Professional wrestlers thank Dyess Airmen for service

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Kiley Olds
  • 7th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
DYESS AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFPN) --  When Airman 1st Class Fred Stewart was deployed to Manas Air Base, Kyrgyzstan, the services troop improved the morale at the base by asking World Wrestling Entertainment for anything they might like to send to support the troops.

“I’ve always been a die-hard wrestling fan,” Airman Stewart said. “A lot of other deployed Airmen liked wrestling too, and I knew that WWE has been good about supporting the men and women in uniform.”

Although Airman Stewart only asked for a couple of T-shirts to hand out as door prizes at wrestling viewing parties, WWE officials responded by sending him boxes filled with T-shirts, tapes, DVDs and trading cards.

No longer deployed, Airman Stewart said he never imagined the WWE would personally thank him for his service; however Airman Stewart and 17 other Airmen here got a chance to meet WWE wrestlers who were in town performing Jan. 21.

The Airmen, 10 of them recently returned from deployments, were chosen to meet the wrestlers before the show.

“I was thrilled,” Airman Stewart said. “I didn’t find out until a couple hours before the event that I would be meeting some of them.”

The event was coordinated by Tech. Sgt. Craig Colton, an Abilene area Air Force recruiter, and WWE representatives.

“This was a great opportunity for these (Airmen),” Sergeant Colton said. “(They) have been overseas serving their country, and I thought, if possible, this would be a great thing to honor them with.”

The Airmen shook hands, got autographs and posed for photographs with wrestlers Victoria and Sylvan Grenier.

The WWE officials said they were just as happy to meet the Airmen.

“It was our pleasure to have Dyess Airmen come out and meet our wrestlers,” said Joe Villa, WWE live events media coordinator. “We, 110 percent, appreciate and support our troops, whether (they are) serving at home or abroad, and any bit of joy we can bring to them we try to do.”

The Airmen also watched the show in second-row ringside seats.

Other Dyess Airmen also were involved in the show.

The base honor guard presented the colors at the opening of the show, while 1st Lt. Benjamin Gamble, of the 7th Bomb Wing public affairs office, sang the national anthem.

“It was definitely a different experience,” said Senior Airman Michael Bilharz, honor guard instructor. “We’ve presented the colors at other sporting events before, but never at wrestling. The crowd was very energetic.

“It was the same basic routine that we always do,” he said. “But for the newer members of the detail, they felt like movie stars.”

Staff Sgt. Tianna Vazquez, also of the honor guard, said it was a different experience, and one she will not soon forget.

“We spent a lot of time backstage waiting for our cue to go on,” she said. “Wrestlers would walk by and thank us for being there and would ask if they could take a picture with us. People who won backstage passes from local radio stations didn’t get to meet them as much as we did.”