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Daily Toreador The
MONDAY, OCT. 3, 2011 VOLUME 86 ■ ISSUE 27
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Book honors fallen Vietnam soldier
Childhood friend researches, writes about war hero’s life, death By MORGAN CRUMP STAFF WRITER
Lubbock Mayor Tom Martin led a commemoration ceremony Thursday where he proclaimed Sept. 30, 2011, as Lee Roy Herron Day, in honor of the fallen Vietnam soldier and the release of the biography on his life and death. David Nelson and Randy Schiffer, coauthors of “David & Lee Roy: A Vietnam Story,” were also in attendance. Nelson, a childhood friend of Herron, said he wrote the book so everyone would know of Herron, who died in 1969 on the front lines
only two months into his tour of duty. Both attended Texas Tech. Mayor Tom Martin said he received a copy of the book, which was published by Texas Tech University Press, and said Nelson had done a great service to Herron and his family. Some of Herron’s family attended the event, including his mother, Lorea Herron, and his sister, Jane Graham. “We really appreciate the authors’ dedication to the making of this book. They worked on it for years,” Graham said. “It is an honor that this event is in memory of my brother, and Texas Tech has been very instrumental in all of this.”
Local community supports SlutWalk Encourages ideas against “rape culture,” victim-blaming By DESTINY BEZRUTCZYK STAFF WRITER
Victims of sexual assault may often feel like they have no power or voice, yet SlutWalk Lubbock brings those individuals together to take back their power and find their voices by speaking to others about their past. Supporters gathered at the Buddy Holly Center on Saturday to protest “rape culture” and the “victim-blaming” society. From there, they marched to Belly’s Café on Avenue Q, chanting and waving signs. Rape culture, as defined by SlutWalk Lubbock’s website, is a complex
In Martin’s proclamation, he said 1st Lt. Herron stepped forward to assume the command of a fallen officer and saved the lives of many Marines, but at the cost of his own life. He was honored posthumously with the Navy Cross, which is only second in prestige to the Medal of Honor. “Lee Roy Herron’s heroism will long be remembered in the annals of the Marine Corps, and so too will his leadership and strength of character while growing up in Lubbock,” Martin said. “The friendships he made continue to reflect the highest respect at which he was held by all who knew him.” Nelson said he mourned his friend’s tragic loss along with Herron’s family, but refused to let the soldier’s memory die. He said one of his previous instructors in the Marine Corps came to Houston to make a speech on Aug. 2, 1997. Nelson said he attended the speech
and the Marine began recounting what happened in Vietnam. “The Colonel kept talking about how it is never just one Marine or one soldier that can do the whole job by himself. It always takes the help of others,” Nelson said. “In this Tom Martin case, he said there were Lubbock Mayor two young lieutenants who really helped save the day, and one of them was ‘a stout young man from West Texas named Lee Herron.’” Nelson said he almost had a heart attack and nearly fell out of his chair because he never knew
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Lee Roy Herron’s heroism will long be remembered in the annals of the Marine Corps, and so too will his leadership...”
the connection between Herron and the Colonel. “All I knew previously was Lee Roy went to Vietnam, volunteered to take a wounded officer’s place and got himself shot,” Nelson said. “I didn’t realize until Aug. 2, 1997, that there was a little more to the story than that. After that, it just hit me that I had to do something, and if I didn’t know what Lee Roy did, then a lot of other people didn’t either.” He said he became determined to do what he could to see that Herron was honored, remembered and respected. Nelson said he spent years afterwards searching through military archives, speaking to friends and family across West Texas and visiting Vietnam battle sites in order to learn the truth about his lost friend. VIETNAM continued on Page 2 ➤➤
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system of beliefs encouraging male sexual aggression that supports violence against women. “Victim-blaming” is holding victims responsible for sexual violence instead of perpetrators. “Sexual violence is never justified and victims are never at fault,” said Amanda Evans, one of SlutWalk Lubbock’s speakers. During the march through downtown Lubbock, some showed their support by dressing in “slutty” clothes to combat the idea that women who dress a certain way are inviting sexual attention. SLUTWALK cont. on Page 2 ➤➤
PHOTO BY BRAD TOLLEFSON/The Daily Toreador
COMPETITORS RUN TOWARD the finish of the 5K run during the 17th Annual Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure on Saturday around the Lubbock Civic Center. A group of 9,092 people participated in the event which raised at least $450,000 for breast cancer research.
Race for the Cure raises local awareness on breast cancer By MICHAEL DUPONT STAFF WRITER
PHOTO BY ANNIE OSTERLUND/The Daily Toreador
ATAVYNN DURAN, A one-year-old from Wolfforth, holds a sign during Slutwalk Lubbock on 19th Street on Saturday.
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Breast Cancer Awareness Month has begun, meaning the yearly Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure event took place Saturday. Thousands of students from Texas Tech, locals from the community and even tourists from surrounding cities filled the streets at the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center on Saturday morning to show their support for the fight. Chris Sauer, a senior computer science major from Weatherford, Okla., said the Race for the Cure event is all about raising money for cancer research.
“From what I understand, it was to raise money for cancer research and cancer education,” he said. A 5k walk or race is offered to those willing to participate. “We didn’t run the whole thing,” Sauer said, “We paced ourselves.” Sauer said he believes the best way to raise awareness is through education from students. “Students can help with education,” he said. “We have a lot of access to data that most people don’t get to see on an everyday basis.” Jonathan Adams, a senior mathematics major from Lubbock, said the race might mean different things to different people.
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“It really depends on who you are. For some, it’s a way to honor those that have died,” he said. “For others, it’s a way to celebrate those who have survived. For people like me, it’s a way to help out with breast cancer awareness.” Adams said the sense of awareness couldn’t be any higher in a general sense. “The Race for the Cure is so popular I think that everybody typically knows about it,” he said. “But, I’m sure there are a few people here and there that are starting to discover it and become more aware.” Adams said he had some unique ideas as to how students can get themselves more involved with raising the level of awareness in the community. “It (how to raise awareness) would be putting their specific majors to use,” he said. “If they were in marketing,
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then they could try to figure out ways to advertise for the Race for the Cure or breast cancer awareness.” The crowds seemed eager to help for the cause. Students even found themselves bonding outside of class with their teachers. Debbi Meier, an American Sign Language instructor at Tech, said the event was well planned. “It was so well advertised that people heard about it and got their friends involved,” she said. “Everybody knows somebody who has had breast cancer.” Meier said she would like to see something similar to the Race for the Cure event hosted on Tech’s campus. “I think something like this would be good,” she said. “Just a Tech thing. It’s all about putting the information out there so that people can be aware.”
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