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Seminole County honors Korean War veterans, names Army sergeant Veteran of the Year
Summary
At the 2026 Seminole County Veterans Appreciation Luncheon, local officials and nonprofit partners honored Korean War and World War II veterans, heard extended first‑person accounts of combat from a Marine sergeant, and presented the county’s 2026 Veteran of the Year award to Sergeant Brian Ortiz. The event included a POW/MIA ceremony, a Folds of Honor presentation, and closing recognitions.
Seminole County’s 2026 Veterans Appreciation Luncheon at the Marriott brought together hundreds of veterans, county officials and nonprofit partners for a program that combined ceremony, first‑person testimony and local recognitions. Emcee Dave McDaniel opened the event and introduced an invocation by Pastor Eddie Rivera of the Seminole County Fire Department and a POW/MIA table ceremony led by Sergeant Samuel Vasquez of the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office.
The program’s longest segment featured Marine Sergeant Ray Burkard, introduced by Sheriff Dennis Lima, who recounted combat in Korea including fights at Sudan, Fox Hill and Hagaru. Burkard described surprise encounters with Chinese forces, the cold and supply drops, and the toll taken on fellow Marines: “I’ve seen the man get killed,” he said, recalling a fellow sergeant who was shot. He described being wounded by sniper fire and the unit’s reliance on air resupply: “Out of the tail end of that, they’d be parachute, ammo, food, and medics,” he said, adding that the support helped his unit “stay to fight.” He closed by urging support for service members and veterans: “God bless The United States Of America,” Burkard said.
Dale Cook of the Seminole County Veterans Services introduced the county’s 2026 Veteran of the Year as Sergeant Brian Ortiz, noting Ortiz’s Army service from 2012 to 2018, including a deployment to Afghanistan and later work assisting veterans. Ortiz accepted the award and spoke about his personal path to service, including time spent in local domestic‑violence shelters as a child and the support he later received: “You are not alone. You will never be alone,” Ortiz said, addressing fellow veterans and emphasizing the county’s veteran services.
Organizers recognized centenarian veterans in attendance and thanked partners and sponsors including Folds of Honor, which provides scholarships to spouses and children of fallen or disabled service members and first responders. The luncheon concluded with photo opportunities with county commissioners and a recognition of the volunteer committee led by Lieutenant Bobby Smith of the Sheriff’s Office.
The transcript supplied for this summary identifies participants and remarks but does not specify the event’s calendar date. The account above uses only remarks recorded in the transcript and limits attributions to speakers identified in the record.
