A special benefit tournament took place at the Fort Washington Country Club in Fresno in honor of Clovis veterans.
The 16th annual Hubbard-Baro Memorial Golf Tournament was held on Wednesday, Nov. 11, in honor of Corporal Jeremiah Baro, Lance Corporal Jared Hubbard and six more fallen veterans from Buchanan High School.
The special tournament raises money for the Fresno VA Hospital and is played every November 11 unless it lands on a Sunday.
In 2005, the tournament began with a group of friends as a way to honor Hubbard and Baro, who had both attended Buchanan High School and both were killed in action in 2004.
The group wanted to honor them and decided that Veterans Day would be the perfect way to honor their fallen friends. The tournament continued to grow and within a few years, more people from the community got involved, making it what it is today.
With the continuing war on terror, six more students from Buchanan were killed in action and their names were also added to the tournament. One of the names on the list was Jared Hubbard’s own brother, Nathan Hubbard, who enlisted in the Army after his brother had fallen.
Rowan Walter, Jared Hubbard, Jeremiah Baro, Anthony Butterfield, Matthew Abbate, Brian Piercy, Nathan Hubbard, and Nicholas Eischen, all graduates of Buchanan High School were killed in action and are now known as the “Buchanan Eight”.
The tournament serves as a fundraiser, donating all of their funds collected to the VA Hospital. Last year’s tournament raised $45,000 in donations for the hospital.
Before the first tee off, there was food for those in attendance while they got ready to start the tournament. A special golf cart was given to the Der Manouel family for their contributions throughout the years to the tournament.
A ceremony was performed by members of the Fresno Charlie Water American Legion Post 4.
The ceremony had a roll call where all the names of the eight fallen veterans were called, along with a gun salute and the playing of Taps. Also, during the ceremony a fallen soldier’s memorial was raised in honor of those who gave the ultimate sacrifice, and an American flag was unfolded in honor of the families of fallen soldiers.
Afterwards, Tim Rolen from the New Hope Community Church spoke about what the flag meant for American soldiers and then led everyone in the Pledge of Allegiance. Rolen talked about how as Americans, we must believe in the freedoms given to us by the flag just like we believe in God.
After that there was a singing of the National Anthem to end the ceremony and begin the tournament.
“This tournament was started to honor these young men, to not forget the sacrifices they made and help other veterans,” Rolen said. “That first group of young men wanted to honor their friends and Veterans Day was the reminder of them not to forget Jered and Jeremiah.”