The Greater Arlington Chamber’s 7th Annual Legends & Leaders, presented by SFC, celebrated the grand opening of the National Medal of Honor Museum.

“To be in this hall, to have this whole community a part of it, I’m pretty proud,” Chris Cassidy, NMOHM President & CEO and former Navy SEAL and NASA Chief Astronaut, said. “It’s amazing, and our team is so proud to be in Arlington.”

 “As a veteran, to have something of this statute that represents those that have gone beyond the call of duty is truly special,” Chad Hennings, Air Force Veteran & Three-time Super Bowl Champion, said.

The night began with a moment of silence to remember the legends represented in the museum and a performance honoring the recipient’s legendary legacies by bagpiper Steven Pruitt.

During the Leaders panel moderated by Chamber President & CEO Michael Jacobson, Hennings and Cassidy discussed living out the Medal of Honor values of courage, sacrifice, integrity, commitment, patriotism and citizenship.

“These values are not just for the Medal of Honor recipients; they’re a code for each of us to live our lives by,” Jacobson said. 

Citizenship

Cassidy shared how being a citizen goes beyond understanding and obeying the laws of that entity, and for him, it goes beyond just being a citizen of the United States.

Cassidy recalls looking at the Earth from space during one of his 10 space missions.

“In that moment, you realize that you’re a citizen of Earth,” he said. “For me, citizenship has multiple layers, not just being a citizen of the United States, but being a citizen of Earth. Each of those layers has an element of doing your part to contribute to the greater good of whatever lens you’re looking through.”

Integrity & Commitment

“You don’t truly own these values until it costs you something,” Hennings said.

When Hennings decided to attend the Air Force Academy and train to become a jet pilot, he committed to eight years of military service. During his senior year, he had a breakout season and was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys.

Hennings faced a predicament. He’d committed to serve in the military, but now, he had an opportunity to play in the NFL.

“I wanted to see if I had the right stuff to play in the NFL, but I had made a commitment,” he said. “If I want to be a man of integrity and an individual of commitment, I needed to follow through.”

Hennings knew this decision would cost him playing in the NFL, but he completed pilot training. During his four-years with the Air Force, Hennings flew 45 missions in northern Iraq. Because of military downsizing in the early 90s, the last four years of his commitment were waived, and Hennings joined the Dallas Cowboys.

“I flew my last mission in Iraq in ‘92 and played the Superbowl in the same year,” Hennings said.

Patriotism

Despite serving the United States government for many years, it wasn’t until Cassidy’s last space mission that the gravity of his service hit him. He reached out to open the hatch and saw the American flag on his shoulder with Earth in the broad daylight below it.

“At that point in my career, I realized how significant it was to represent my country,” Cassidy said. “I’m a United States military person up here on the International Space Station with countries from all around the world who built this thing together. It struck me as this huge patriotic moment.”

Courage

Hennings believes courage is the foundation of all the other values.
“It takes courage to have integrity, to be patriotic and to make sacrifices,” he said. “The individuals honored at this museum exemplified these virtues in an extreme or in an anomaly, but each of us exemplifies courage every day in our lives.”

Every time someone faces a fear or anxiety or steps into the unknown, they demonstrate courage.

Sacrifice

“Military life often includes long deployments,” Cassidy said. “You’re proud of the job. Your family’s proud of the job, but that separation is real.”

A clear moment that captures family sacrifice is when active duty service members arrive at the military airport. 

“They get on the plane while their friends and family are waving goodbye,” Cassidy said. “That’s sacrifice.”

Following the Leaders panel, attendees visited the museum and learned more about the Medal of Honor recipients.

A special thank you to our sponsors!

Presenting: SFC
Event Partner: The National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation
Wine Sponsor: Dallas Cowboys
Legends Sponsor: Sargent Family Foundation
Leaders Sponsor: Spring Creek Barbeque
Platinum: Graham Associates, Loews Hotel Arlington, LBL Architects, Texas Health Resources, Texas Health Memorial Hospital
Gold: CAE, Con-Real, Hutcherson Construction, mma, Texas Live!, Republic Services, The University of Texas at Arlington, Viridian Holdings and The Nehemiah Company

Photography by Birdie Images & Charity Fitch, Greater Arlington Chamber