December, 2004
Click here to view a special video message from the Trail Blazers players and coaches to our servicemen.
As the holidays near, the Trail Blazers continue to reach out to our Armed Service members deployed overseas. The organization has a special connection with a few National Guard members who work at the Rose Quarter when not on service duty.
Matt Robinson, Rose Garden Security
Matt Cline, Rose Garden Security
Reggie Jones, Rose Garden Safety Inspector
The organization also suffered a tragic loss in June when 23 year old Rose Garden Security Agent and Internet Marketing intern Justin Eyerly was killed in action.
Fans who visit the Trail Blazers this season may also notice four Blue Star Service Banners hanging in honor of those employees serving in Iraq. Each banner is inscribed with the service member’s name, rank and military branch.
Reggie Jones, serving with the 158th Aviation Regiment of the Army Reserves, is known to his coworkers as an “ESI”, or Event Safety Inspector. Now, instead of inspecting the arena for safety hazards before Trail Blazers games and other events, Reggie inspects helicopters for the Army’s Airborne Division.
The Rose Quarter campus security force took a big hit last October when three of its agents were called to active duty with the 1st Cavalry Division of the Oregon National Guard. Accustomed to fighting Northwest forest fires in the summer, Agents Matt Robinson, Matt Cline and Justin Eyerly instead found themselves training for war in Iraq.
With the loss of Justin Eyerly and two other Oregon Guardsmen in an ambush outside Baghdad, the service banner in his name contains a gold star, reserved for those who have died in combat.
The Service Banner first appeared during World War I, when mothers of soldiers sewed and hung red, white and blue banners in their windows as a sign that their sons were fighting in the war. The tradition has since evolved to include wives and other family members, as well as churches, schools and businesses with which the service member is affiliated.
As Americans do their best to support Operation Iraqi Freedom and the ongoing war on terror, the Blue Star Service Banner tradition reminds us all that war touches every neighborhood in America. The banners displayed shows the organization's pride in their employees serving in the military, and reminds staff that preserving America’s freedom demands much.
The Trail Blazers have made a concerted effort -- not just at Christmas, but throughout their deployment -- to make sure our employee troops know we haven't forgotten them.
If you would like to join us in sending some new year wishes to Matt, Matt and Reggie, please send an email to Feedback@blazers.com. Send your special notes to our servicemen and we will forward them on.
The Trail Blazers staff are in constant contact with members of the team stationed in Iraq, sending regular care packages, signing journals, working with other Paul Allen companies to donate $1.500 to the Honor Thy Children Foundation and more.
Click here to view a special video message from the Trail Blazers players and coaches to our servicemen.
