The soldiers who fought in Vietnam were not welcomed home, and as far as Bert Brady is concerned, that will not be the case for veterans of the war in Iraq.

Brady, who lives outside of Dallas, travels to the Dallas Airport almost daily to welcome soldiers returning from duty in Iraq.

Brady and four others were honored Saturday night at the Freedom Festival's annual Freedom Awards gala for their unique commitment to family, freedom, God and country.

In the past year, Brady has spent 300 days at the airport to support the troops, and he makes sure he's not alone. The World War II Army veteran routinely gathers dozens of people to greet the troops with him.

"Sometimes he'll get as many as 200 people there," said Paul Warner, executive director of the Freedom Festival.

Soldiers who return from duty arrive either in Atlanta or in Dallas, where they are greeted and thanked for their service by Brady. Those who come through Dallas are returning home to the West.

"I've had the pleasure to thank more soldiers per capita from Utah than any other state," Brady said.

Also honored Saturday night were Gen. Bruce Carlson, Vaughn J. Featherstone, Jaden Bliss of Lehi and Gayland "Mike" Mills.

Carlson is a four-star general and serves as commander over Air Force Materiel Command at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio.

Carlson joined the Air Force during the Vietnam War, when the military was not popular. However, his devotion to his family and his country guided his actions in the military.

"We must be willing to sacrifice as those generations before us were willing to do," Carlson said.

Carlson was honored for his services in providing management services and logistics support to keep Air Force weapons ready for use. He has also received numerous awards, including a Distinguished Service Medal.

Vaughn J. Featherstone, an emeritus member of the First Quorum of the Seventy in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was given a Freedom Award for his commitment to God and others.

Featherstone has served his church as a mission, temple and area president and has been a Boy Scout leader for many years. He is committed to people's happiness and success and represents what is good and right in America, Warner said.

Elder Featherstone also will be the keynote speaker at this evening's patriotic service, which will be held in the McKay Events Center at 7 p.m.

Jaden Bliss, a 13-year-old Lehi resident, was praised in Saturday's ceremony for her dedication to the soldiers who are fighting in Iraq.

Bliss has written songs for the soldiers, including "God Bless Our Soldiers Tonight." She has also recorded the songs on a CD, the money from which she donates to families who have lost someone in Iraq.

Mike Mills has served the United States of America for many years, and landed with the second wave of soldiers on Omaha Beach the day after D-Day. Mills continued to fight in Europe until Germany surrendered.

Upon his arrival on the beach, Mills said he dove in one hole for cover and another soldier dove in the hole next to him. While Mills was safe through the night, the soldier next to him was killed by a shell.

"People died around him, over him, on top of him," Warner said.

Mills was a football star at BYU before his Army days and left behind a wife and new child when he left to fight in Europe. After he fought in Normandy, his wife did not know if he was dead or alive for six weeks.

"It's proven that freedom is not free by those who gave their utmost," Mills said.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A1.