Spirit of America nominee: Wayne Wallingford

Nominated by Tom Wilmas

My family and I nominate Wayne Wallingford for the Spirit of America Award for 2012 because of his selfless contributions to all Americans and his larger-than-life influence.

Wayne's sacrifices to preserve our American heritage began more than 45 years ago in 1970 when he served five tours in Vietnam, where he flew over 300 combat missions and six tours in Desert Storm. In one of his flying missions in Vietnam, enemy shrapnel ripped into the aircraft he was flying and Wayne's courageous focus helped his wounded plane limp safely to land, saving his fellow servicemen.

He is the recipient of 47 medals for his service, including the Silver Star for bravery and the Distinguished Flying Cross. He retired from the United States Air Force as a lieutenant colonel, having served on active duty for 25 years. More recently in his indomitable passions of serving and striving to add to the quality of life for Southeast Missourians, Wallingford was elected to represent the 158th District as a Missouri House Representative in 2012. He has been a distinguished leader in the House on many important issues to Southeast Missouri, including defending the rights of the unborn, protecting owner property rights and reducing tax burden on taxpayers while building an unprecedented bipartisan coalition among all legislators. The stage of history shouldn't always feature swaggering braggarts, but sometimes it is good to spotlight men like Wayne Wallingford, who avoids aggrandizement even when he has earned it. Wayne's influence that captures the American spirit is of an immortal, sublime, humble imprint of the unremarked forces that split the heart and make pavement toss-forces concealed in quiet people doing extraordinary things. That is why Wayne Wallingford is worthy of the Southeast Missouri Spirit of America Award.

Community involvement

* Member Young Life Committee of Young Life International

* Board of directors of the United Way of Southeast Missouri

* Board president of the SEMO Alliance for Disability Independence

* Vice president of the Boys & Girls Club Board

* Former vice chair of the Friends of Scouting campaign

* Director of the Community Counseling Center Foundation

* Former commander of American Legion Post 63

* Chairman of Optimist Youth in Government

* Board of directors of the Youth Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition

* Founding member and director of the Samaritan Regional Health Clinic Initiative

* Past president and director of the Southeast Missouri Pachyderm Club

* Director of the National Federation of the Grand Order of Pachyderm Clubs

* Precinct 14 chairman for the Cape Girardeau County Republican Committee

* Member of the Missouri Farm Bureau

* Member of the VFW

* Life member of the National Rifle Association