PROVO — Some 600 people gathered Friday night at a gala to celebrate extraordinary dedication to freedom.
The celebration is part of America's Freedom Festival at Provo — and one that goes straight to the heart of the Fourth of July festivities. At the gala, men and women are honored for selfless service toward the promotion of freedom throughout the world.
"This is an opportunity to really look at the people who have . . . made sacrifices," said Vicki Garbutt, who oversaw the gala. "The commitment to what they pursue is just incredible. I find their stories very inspiring."
Four men were honored this year. Pascal Moretti, Joseph Stobbe and Muhammad Yunus were honored in the Wilkinson Center Ballroom at Brigham Young University.
An award was also presented posthumously to the late U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Paul Ray Smith. It was accepted by Master Sgt. Timothy Campbell, one of Smith's former fellow soldiers.
Smith died for the cause of freedom while serving near Baghdad in April 2003.
His unit, 2nd Platoon, Bravo Company, 11th Engineer Battalion, was attacked by a large enemy group while he was temporarily in command. His selflessly defended his soldiers with a .50 caliber machine gun mounted on a damaged personnel carrier.
When Smith was wounded, he had already saved the lives of more than 100 soldiers and prevented enemy forces from getting closer to an aid station.
In April, he was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously by President George W. Bush — the highest award for bravery and the first awarded for the conflict in Iraq.
"We will never forget his courage and dedication," Campbell said in an acceptance speech. "He was modest and generous and placed the lives of his soldiers above his own."
He is survived by his wife, Birgit, and two children.
But freedom is obtained through more than just guns, and professor Muhammad Yunus has used a different approach to increasing freedom in the world. As founder of the Grameen Bank, he has helped lead many of the poorest villagers in Bangladesh out of poverty, empowering them with a sense of self-sufficiency.
Providing loans as small as $8 and $10 and as much as $200, the Grameen Bank is changing the lives of citizens in more than 42,000 villages. Through small, manageable loans, totaling more than $500 million, more than 2.5 million people have been given the first step out of poverty and toward self-reliance. Ninety-five percent of those people have been women, he said.
"Inside (people), no matter how poor, is the precious gift of creativity. But millions, billions never get the opportunity to unwrap that gift because societies have been unkind to them," he said.
Another individual instrumental in creating freedom, Joseph Stobbe of Salt Lake City, was also honored for his service during World War II.
While serving in France, he was seriously injured during a battle in the city of Metzervisse to drive back Nazi forces. So the 23-year-old was sent home, where he married and began his adult life as a physician.
Nearly 60 years later, in 2001, Stobbe returned to France, the same area where he once served, to take pictures. While there, he was injured again, this time in a car accident.
When the local police chief Moretti learned about Stobbe's situation, he gathered local villagers to visit the veteran in the hospital, then went to work in raising awareness about Stobbe's role in the city's liberation. Moretti created a group dedicated to honoring Stobbe and the other liberators and raised nearly $200,000 to pay travel costs to bring almost 50 veterans to Metzervisse for a celebration.
Stobbe and six family members traveled to France, enjoying parties, speeches, parades and other celebrations in various towns that honored the former soldiers.
"His accident has changed my life," said Moretti through his French interpreter. Through talking to Stobbe, Moretti helped his town understand the great gift they had been given: "Freedom — the most beautiful gift on earth," he said.
Broadcast schedule
A live broadcast of the Fourth of July parade in Provo will be broadcast via iProvo on Channel 17 from 9 to 11 a.m. The parade will also be rebroadcast on iProvo's Channel 1 at a later date, not yet determined.
E-MAIL: sisraelsen@desnews.com