Retired Maj. Ed Pulido addressed members of the Greater Lawton Rotary Club about his Army tour of duty in Iraq, during which he lost his left leg, and about his role in the establishment of two foundations honoring military veterans during a noon meeting Thursday at Cameron University.

Pulido is a former Lawton resident who graduated from MacArthur High School and later attended Cameron, where he received his ROTC commission. He now resides in Oklahoma City with his wife, Karen, and their two daughters: Kaitlin, 11, and Kinsley, 6. He is currently the vice president of public relations and military affairs for the Folds of Honor Foundation, which he helped establish, along with Warriors for Freedom.

Both of those foundations are based in Edmond. The Folds of Honor provides post-secondary education scholarships for children and spouses of military service men and women killed or disabled while in service, while the Warriors of Freedom provides support to mental, physical and holistic services for the service men and women and their families.

Pulido said he and other Pulido said he and other veterans do not represent any specific political group or organization. "At the end of the day, it's very important that we all must work together to protect the freedom of this nation," he said.

He outlined the nation's history of defending freedom, reporting that Americans who fought in World War II were among the nation's greatest heroes. However, he also reported that mistakes were made in failing to recognize the service men and women who served in the Vietnam War. "They were not given the due respect they deserved back then," he said. "But today, that has changed because of them. Every time I see a Vietnam veteran, I tell him 'welcome home'."

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