory alive. This year’s event is scheduled for June 24. Adams said the race not only honors her brother but also provides much-needed help for children who are confronted with the loss of a parent.

“One of the organizations we sponsor is the grief program at a couple of the area schools,” Adams said. “They recognize children who have lost a parent and they provide a group atmosphere where everybody’s there, they know why they’re there, but they don’t focus on the grief. They focus on the camaraderie and the commonality that everyone there had lost a parent. And I’ve heard the schools have done really well with that.”

Eastwood said he was thrilled that Recon VI was able to recognize Adams on her brother’s behalf.

“To be able to reach out to Julie and get her here, and honor her in Tommy’s honor, that’s huge,” Eastwod said.

At the 2022 tournament, Recon VI honored the Goins family, whose son, Army 2nd Lt. James Michael Goins, was killed in action on Aug. 15, 2004, in Najaf, Iraq.