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.