By Taylor Short/reporter3@trcle.com
Cars, blues and barbecue are on tap for Saturday as a local Iraqi war veteran hosts the Troop Rally Music Festival from 3-5 p.m. in Cleburne’s Hulen Park.
Sgt. Jonathan Laureles returned to Cleburne in August after six tours in Iraq and five years of service in the Army.
He knows first-hand the issues veterans face upon returning home and has embarked on a new mission to establish a Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Cleburne — one where the new generation of young veterans can commune or receive support and counseling.
To do this, Laureles is looking for some of the estimated 12,490 veterans in Johnson County who are not members of a VFW post to join his cause Saturday while enjoying the food, fun and games.
Attendees can register as supporters or make donations, he said.
“The VFW down in Austin has created a subaccount for Cleburne, so if we do get enough members, we’ll have an account already set up for donations we receive then,” Laureles said. “If we don’t get enough, they’ll hold that until we do eventually, or it will just go toward the state VFW.”
The event begins with a car show hosted by Johnson County’s Real Rodz from 3-5 p.m. for $10, followed by live music from The Dirty Jewett Band with Lindsey Moore and Friends.
Headlining is blues outfit The Wood Grain.
Laureles said there will also be a horse shoe tournament with prizes and a silent auction for a painting he brought back from Baghdad.
Red Chew Chew BBQ & Grill will offer brisket tacos and nachos, and Starbucks has agreed to serve free coffee, he said.
Attendees are welcomed to come on stage between songs to share their thoughts in honor of the armed forces, in time for Veteran’s Day on Nov. 11.
“The band members and different singer-songwriters that are going to be there have close ties to the military,” he said. “They have friends that have been deployed and a handful of them have lost friends in Iraq, so I’m sure they’ll be saying a few things on their behalf as well.”
Even if Laureles is unable to rally the 17 veterans needed to establish the Cleburne VFW post, he said he wouldn’t let it stop him.
“I would go back to the recruiting stage, which is just talking to people and representing the VFW and asking people to join. The VFW works on a very grass roots level, so it’s really a lot of word of mouth,” he said. “Hopefully, I will have enough. If not, maybe I’ll plan another event.”
Laureles can be contacted at jonathan.laureles@us.army.mil.
