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96 maconmagazine.com | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2024 THE PLATOON It begins with a ceremony. We gather around a poignant display of combat boots worn by U.S. troops. Dog tags hang from crosses marked with each major war, surrounded by pictures of the fallen. In the center is a photo of Army Capt. Kyle A. Comfort, the namesake of Comfort Farms, where we find ourselves this cold January morning. Jon served with Kyle at Fort Benning and on several tours of active duty, where the two Rangers formed a strong bond of friendship. In 2010, at 27 years old, Comfort was killed by an improvised explosive device when insurgents attacked his unit in Afghanistan. Jon carried his captain's lifeless body to the helicopter. In a later incident, Jon suffered a traumatic brain injury, and the diagnosis and subsequent battles with post-traumatic stress disorder led to his medical retirement from the military in 2013. After struggling with thoughts of suicide, he founded Comfort Farms as a place for veterans at high risk of suicide or facing homelessness. As the ceremony progresses, two veterans perform a flag folding and solemnly place the triangle of stars and stripes alongside Comfort's portrait. Then, loved ones in the crowd come forward to hang their fallen soldiers' dog tags around each cross, each kneeling, then standing to salute while a drum is beaten and a chant is sung. As the drum fades, the bagpipes begin. Then, Jon comes to address the gathered crowd. Standing beside the last cross, marked PTSD 22 PER DAY, Jon shakily begins speaking. "We always kick it off with this memorial to get everybody's mind right as to why we're here in the first place," he says to the somber group. "We're here to remember the veterans who killed themselves because they didn't have this space, they didn't have you guys…" He trails off, overcome with emotion. Wayne Fritter (affectionately known as Critter, the retired Marine who organizes the display) walks over to rest a gentle hand on Jon's shoulder. Jon turns back to face the crowd. "I'm opened up like a flower right now," he laughs. "Very vulnerable, and that's okay." The crowd nods because what everyone here knows, implicitly, is that this is more than a food festival. Jon continues, "When you wear the green uniform, nobody cares if you're Black, white, Hispanic, your religion. Nobody cares about anything like that. We're all fighting for the same cause. This year we challenged ourselves to start representing culture and what that means. We chose Spanish cuisine this year, and we've challenged all our chefs to come here and learn something new." LEFT The flag folded during the opening ceremony is placed beside this portrait of Capt. Kyle Comfort. MIDDLE Jon addresses the crowd. The veterans represented by the boots and dog tags are known as "The Platoon." Critter shows us the small boots of an Army nurse.