My Men....Veterans who should be Commemorated

In a person's life people come and go.  Some are memorable and some are not.  Sometimes you think back and you are thinking "O my remember that time I chased that boy all across the playground just to prove that I was as good as the guys...who was that...O yeah Daniel Metzker."  Sometimes you don't even remember the people until one day you cross paths again...Like Daniel and I did.  He started playing soccer on a opponent team of mine and  realized who he was.  A taller boy, no more glasses, not very nerdy looking anymore, and a much deeper voice...quiet a shock.  Anyways the point is you never know how important people really are in your life...until you just can't shake them off, whether you want to or not. 
I forever wanted to go into the military.  So I am rather impressed with the military men I meet.  I may not see them ever again but I can say I have learned considerably from some of them.  Two I spoke of as my teachers Sgtmaj White and Ltcdr Starr.  Now there are a few more common men around my town who deserve a lot more recognition than I am giving them but these are "my men."  They are:


George Butz (of Newberry). I have yet to get his story as a military veteran but he hasn't been the nicest gentleman to me at the American Legion Post 196! I could never repay him for how wonderful he has been to me.  He is a great man and could teach anyone a thing or two about kindness and working hard. 

Retired U.S. Air Force Col. Marcus "Red" Oliphant, who flew 250 air combat missions in Vietnam, a 1952 West Point graduate, was E-37 fighter/bomber pilot, and who was in the military service almost 28 years.  Red has been a great guy to me.  I met him my freshman year with his famous "welcome to Bloomfield" line.  I talked and he talked and he told me how happy he was that I was in NJROTC.  My mom later informed me that Red had actually given me "big red gum" at every single sporting event we ever went to, which wasn't many after I grew up.  Red wrote me a letter of recommendation and tried his hardest to help me get into the Air Force Academy, Now I hope I can just live up to high expectations of what ever I may do. 

 Bill Wells a World War II vet who represents the city's heroic past.
Wells was only 18 when he fought the Battle of the Bulge 67 years ago. He once served in a young unit called "The Diaper Brigade" until their heroics renamed them "The Bulge Buster." Where to begin...I met Bill Wells this year.  I have googled him in the past and read his miraculous story of his soldier days...lets just say Wells had a hole in his left hip that went through his body and another hole in his left arm...He went through a lot.  Mr. Wells is a fighter but a lover.  He shows a great deal of compassion to our NJROTC cadets.  He has been to all of our public events in the past year and attended our Military Ball.  It has been a great honor to get to know him.  He is a great teacher.  I hope one day I can become half the person Mr. Wells is.  His service is most heroic, honorable, and memorable.  ( I will publish another post with Mr. Wells accounted story) It is truly a blessing and inspiration to read.

George Helms Korean Veteran who returned home safely but not all did...Now imagine doing about 6 things at once, you have to focus hard on each task to get them done perfectly,  they all include a lot of movement....Now do all that with 30 pounds of gear -- on the average -- strapped to your back, battling over some of the toughest mountain terrain in the world, all the while carrying an M-I rife, meals-ready-to-eat, your mess kit. And then there were the bombs."My second night on 'Old Baldy' (a mountain battlefield) I thought it was coming in thunderstorms. Pretty soon we were diving in the foxholes," Helms said.  This was just part of what George Helms said to G.C. D.W. and to me when I escorted him and Paul Helms on the Hoosier Honor Flight.


Paul Helms a WWII veteran, who served in the U.S. Army.  have heard a lot of random tid bits of Paul's soldier story.  I can't wait to sit down with him and here the whole story.  I have read about it and think that he is a very heroic man.  When I decided I would do the Hoosier Honor Flight (after being selected of course) I never knew I would be on my own with the veterans at any point.  However, contrary to my belief I had moments when I had to figure out how to get them to point B from point A on my own.  Paul and George were so kind.  I was so fortunate to have them.  They even took care of me when the plane took off and I got sick...(the camera man had a time with that...I thought we were crashing when we were landing lol)


15 Greene Countians receive Bronze Star Medals The awarding of Bronze Star Medals was delayed by 60 years for a group of 15 Greene County World War II veterans. Recipients included Leslie C. Allen, Wayne E. Davis, Paul E. Helms, Emerson O. Martin and Ray Autrey, all of Bloomfield; Harley E. Carmichael, Route 6, Bloomfield; and Alvin B. Crowe, rural Bloomfield; Kenneth H. Sullivan, Solsberry; Lester H. Bland, Linton; Howard N. Lee and Don E. Eccles of Jasonville; Billy G. Wells, Lyons, and Earl Carrell of Worthington.

The Flight of a century!

Above pictured from left to right is Red Oliphant, George Helms, Me, and Paul Helms.

We participated in the very last Hoosier Honor Flight to be done, April 28, 2010

I know My veterans, pictured above, enjoed it immensely... Our leader was John W. Tilford a colonel, military intelligence, United States Army Reserve (ret.); former Monroe County veterans service officer; and founder and president, Hoosier Honor Flight, Inc.
  

Below is what Mr. John Tilford had to say about the events that occured on the trip...

Everything worked out in the end. The last Hoosier Honor Flight took off late — something about the Miami Air International co-pilot’s certification to land in Reagan National had to be approved at the last minute — but by 7:20 a.m. April 28 we were moving away from the Monroe County Airport terminal in our chartered Boeing 737. Every veteran, every guardian, and all three media folks had made it on board: 165 people.
The Indiana University Army ROTC color guard and other cadets saluted our veterans as we taxied for take-off. The pilot made up time on the way out, taking only an hour and 15 minutes. Two Reagan National fire trucks formed an arch of water with their high pressure hoses for our airplane on the way to our gate. Major General Jones from Andrews Air Force Base spoke to our veterans as our wheelchairs were brought up from the cargo hold.
One of our veterans collapsed a short way into the airport. We found out later in the day that he would be fine, but he was the center of attention for guardian Jim Buher (caught the veteran on the way down, preventing injury), the veteran’s son (his designated guardian for the flight), guardian Angela Parker (former policewoman, EMT, and partner with Andrews, Harrell, Mann, Carmin & Parker), and guardians Beverly Terry, Rose Ewing, and Carol Faulkner (registered nurses all).
Most of our veterans did not realize what had happened at Reagan as they boarded three tour buses for the ride to the World War II Memorial. Judge Steve Galvin commanded Able bus, filled with World War II veterans. Mike Pate had Baker, with Korean War veterans. I had “tail-end Charlie”, half-and-half. Former Sen. Bob Dole sent his apologies before our visit, but the Memorial itself was stunning in its solemn beauty. I finally found the “Kilroy was here” marking — a memorial to ubiquitous 1940s American whimsy within a memorial to American determination, sacrifice, and ultimate victory.
I believe ours was the first chartered flight from a community airport directly into Reagan National Airport since the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The staffs of Hoosier Honor Flight, Transportation Security Agency, Miami Air International (our air charter corporation), Reagan National Airport, and Senator Lugar’s office worked for months to make it happen. It paid off. After a relaxed one hour-plus at the World War II Memorial, we had plenty of time for our veterans at the Lincoln Memorial. Most walked or were pushed in wheelchairs from Lincoln to visit the Vietnam War and Korean War memorials. Some sat in the sun on the Lincoln steps and looked at the Mall. I wondered what they were seeing. I suspect it was a lot more than beautiful buildings and tourists.
Hoosier Honor Flight was the first Honor Flight Network hub in the nation to take Korean War veterans without restriction. While World War II veterans continue to rightfully be the focus of the national Honor Flight program, our applications from nearby World War II veterans had declined to the point that we could open the last flight to veterans of the Korean War. (We took two Korean War veterans on earlier flights under special circumstances: one had pancreatic cancer and the other was expected to loose his sight within six months.) In fact, no local World War II or Korean War veteran who submitted an application and was physically able to go was left behind. We even took some Indiana veterans from the national Honor Flight Network waiting list.
Our next “drive-by” was the Marine Corps Memorial, where we exchanged greetings with Wounded Warriors who were biking D.C. They were eating a quick lunch in the park-like area surrounding the Iwo Jima flag-raising monument. Many were amputees. All were physically challenged in some way by their combat wounds. We then rode to Arlington National Cemetery to board our chartered Tourmobile to the Tomb of the Unknowns to watch the changing of the guard.
We had time to stop at the Air Force Memorial overlooking Washington, Arlington, and the Pentagon. Our driver then made a special effort to drive by the Pentagon 9/11 Memorial on our way back to Reagan.
At Reagan we were rejoined by Angela, the veteran who had collapsed, and his son. Jacqueline Key, Continental Air manager at Reagan, had seen their plight and personally driven all three to every one of the places we had visited! Two separate, “V.I.P.” security screening lines were set up for us at Reagan. I don’t think any of our veterans noticed the long line of other travelers being screened extending half way down the main Reagan terminal — not one of whom complained a bit about our special treatment. Our plane did not wait in line to take off — a first for me out of Reagan.
As the airplane’s sound system played 1940s popular music in the background, we conducted a surprise “mail call.” Guardian Cheryl Holladay (another RN), assisted by many others, had obtained letters from school children across southern Indiana for our veterans. She even allowed a few “thank you for your service” letters to be included from politicians. Mike Pate and I called out the veterans names, they “answered up,” and their mail was passed back to them, just as it had been over 65 years before.
We returned to Monroe County Airport less than 12 hours after our departure to see a welcoming crowd of 300. There were friends and relatives, Southern Indiana Pipes & Drums bagpipers, IU Army ROTC color guard, ROTC cadre in dress blues, and many cadets to help with crowd control and to assist the disabled veterans from the plane.
Two fire trucks formed an arch of water with their high pressure hoses over our plane as we taxied to the Monroe County Airport terminal. One veteran remarked that our airplane must have been very dirty to require two washings

Senior year...a time for Hello's and Goodbye's: NJROTC

I walked into the classroom two weeks before school started.  Wow everything looks so different, I thought.  Is think really the same NJROTC classroom I have been learning in for the past three years.  Yes indeed it was.  Out walks my new instructor, Leutenant Commander Starr.  Ltcdr Starr reminded me a lot of Lt Ostergren.  It was funny how Lt and Senior chief compared a lot to Ltcdr and Sgtmaj.  Opon arrival at the meeting we were aware that both teachers were supposed to be here.  However, only Ltcdr was.  He informed us that Sgtmaj's daughter had been killed in a car accident and talked to us about the dangers of driving.  Two other cadets and I attended the funeral.  I learned a lot about Sgtmaj at that funeral that I don't really know if I would have before. He had a big family.  They were really nice and welcoming.  You could tell how big sgtmaj's heart was.  He had cadets there from his school he had just moved from.  We all showed up in uniform and they would hug, hand shake, and talk to all the family members.  After this we had the start of school.  Sgtmaj still was not back yet, which was to be expected at that time.  Ltcdr taught the classes and we learned all about Alabama.  Ltcdr was from Alabama and as much as hearing about it after a while could get old....we would just have someone ask a Alabama question and that would take up the whole class period, good or bad.

Sgtmaj came and I enjoyed having him as a teacher.  I was cadet teaching Military Science for my third year and Sgtmaj was the teacher in there.  So I got to experience him in two different settings a day.  Sgtmaj taught me a lot about the love of a family.  He may not even know but I learned so much of where I was going and what I wanted to do just by conversations I had when sitting with him or talking to him before lunch or during.  He taught me how important it is to hold on to the ones you love.  He also taught me to laugh things off sometimes.  Sometimes things would stress me out like crazy and he would just try to help me chill.  I had my moments when I would get so mad at him until I realized he was making me a better person for what he did.   I will forever care dearly for him as my teacher.  He made me learn a lot that one school year...and not just book knowledge. :) 

Ltcdr was a tough cookie.  Very strict about what he wanted done and how it should be done.  I was never sure how to react to him.  I was always so good at reading people growing up and knowing how to play their strong suits and stay away from the others...well Ltcdr was Alabama.  It was hard to crack it anymore than that.  He "Irked" me off many times but he worked hard to try and get me to where I wanted to be.  We did loads of tests and paper work to try and get me into the Air Force of Navy Academy.  I couldn't have even tried to if it weren't for him. 

Both these men were great teachers and taught me a lot more than just what you need to learn in school.  By the time I graduated, thanks to Sgtmaj, Ltcdr, and my determination, I had achieved the highest position I could be. I still worked hard.  I wanted to prove to Ltcdr that just because I achieved that didn't mean I was going to give up.  I wanted to show that I deserved to be where I was. 

So many of teh cadets helped me.  You know how they say you can't be a leader without followers that is so very true in the NJROTC experience.  I couldn't have got to where I was if I hadn't had the cadets I had.  There were some who are forever memorable for the stupid things they did (such as Alex Ickes), the ones I tried so hard to make them realize they are way too much like me (Katie Watts), and the ones who just overall proved that they could handle anything Sgtmaj, Ltcdr, or I threw at them (Julie Martin, Scot McKinzie, Whitmer, and so many more) .  

As much as I know Katie was like me.  I was the one who she would listen to in the unit, most of the time.  She is so much like me. A bottle cracker that is just waiting to be lit if you say the wrong thing.  However, she strives to prove that she is good enough.  The real shock to me was Miss Abby Kindred.  O that girl.  She was a keeper.  She was opposite of me...I went against the grain of my mother and joined...Her dad forced her to join.  She seemed to make the most of it.  She did her silly stuff in class and made me mad at times but I couldn't have had a more fun fourth year without her.  She went to boot camp this summer, and made it back alive. As much as I doubted I am sure that girl is going to go far. 

There are so many cadets who shined last year.  We doubled our unit.  I was so proud of all the awards we achieved and everything we did.  We accomplished so much.  Now I will be going into the NJROTC meeting tomorrow as a has-been.  It kills me because that unit was my second family.  I was actually closer to some of them than some of my family.  However, I will always remember them and how much they helped me achieve and learn.

I tried to join the military but couldn't because I was diagnosed as legally blind.  I had it checked and double checked to make sure I couldn't join because I wanted to so bad.  Now I am just a girl who has to try to find a way to serve her country on the home front. :) However, my NJROTC career was the best experince I could ever ask for. :) Thank you!!  

The start of the NJROTC Career...all because of the word NO.

It all started with a little girl being told she couldn't do it. What is it, you might ask? Well, it is her going into a little program at her school that made a big difference in her life, That program was NJROTC (Navy Junior Reserve officers Training Corps). In my small hometown when someone tells me I can't do something it is like shoving it in my hand and telling me you better try this and succeed to prove a point. When my mother told me I couldn't do NJROTC because it wasn't really a girl thing and she didn't think I could tough it out, at first I said O yes I can...and I am going to prove it.

My first year was tough, I am not going to lie. I hated being told what to do by people my own age.   That was also the era where other students who were higher rank than me could give me push ups.  Lets see why could I crank out push ups for a PFT my senior year...because I spent my first and second year doing so many push ups for the upper class it was ridiculous.  I couldn't do anything right.  I was always doing a push up for some reason. O and don't worry if you broke your wrist (like I managed to do) they dish out Wall-sits. :) There are many times I thought about quiting but I didn't want to give ANYONE that satisfaction. I had to succeed, I always had before. That summer I went to boot camp.  I knew it would be hard but I had to do it.  I wanted to prove I wasn't near as girly as some thought and that I wasn't going to follow in my brother's foot-steps (he dropped out of NJROTC).  I rather LOVED boot camp.  There were moments I hated but that is just like life. My second year still felt pretty hard, I was trying so hard to prove I was good enough to be at the top. I wanted everyone to know that I could overcome the obstacles that were put in my way.  We had two very great instructors. Lt. Ostergren and Senior Chief Tippery. They were both great men. Lieutenant Ostergren was a great teacher. He never once let us think we could do the bare minimum and he always made us fight for what we wanted. He drove me to want to become a great leader. Senior Chief was kind of my run to guy at first. When I ever needed anything I would go to him. He started a bible study group in the mornings before school started and I would go every single Tuesday, this is also how I totalled my first car (dark rainy morning). Senior Chief taught me a lot about God. I was confused a lot about God and he cleared some of it up for me.

 My Junior year (third year) of NJROTC was like nothing I thought it would be.  Lieutenant was gone.  He retired and Senior Chief was trying to do it all by himself.  You could tell it was all really hard for him to do alone.  We had two girls and me in and out of the office trying to help him as much as possible, but there are still some things the students can't do.  I was given the 3rd in command position, at the time, our chain-of-command has been changed now.  I was happy for that.  I knew I had proved myself worthy of being a leader.  However, I still wanted to be at the top.  It was partially to prove that I could do it but I didn't want to just get there and give up.  I wanted to be that leader that was at the top but could still relate to everyone and be friends and joke around with them.  I kept trying to prove I was worthy of everything. We had our awards banquet.  I presented Senior Chief with a quilt that his wife who had passed away started, and I finished so he wouldn't have to give it away like he was planning.  I also made him a scrapbook.  We had all the cadets sign it.  He will always be remembered by me no matter where I go, he goes, I do, or he does.  That summer I was sent to Leadership Academy.  I was determined to do my best there as well.  I had some great friends and overall loved the place.  I would go back today if I could. 

O NOW THE BIG YEAR.....New blog. :) Read about my Fourth, Senior year, of NJROTC in my final NJROTC blog. :)

How it began...

It all started when a man and a woman decided they loved each other.  They were high school sweethearts and they wanted to make a life for themselves.   The man, Billy, got into drugs.  He convinced the woman, Deanna, to join him.  After a while they had become "druggies" together.  They didn't care what anyone thought though because they still loved each other.  They had kids but since they were too fond of their addiction they tossed the children aside.  This is where I come in.  I was one of those children tossed to the side.  I was locked in a closet for four years by these people, I am still told to call my parents.  The truth of the matter is i am now adopted and away from that horrendous environment and I couldn't imagine ever calling them my parents again. I was four and weighed about six to eight lbs.  This is how much a newborn weighs, just so you understand how small i was.  I was like one of those fragile porcelain dolls.  If someone did the slightest thing wrong they probably could have broke me.  I couldn't walk, talk, or do anything a child my age should. 

Maybe you are reading this wondering why in the world is this girl saying this all on here.  Well the truth is that little start impacted the rest of my life.  As I lay here in bed typing this to you I take a allergy pill and pray it works.  I am allergic to almost everything outside.  Trees, weeds, dander, dust, pollen, mold, etc.  This is because of that paragraph I just typed above.  Since I was locked in a closet and malnourished when the police came and took me out of the closet all the things outside hit me at once.  My immune system wasn't ready for  the attack.  My whole life I have just thought o well I don't care about these allergies anyways, it's all good. 

So that is one small thing I deal with....why do I seem to be complaining?  Why is my name military girl-wanna-be?  That's where my next blog comes into play...