Retired U.S. Navy Chief Warrant Officer 4 Solomon Atkinson quietly waits in his wheelchair wearing his SEAL insignia, an eagle perched on a horizontal three-pronged trident, clutching a pistol, with an upright anchor, on his purple beret and decade’s worth of ribbons adorning his jacket before receiving the Alaska Governor’s Veteran Advocacy Award during a ceremony in Metlakatla, Alaska, Dec. 10, 2018. Atkinson returned to his native Alaska after 22 years of Naval service in 1976, continuing to serve his community on the Indian Community Council and Board of Education, as a founder and president of the first veteran’s organization on Annette Island, and as mayor of Metlakatla. (Photo courtesy of Maria Hayward)