DUBUQUE, Iowa -- Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred believes 3-year-old Sunny Kilburg’s arm cast might be the first cast that he’s ever signed.

Tori Kilburg’s daughter might want to hold on to that cast when she finally has it removed.

“Honestly, I’m very humbled by the fact that they would do something like this,” said Kilburg, who was one of three veterans honored with their families on Thursday morning by MLB at MercyOne Medical Center and surprised with tickets for the second edition of MLB at Field of Dreams. “It’s reaching out to the little guys. Showing us how much they appreciate what we’ve done and what we do on a daily basis.”

Manfred, flanked by longtime MLB star Raul Ibanez, took the time to chat, pose for photos and sign autographs for the veteran employees and current veteran patients at the hospital in a city that rests along the Mississippi River, about 20 miles east of the iconic movie location in Dyersville.

“I think we try to pick carefully the community events that we do, and picking this event is another example of baseball’s commitment to people who’ve served our country,” Manfred said. “I’ve met a lot of wonderful people here today, and it couldn’t be a better start to today’s activities.”

Kilburg, Sean Edaburn and the family of Jason Wilcox were the veterans honored with free tickets for the memorable evening in the Iowa cornfields -- which, as Manfred pointed out, is a hot commodity in the area these days.

“The only drawback to the Field of Dreams Game is that we can’t accommodate everybody that wants to go,” said Manfred, referring to the stadium’s intimate 8,000-seat capacity. “To have the chance to recognize people who didn’t think they’d be at the game tonight, and give them the chance to go, it’s a really exciting thing. The setting is really magical and we’re glad to be back here.”

MercyOne takes special pride in their services and treatments for military veterans, so the opportunity to partner up with MLB to salute those most deserving was a home run.

“It’s so special to have MLB here with us to honor our veterans, staff and members of our community who help us take care of our veteran patients,” said Kay Takes, president and CEO of MercyOne. “We’re just thrilled and it means a lot to us. To see the looks in the eyes of our veterans especially, but all of our folks, when the MLB Commissioner and players walk around the room, it’s just powerful. We’re so honored.”

Kilburg is a combat veteran who served in Iraq, and her husband, Jeremy, is also a combat veteran. Kilburg helped launch the hospital’s promotion for the visibility of female veterans, and their daughter, Sunny, was the hospital’s first MILVET baby.

“This is pretty amazing and a total surprise for me,” Kilburg said. “My husband knew everything and has been working behind the scenes, so this is a really great early birthday present, because my birthday is on Monday. I was so surprised; I had no idea. I just knew I was supposed to be here to talk about my experiences in the military and things like that, so I had no idea this was going on.”

Edaburn is a respiratory therapist with MercyOne’s Home Medical Equipment department, and he continues to serve as a Sergeant First Class in the U.S. Army with the 452nd Combat Support Hospital out of Milwaukee. He has been on several deployments, most recently serving in Fort Jackson, S.C., caring for military personnel with COVID-19.

“It’s just amazing,” Edaburn said. “After all the work with COVID and service to the country and everything, to get surprised like this was absolutely amazing. It’s going to be a fun experience, because I’ve wanted to see the Cubs play for a long time.”

One of Edaburn’s most memorable deployments was in 2005, when he was sent to Iraq as part of a transportation company. His role was to recover vehicles that had broken down on missions or had been disabled by roadside bombs. During his yearlong deployment, which included 146 combat missions, he drove more than 8,000 miles and his team recovered 42 vehicles without any injuries or loss of equipment.

His team was struck by a roadside bomb, but they were able to continue the mission. Edaburn wrote the standard operational guidelines for self-recovery operations for his unit -- and the unit that followed them -- and earned his second Army Commendation Medal for that deployment.

At MercyOne, during the largest and most challenging COVID-19 surge in the fall of 2020, Edaburn volunteered to redeploy from his usual role working day shifts in the Home Medical Equipment department to working full-time nights in the COVID unit as a respiratory therapist, caring for some of the most severely ill.

So seeing his beloved Cubs at the Field of Dreams is well deserved.

“It’s going to be amazing,” he said. “Super excited and just happy that baseball’s giving back and people are starting to get recognized. That wasn’t always the case in America, so I’m proud to be in the generation of vets that are being observed and recognized.”

Wilcox was a staff sergeant in the U.S. Army who suffered from post-traumatic stress and died by suicide in 2016. His parents, Ron and Janeen, and nephews, Sawyer and Cooper, accepted the tickets on his behalf as part of TAPS (Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors), a nonprofit that supports families who have lost a military loved one.

TAPS also provided the Wilcox family with a VIP experience of watching batting practice and meeting other VIPs on hand at the Field of Dreams.

“It’s so special,” said Ibanez, who played 19 seasons in the big leagues with the Mariners, Royals, Phillies, Yankees and Angels and now serves as MLB’s senior vice president of on-field operations. “It’s an honor and privilege to meet these ladies and gentlemen, these fine people that served for our country and sacrificed so much. It’s the least we can do to come out and visit and spend some time with them. Show our appreciation for everything that they do and have done.”

The league is also honoring the USA Patriots amputee softball team at the game, with 17 members of the team invited as GEICO’s Seats for Service honorees. Prior to the contest, they’ll watch batting practice, meet players and VIPs. Proceeds from an auction will support the USA Patriots Kids Camp, which will be held next summer on the Field of Dreams field.