That young man grew up to become Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry, who on Tuesday said he made up for lost time.
Berry and a number of military veterans attended a lunch event with Kiss members Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley at their newly opened Rock & Brews restaurant located on Montgomery Boulevard.
Stanley, who spoke first at a press conference there, said it was an honor to be in Albuquerque for this event, given that Kiss had been here many times before, but for concerts only.
“We live in a great country and the people we have to honor are the people that make liberties something that we get to enjoy every day,” Stanley said.
Stanley said he and Simmons respect the troops that fight on America’s behalf and want the vets to feel at home at Rock & Brews.
“We want everybody in the future to come to Rock & Brews. This is our Rock & Brews, but this is your home,” Stanley said.
Gilbert V. Roybal, one of the veterans in attendance, said he has been a Kiss fan for many years and felt honored they invited him to the luncheon.
“What they are putting up for the veterans, it’s outstanding, and I would like to see more businesses doing this for our troops,” Roybal said.
There are a lot of veterans who appreciate being honored and recognized like this, he said.
“I volunteered for the Marine Corps, because in those days in the 1960s, you either got drafted or volunteered because you’re going anyway,” Roybal said.
After volunteering, Roybal was sent to Da Nang, Vietnam, for an entire year in 1965, he said.
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“This kind of thing helps heal us guys who were really entrenched in the war,” Roybal said. “I only did one tour but there were many of my friends who did two or three tours.”
Rock music is most definitely not dead especially with Kiss being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, he said.
Stanley and Simmons spoke to the crowd of servicemen and women after presenting the Veterans Administration Health Care System with a $30,000 donation in the form of a huge check.
“Short and sweet, America is nothing without its men and women in uniform. God bless you all,” Simmons said.
Stanley wants people to put their money where their mouth is when it comes to helping our veterans, he said.
“Nobody can do everything for you that you deserve, but we want to make sure that everybody realizes it’s time for them to dig into their pockets,” Stanley said. “People talk about ‘give until it hurts.’ We say ‘give until it feels good.’”
Scott Evans, retired Marine veteran, said he served from 1987 to 1991 but rejoined the National Guard after 9/11.
“I was driving a truck for Schwan’s when the attacks happened ... I was getting ready to go to work and it looked like a random accident at first. Then everything unfolded,” Evans said.
The VA sent a letter to Evans letting him know that he was invited to this special event, he said.
“I’ve just started to get some of the treatment stuff done for post-traumatic stress disorder, and some health issues that I brought to their attention,” Evans said. “It was more concern on what might be in the future for my son than for me.”
The chemicals that troops are exposed to overseas can have a lasting effect on their children, he said.
Evans used to have a huge velvet portrait of Kiss on his wall as a kid, he said.
“It was from Juarez with the four Kiss faces on it and it must have been five feet tall,” Evans said. “It hung above my bed for years and now I get to meet the guys.”
It feels good to be appreciated by rock icons that people all look up to, he said.
Stephen Montoya is the culture editor for the New Mexico Daily Lobo. He can be reached at culture@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @StephenMontoya9.
