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Cherokee Veteran Receives Free Trip To Super Bowl

TAHLEQUAH (KFSM) – A local veteran is heading to Glendale, Arizona this weekend, after he was picked to get a free trip to Super Bowl XLIX. “I can&#...

TAHLEQUAH (KFSM) - A local veteran is heading to Glendale, Arizona this weekend, after he was picked to get a free trip to Super Bowl XLIX.

"I can't imagine the amount of adrenaline that`s going to be going through the stage, and the people," said Dustin Butler, a Cherokee veteran who served in the Marines and Air National Guard.  "It is going to be unreal."

Butler was deployed twice to Iraq during his service.

The organization “Operation Enduring Respect” picked Butler and 9 other veterans from across the country to get an all-expenses paid trip to the Super Bowl.

“Free tickets, and all-expense paid to the Super Bowl, it’s just not something you hear every day,” Butler said. “I always grew up watching it. I never thought I would go.”

Butler isn't the first Cherokee veteran to receive a trip like this to a Super Bowl. In 1967, the current Deputy Principal Chief received a trip to the first Super Bowl ever, which was played in the Los Angeles coliseum.

“The Super Bowl was something that I cherished that I went there,” said Joe Crittenden, Deputy Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. “Being received that way, and treated that way, I thought it was a great honor.”

Crittenden said he's glad another Cherokee veteran will get to experience the same thing he did 48 years ago.

“The fact that they are recognizing a Cherokee citizen, is sort of a double blessing to us,” Crittenden said.

Butler said he's honored to be one of the 10 veterans picked to go to Super Bowl XLIX.

“I`m glad to have served my country,” Butler said. “There are more deserving veterans out there.”

During his four-day trip, Butler will also be treated to a meet-and-greet with Super Bowl hall-of-famers and even though his favorite team is the Dallas Cowboys, he said he hopes the Patriots walk away with the Super Bowl champion title.

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