Heroes at Home - Ed “Doc” Golden
Heroes at Home
In 2010, The Wall that Heals, a traveling half-scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was exhibited at Pink Hill Park in Blue Springs. During the four days that it was displayed in our community, over 50,000 people visited the exhibit to pay tribute to the veterans who served. Thousands of Vietnam veterans were honored during this time with commemorative pins and medals to thank them for their service.
When the display was gone, however, many of these commemorative items remained unclaimed. A Vietnam veteran in our community, Ed “Doc” Golden, made it his mission to ensure that these items find their way to veterans and their loved ones. He established the Heroes at Home program to acknowledge, celebrate, and remember the service and sacrifice of our veterans. “If we don't tell our story, history will forget us,” he says. “What I do provides awareness to the public of our Vietnam Veterans who simply need to be thanked.” In the past nine years, Doc estimates that he has connected with and celebrated the service of over 500 Vietnam veterans or their families in our community and beyond. Many of the Heroes at Home pinning ceremonies are performed in person, and some commemorative items are sent in the mail to other states as he finds veterans online through social media.
“The most important part of this project is for the veterans and families to feel truly loved and appreciated, and help them heal the wounds that many have carried silently for decades,” says Doc, who served onboard four ships and two shore stations during the Vietnam War, and has lived a life of service ever since. “When I raised my hand to join the US Navy on my 17th birthday,” he says, “I swore I would serve in the US Navy for 20 years. Due to complications of having a wife abandon two small children, I had to come home and take off my uniform after only ten years. It was an incredible disturbance in my life, and felt somehow I must finish my enlistment.” Since that time, he has logged more than 30,000 hours of volunteer service toward finishing his oath to serve 20 years. These hours of service have been logged in chaplaincy work with the Blue Springs Police Department, Inter City Fire Protection District, Missouri Peace Officers Association, and Vietnam Veterans of America. Doc retired from the Blue Springs Police Department in 2014, where he was the VIPS (Volunteers in Police Service) Operation Supervisor and CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) member.
Doc, who has a Masters in Counseling Psychology and Doctorate in Theology, is an ordained Unity Minister and published author, has received six Lifetime Presidential Volunteer Service Awards, and was named the Outstanding Citizen of the Year in 2015 by the Blue Springs Chamber of Commerce. He also serves on the Early Childhood Development and Adult Education Advisory boards for the Blue Springs School District, has provided education and counseling to addiction recovery programs, and is CEO and Chairman of the Board (Emeritus) of Operation Thermal Reunion, Inc., a nonprofit organization that raises money to purchase Thermal Imaging cameras for fire fighters. Operation Thermal Reunion, Inc. has donated more than $100,000 in life-saving thermal imaging equipment to stations in need.
“Serving others is what feeds me and gives me a reason to get up and suit up everyday,” he says. “I enjoy having a part in my community, and hopefully inspire others to do the same.”
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