Air Force Master Sergeant Israel Del Toro, Jr. named keynote speaker for Patriot Day ceremony
By Dawn McLain
The Southern Utah Veterans Home invites the southern Utah community to its free fifth annual Patriot Day ceremony Sept. 11 at 2 p.m. at 160 N 200 E in Ivins. Southern Utah Veterans Home, now in its fifth year of service, will observe Patriot Day with an inspirational program focused on recognizing the veteran heroes that make our nation extraordinary. Impactful motivational speaker and hero in his own right US Air Force Master Sergeant Israel Del Toro, Jr. will present a keynote address entitled “Stay Strong Finish Strong — The Flames That Made Me Stronger” in the state-of-the-art multipurpose room onsite. Del Toro was awarded the Pat Tillman Award for Service in 2017.
Doors will open at 1 p.m. Attendees are welcome to come early and learn more about the facility and take a tour of the campus. The presentation is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. with a photo opportunity immediately following the presentation at 3. To open the ceremony, the Nellis Air Force Base Honor Guard will post the colors. Actress and author Jan Broberg, a southern Utah local and director of the Center for the Arts at Kayenta, will also be on hand to perform the National Anthem.
“We work year-round to bring exclusive, unique and impactful speakers to our Patriot Day event, and this year is no exception,” said Jennifer Ferrau, admissions director. “It is important to us to honor and celebrate our dedicated veterans; quality presentations such as this are just one way we can articulate and demonstrate our respect to our residents and military serving at home and across the globe. I am very excited about the program this year and the enthusiastic reception it has had. The opportunity to welcome our community to share and commemorate Patriot Day with our guest Mr. Del Toro is truly life changing and humbling,”
Israel “DT” Del Toro is nothing short of miraculous, and even that would be an understatement. In 2005, while serving in the U.S. Air Force in Afghanistan, Master Sgt. Israel Del Toro was following routine orders when his Humvee rolled over a buried pressure-plate mine and exploded. The blast severed most of his fingers and left him in a coma for nearly three months with burns covering the majority of his body. After waking up from his coma, Del Toro was given a bleak prognosis and was told he may never walk or breathe on his own again and that he most definitely would not be able to re-enlist in the military. He was given a 15 percent chance of survival, but Del Toro defied the odds and made a miraculous recovery. During his rehabilitation, Del Toro was introduced to adaptive sports as a therapeutic outlet, and it quickly became something he excelled at. He eventually set world records in shot put, discus, and javelin and won a gold medal at The 2016 Invictus Games. For his perseverance and commitment to his country, Del Toro received The Pat Tillman Award for Service at the ESPYS in 2017.
During the award presentation, “DT” was truly touched.
“First, I’m humbled for even being considered for this prestigious award named after Pat Tillman, a man I admire, but to actually receive this honor is unbelievable,” Del Toro said in the statement. “When I heard that Pat Tillman gave up a career in the NFL to serve his country after the 9-11 attacks, it gave me so much pride to call him a brother in arms. He truly is a shining example of service before self. To Mrs. Tillman and the Pat Tillman Foundation, I give you my pledge that I’ll always try to live up to the true meaning of the Pat Tillman Award for Service in everything I do, and to represent his spirit to the best of my ability.”
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