veterans day 2014 pgs

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SaluteVeteransto

A special publication of the Ludington Daily News

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WELCOME VETERANSAND FAMILIES!

URKA AUTO CENTERCHEVROLET • BUICK

www.urkaauto.com

3736 W. US-10 (TOLL FREE) 888-462-8752

(231) 845-6282

We are proud to be chosen a Vets-Cars approved dealer.With our excellent customer service and low low prices, we havevowed that our service member's will receive a superior vehicle

buying experience. Come and experience thedifference here at Urka Auto Center.

Veterans please stop in and sign our “Wall of Honor”and let us say “Thank You” to you and

your families for all you’ve done for our country.

2 | Ludington daiLy newS/VeteRanS taB | Monday, noVeMBeR 10, 2014

THANK YOU FORYOUR SERVICE TO

OUR COUNTRY

www.rootstire.comTIRE & SERVICE, INC.

1944 W. US 10(Between Ludington& Scottville)

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We Thank You For Your Service

Monday, noVeMBeR 10, 2014 | Ludington daiLy newS/VeteRanS taB | 3

It just stood there before me,this gray polished wall.As it has for all to see,the names who gave their all.

It beckoned forth to teach me,a lesson of my very own.That peace and liberty are

not free,and this I must make known.

Thousands gave their all for me,their love, joys, and tomorrows.So I could have today to see,this tribute full of sorrows.

There is a name on the Wall,and lo it is not mine.

It is that of my wartime brother,whose life had run out of time.

It is not what you take with you,but what you leave behind.The name on the Wall is

always with me,and therefore will always be mine.

There is a name on the wall,and this I truly regret.It represents little good in death,and this I shall not forget.

Lt. Col. Donald G. Hall, U.S. Army, Retired

Sept. 11, 2014

The Name on the Wall

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Still serving where he canBY KEVIN BRACISZESKIdaiLy newS StaFF wRiteR

When Bill Swan thinks back on his time serving in

Korea during the Korean War, the weather jumps to the front of his mind.

“It was colder than h--- in Korea,” he recalled. “In the winter, over there, they told us it was be-tween 32 degrees and 40

degrees below zero and that isn’t the windchill factor.”

When asked how he stayed warm in that weather, Swan replied: “We didn’t. You just put on everything you had.

“When we started, it was summer and we didn’t have winter clothes,” he added.

Swan was among the first U.S. soldiers shipped to Korea because he was already serving with the occupation forces in nearby Sendai, Japan.

“I was in Japan when the war broke out in Ko-

rea and I was in Korea two days later,” he said.

He would remain in Korea for the next 17 months and four days, Swan recalled.

Joining upSwan, who will turn 85

on Nov. 12, lived at his grandmother’s house at the corner of Sixth and Adams streets during the 1940s and he graduated from Ludington High

School in 1948.“I graduated from high

school and was work-ing on the boats and one day I decided to enlist,” he said about joining the Army with a group of friends in 1948.

As an enlistee, Swan said, he was given a clas-sification as RA, which stood for regular Army. He said draftees had the classification US on their serial numbers.

His choices as an en-

listee, Swan said, were 18 months of service and time in the Army Reserves, 24 months of service and less time in the Army Reserves, or 36 months of service and no time in the Army Re-serves.

“I went with 36 months and then I got the Tru-man year added on when I was in Korea,” Swan said.

He began his military service Sept. 2, 1948 and

went to Fort Knox, Ken-tucky for basic training and attended school in New Jersey before he was shipped out to serve in Japan.

Soon he would be in Korea.

War zone“When we went in Ko-

rea it didn’t matter what your MOS (military occu-pational specialty) was, you were a foot soldier

because that’s what they needed,” Swan said.

He was trained as a me-chanic, a driver and a ra-dio repairman as well as a basic soldier.

Swan said he served in the Pusan Perimeter, which was the south-eastern corner of South Korea, an area where the invading North Korean Army had pushed United Nations forces early in the war.

“They were pumping troops in there with ev-erything that moved,” he said. “We were there to push back the North Ko-reans and you did what you were told.

“It was unbelievable how fast they pushed people and equipment in there.”

U.N. forces were later able to push the North Koreans back across the 38th Parallel and even back to the Yalu River, which was the border with China. The Chinese then entered the war to support North Korea.

The Chinese pushed U.N. forces back to the 38th Parallel, which was used as the boundary be-tween North Korea and South Korea after an ar-mistice was signed in July 1953.

“I got all the way to the Yalu River and that’s when we got going the other way,” Swan said.

“War is hell. It’s just fought in different ways in different places,” he said. “You can have a

See SWAN, pAGE 5

JEff KIESSEL | daiLy newSBill Swan holds up an “Army Times” newspaper.

‘when we went in Korea it didn’t matter what your MoS (military occupational specialty) was you were a foot soldier because that’s what they needed.’

Bill Swan

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PROUDLY SERVING AND REMEMBERINGTHOSE WHO SERVED

301 N. Jebavy Dr., Ludington, MI 49431 (231) 425-4412ROBERT W. ALEXANDER, Manager

2370 N. 72nd Ave., Hart, MI 49420 (231) 873-3415BRADLEY R. KING, Manager

www.kingfuneralhome.net

KING FUNERAL HOMEAND CREMATION SERVICES

Family Owned and Operated

We aregrateful to

the men and women whoserved in Vietnam and in allwars fought for our country.

6919 Abrahamson Rd.Ludington, MI 49431Office: 231-480-4707Fax: 231-480-4749Cell: 231-690-6033

SUNSHINE'SOUTDOORSERVICES, LLC


SWaN: ‘I think it’s good for every veteran to belong to at least one of the organizations’fRom pAGE 4

friend today and see a body taken away tomor-row. The biggest heroes are the ones who don’t get back.”

Swan said he was not in-jured during the war, but then amended the state-ment to say he received a flesh wound, but not a Purple Heart.

“It didn’t matter to me,” he said.

Swan was finally re-placed and brought back to America.

“Johnny Jacobs from Oklahoma and I were the last to leave the unit,” Swan said, adding that it had been two years since he had left America.

After a furlough, Swan was reassigned to a base in California where he served as an instructor for use of radio equipment, power equipment and combat driving.

He was discharged from the Army May 14, 1952.

Still servingSwan is very active in

Mason County’s veterans groups. He serves as chap-lain for American Legion Post 76 and AMVETS Post 82. He also belongs to the 40 & 8, the Mason County Allied Veterans Council, the VFW and the Veterans Trust Fund board.

“I think it’s good for ev-

ery veteran to belong to at least one of the organi-zations, if not more,” he said. “They’ll find out a lot more about health and about how you can find services. There are a lot of guys who need help. A lot of people don’t take ad-vantage of things because they don’t know about them.

“They’re all good orga-nizations and they all do a lot,” he said about the lo-cal veterans groups.

Swan said it can be hard for a soldier to come home to civilian life and said it is easier for veter-ans to talk to someone else who has been in the service.

“And if you’re going to be in (a veterans’ organi-zation), you might as well be active,” he said. “And once you get started it’s hard to get out.”

[email protected]

Saluting thoSeWho Were there

Stan BennetteAssociate Broker5492 W. US 10, Ludington

(231) [email protected]

Former MarineVietnam Vet

‘they’re all good organizations and they all do a lot.’

Bill Swan

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a unique experience in WWIIBY BRIAN mULHERINdaiLy newS StaFF wRiteR

Tedd Smith, 97, of Ludington, had a unique experience

in World War II. The names in the history books might just be historic figures to many people, but to Smith, they were people he met and sometimes inter-acted with. His time in the Army let him cross paths with General George S. Patton, Gener-al Dwight D. Eisenhower, Bob Hope, Eleanor Roos-evelt and Al Jolson.

Smith, who moved to Ludington in 1959, ran the Beauty Bar until 1982.

He went to cosmetology school in his hometown of Flint and was working in a beauty shop when he was drafted into the Army.

“When I went in, I was drafted, they sent us out to Washington (state) and it was raining and I was carrying a rifle through the mud and I thought, ‘To hell with this, I’m going to get something else,’” Smith said.

His sergeant said there was an opening in the medical corps and the first one to sign up got it — Smith made sure he was the first to sign up.

“I had to go to school and learn about mosquito bites,” Smith said.

Then another sergeant asked him if he could type, and he could, so he was made the company

clerk of a medic unit.His unit supported the

troops chasing German General Erwin Rommel across the desert in Af-rica. Smith noted that he never fired his rifle.

“I never fired it once,” Smith said. “I hated it so.”

While other soldiers might travel with just their rifles, Smith had a little more luggage.

“I left the troop ship with a bag of morphine and a typewriter,” Smith said.

Smith had grim duty

helping with the wound-ed, particularly after bombings and artillery attacks. He was in five battles in Germany, but did not go on the inva-sion of France.

“The major says to me, ‘Tedd, we’re going to Nor-

mandy, you’ve been such a good clerk. I think I can get you another job so you don’t have to go.’”

But there was a trick to it. Smith had to buddy up with an officer’s wife.

He impressed her enough that he was made a courier to the Vatican.

Smith said while talking with that officer’s wife, he was introduced to Elea-nor Roosevelt, who asked him what unit he was in.

“She said, ‘You’re doing a good job, thank you.’”

His brushes with celeb-rities and top brass also included being told, “At ease, soldier,” by General Eisenhower, whom he described as very soft-spoken. He remembered that the first thing he no-ticed about Eisenhower were his “beautiful, shiny boots.”

He also met General Patton.

“Old blood and guts,” Smith said. “I remember the first time I ever met him. He come in in a Jeep with no roof on it, one hand on the glass on the top, a crop in his hand, shiny stars on his head.

“He gets in front of all

these men. ‘Now,’ he says, ‘Look at the son of a bitch next to you, that’s the last time you’re going to see him.’

“He was a good general, he got what he wanted, but you feared him just the same.”

Smith also met British Prime Minister Winston Churchill as well as Brit-ish Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery.

CelebritiesBeing in Rome, Smith

got to meet a lot of the celebrities coming over to entertain the troops.

“Martha Rae was the comedian, the first one we saw. She sang from Poliaci,” Smith said. “I remember she said, ‘For you sitting on the ground I wore black pants.’”

Smith said they also saw Al Jolson — without makeup — and met Bob Hope.

“Just a meeting, a hand-shake and that was it,” Smith said.

He got to meet Hope’s wife and talk with her a little, too.

And although he saw the Pope at appearances, he never had an audience.

Smith also saw, but did not meet, Italian Prime Minister Benito Musso-lini.

“I saw Mussolini hang-ing on a fence and people would spit on him as they walked by,” Smith said.

See SmItH, pAGE 7

Tedd Smith laughs as he shares his stories from WWII.

‘i left the troop ship with a bag of morphine and a typewriter.’

tedd Smith

fRom pAGE 6

“He did a lot of good for Italy — beautiful swim-ming pools and statutes.”

ItalySmith said Rome has al-

ways held a special place in his heart.

“Life was beautiful there,” Smith said.

He said he lived in an apartment with six other GIs and each had a dif-ferent job. He was a cou-rier and the others all had their own jobs.

“We had a cook and a man that took care of the cleaning,” Smith said. “That was nice. I stayed there until we chased the Germans out in 1944 and I came home in ’45. That round-ed out the four years, but I didn’t have to carry a rifle after a while.”

Smith said his major had a Lancha that he liked to drive. He said that they would go for lunch and eat boiled eggs that were offered on a platter.

Smith said they had dances with Italian women, but there was no leaving the dance hall with a date.

“On Saturday nights they’d bring Italian girls to dance but they’d put two guards by the door and that’s as far as you could take the girls,” Smith said.

Smith said he’s always been a good dancer.

“I was on the ballroom floor when I was 13 and

I could dance my fool head off,” Smith said.

He smiles when he talks about his years in Rome.

“It was nice,” Smith said. “There were some beautiful times. Flowers and the Piazza di Spagna — 104 steps to the top to see a restaurant. You have to sit down once in a while, I’ll tell you.

“On Saturday morn-ings it would be lined up with women selling flow-

ers and children would buy them and take them home to their mothers,” Smith said.

Smith said everyone took photos of them try-ing to hold up the Lean-ing Tower of Pisa.

“There’s a fountain where you leave money, meaning, ‘I’ll return,’” Smith said.

The sights were worth remembering, but the food was pretty good, too.

“The food, you can’t beat it, because it’s heavy on garlic, I’ll tell you,” Smith said.

Smith said the best part about Rome is that it was never touched by the war.

“I think it was 15 miles out that the Germans didn’t do any bombing,” Smith said.

post-war yearsSmith said he was hap-

py when the war ended, but he did go back to Italy.

When he moved to Ma-son County and opened his own shop, he enjoyed going to Idlewild for dancing and entertain-

ment.“That’s where I saw

Della Reese,” Smith said. “We rubbed hind-ends together on the dance floor. She was so good looking, that skin was just that pretty brown and I can see her with an orange dress on — oh, she looked just elegant.”

Smith said he remem-bered the men had Cadil-lacs even if they had to share the costs and only drive them on their allot-ted days of the week. The men all had diamond stick pins in their ties.

“They’d put the black light on and everybody looked tan, teeth were snow white — it was just a good life,” Smith said.

Smith retired from his hair salon in 1982. In recent years, he has re-sided in Oakview Medical Care Facility and is kind of an adopted grand-parent to the Greenslait family.

“They took me under their wing,” Smith said.

He has a room not far from the birdcage and enjoys crocheting Af-ghans for friends and charities.

“It’s been a nice full life, I’ve had good and bad,” Smith said. “It’s just one of those things. Age has never bothered me like it does some people.”

[email protected]

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SmITh: ‘It’s been a nice full life, I’ve had good and bad’

‘that was nice. i stayed there until we chased the germans out in 1944 and I came home in ‘45. that rounded out the four years, but i didn’t have to carry a rifle after a while.’

tedd Smith about Rome

Tedd Smith holds up a photo of himself from when he was serv-ing in WWII.

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helping fellow wounded warriors BY mELISSA KEEfERdaiLy newS StaFF wRiteR

The Wounded Warrior Project was started in 2003 by deliver-

ing backpacks to the bedsides of severely wounded warriors re-turning home from Iraq and Afghanistan. It has turned into one of the largest veteran organiza-tions in the country.

Ludington High School grad and Army veteran Andrew Coughlan has been working with the or-ganization for three and

a half years as alumni manager in Jacksonville, Florida, helping fellow wounded warriors every day.

Coughlan graduated from LHS in 2002 and served in Iraq from Sep-tember 2003 through September 2004. His first exposure to the Wounded Warrior Project was while he was in a Post Traumat-ic Stress Disorder inpa-tient program in the Battle Creek VA Hospital.

“I received a phone call from my friend that I served with in Iraq. He was severely wounded

and WWP helped him so he was calling me to tell me about the programs,” Couglhan said. “At first I said it wasn’t for me because I wasn’t missing any limbs, burned or in a wheelchair, I was just dealing with PTSD. He told me that PTSD is my injury. From there the op-portunities that were pro-vided for me and my fam-ily were lifesaving. There were many times I wanted to take my own life be-cause I couldn’t deal with the guilt I had from Iraq. I still struggle with PTSD to this day and WWP is still there to help me and my family.”

He said the first oppor-tunity WWP gave him was in 2007 when he was an

honorary captain for the University of Michigan football team when Michi-gan played Eastern Michi-gan University.

“The experience alone was great,” Coughlan said. “But spending the day

with other Iraq veterans is what made it what it was. The continued support, experiences and resourc-es I have received from WWP saved my life.”

Coughlan said, “Being able to continue to serve my brothers and sisters is a unique experience.”

He has been able to, through WWP, help local warriors as well as war-riors from all over the country.

“May 20, 2012 I received a phone call from Eric Lund’s family saying he was wounded. It really hit me,” Coughlan said. “I knew a few details about

his injury at the time of the phone call, but WWP has staff in Germany at the hospital and as soon as the family was notified, I was notified.”

He said he was able to travel to San Antonio, Tex-as, to BAMC to visit Eric and meet with his family.

“Making sure that Eric and his family were taken care of wasn’t a priority for me because I knew our Germany and San Antonio teams were already doing that. I was able to spend time with his family and answer some questions they had and just pro-vided comfort to them,”

Coughlan said. In addition to Lund,

Coughlan was happy to be able to get Ken Wein-ert involved with WWP. “Ken was wounded in Iraq in 2004 while I was de-ployed.”

Coughlan said working for WWP is special, even when he is helping people he doesn’t know,

“There are over 55,000 WWP alumni that are en-gaged with our programs and many of these guys I never knew before, but be-ing able to provide a ser-vice to them and making sure they are good to go is an honor.”

Coughlan has had a lot of great and memorable experiences with WWP and said, “The thing I have a lot of pride in knowing is when I lay my head down at night that I impacted someone’s life. There have been many suicide calls that I have taken, and be-ing able to provide that help to warriors or the homeless warriors who seek help and being able to get them off the streets will always be my most memorable moments.”

As far as looking for-ward, Coughlan just says he plans on being at WWP for the long haul.

“This organization saved my life and there is nothing I can do to repay WWP besides to do that for the warriors that have come after me,” Cough-lan said.

See WoUNDED WARRIoRS, pAGE 10

‘... the continued support, experiences and resources i have received from wwP saved my life.’

Andrew Coughlan

1st Sgt. Michel was one of Andrew’s drill sergeants in basic train-ing and he is now a first sergeant at Ft. Stewart, Georgia. Andrew is now helping him with his transition to civilian life.

A friend Andrew served with in Iraq was wounded July 19, 2004 and exactly eight years later, was presented his Purple Heart live on “Fox and Friends.” Andrew is in the background, having been there to read the citation and orders.

Wounded Warrior projectMore inforMation about Wounded War-rior Project and how to receive help or donate to the organization, is available at www.wound-edwarriorproject.org. WWP can be reached toll free at 877-TEAM-WWP (832-6997) or Wounded Warrior Project, 4899 Belfort Road, Suite 300, Jacksonville, FL 32256.

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WouNded WarrIorS: Program helps veterans with various struggles fRom pAGE 9

more about WWpThe Wounded Warrior

Project offers programs to any Wounded War-rior who was injured or became ill on or after September 11, 2001 while on active duty. All of the programs and services WWP offers are free and include a wide vari-ety, from helping avoid homelessness and offer-ing financial assistance.

Coughlan explained WWP offers 20 programs to post 9/11 wounded warriors and their fam-ily members — all of the programs offered nation-wide.

The programs fall into

four pillars (mind, body, economic empowerment and engagement).

Coughlan gives ex-amples of some of the programs offered in each pillar:

• “The mind pillar will cover all of our combat stress programs to in-clude Project Odyssey, which is a week-long pro-gram event that will chal-lenge and empower war-

riors that are living with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in an outdoor retreat environment.

• “The body pillar is focusing on the physi-cal health and wellness of the warriors and their family members, every-thing from getting war-riors active again (cy-cling, running, kayaking, rock climbing, triathlons, yoga, cross fit, scuba div-ing, horseback riding, inclusive team sports) to educating them on nutri-tion and living a healthy lifestyle.

• “The economic em-powerment pillar is go-ing to focus on guiding through their education and then helping them find a career, whether

that’s a traditional col-lege or trade school. We also have the only yearlong vocational re-habilitation program in the country that is for wounded warriors, it’s called TRACK. This is a yearlong program that warriors will relocate to Jacksonville, Florida, or San Antonio, Texas, and complete two full academic semesters and then have an externship with a local company. They will complete this program with other war-riors in a cohort. This program is designed for warriors who either are struggling in college or just haven’t been to school yet. We also have warriors to work pro-

gram that will help war-riors and family mem-bers through the whole process of employment from the very beginning of writing a resume.

• “The engagement pil-lar provides all kinds of opportunities (hunting, fishing, sporting events, dinners, family days, wa-ter parks, concerts.) The continued engagement with warriors has been key in a lot of their recov-eries and transitions.

“WWP just celebrated 10 years and is looking forward to many more, serving the current gen-eration of warriors.”

more INformaTIoN about wound-ed warrior Project is available at www.woundedwarriorproject.org, 877-teaM-wwP (832-6997).

Andrew Coughlan, middle, is pictured with fellow local veterans/wounded warriors, Eric Lund, left, and Andrew Weinert.

To our men and women in uniform:

From the bottom of our hearts

VeteransTHANK YOU FOR YOUR COURAGE

ABRAHAMSON’STOWING

925 E. Melendy Street, Ludington

(231) 843-2990

Mason County’s Finest Local& Long Distance Towing

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America’s strength protects her greatness.There are no greater people than the

veterans who gave their all.

LARSON'S SELFSTORAGEOffice: 263 N. Jebavy Dr., Ludington

845-7242

The Mason County Allied Veterans Council is an um-brella organization that in-cludes the American Legion, VFW posts in Ludington and Custer and the Amvets. Pat Lange is the command-er of the council and also historian at the Ludington American Legion. Each or-ganization serves veterans in a different way and mem-bership requirements dif-fer as well. All of them were founded to help returning veterans find companion-ship and aid in finding re-sources for the veterans and their families.

• American Legion - Ed-win H. Ewing Post 76, founded in 1919, was named after a WWI veter-an. The Legion, located at 318 N. James Street, is open to members and guests for social events and meetings throughout the month. Sev-eral special groups are part of the Legion, including the Auxiliary, Sons of the Amer-ican Legion, Legion Riders and the Honor Guard and Color Guard. Sons of the Legion is for those who are not veterans but have a par-ent or grandparent who is a veteran. The Legion Rid-ers have a special interest in motorcycles. The Hon-or Guard takes part in fu-nerals and remembrances for deceased veterans and the Color Guard has taken part in ceremonies at foot-ball games, Memorial Day and Veterans Day activities. Both are composed of the same men and women, but serve different functions. They are all volunteers for this special group.

In addition the Legion of-fers members the oppor-tunity to consult with a VA officer on Wednesdays, and with the post service officer to learn about the availabil-ity of benefits. Various so-cial events take place each week including dinners and

dances. Any service man or woman currently on ac-tive duty is welcome at the post as well as those who are part of the local Coast Guard station.

Membership is open to those who served in any branch of the armed ser-vices during specific years. The Post Commander is Lou Wolven. For information on how to join, contact Pat Lange, (231) 794-7847 or Lou Wolven, 843-2718.

“We are looking for more vets to join,” said Lange. He said it is important for returning service men and women to be able to “sit down and talk to a fellow brother or sister. Some-times they hold stuff in and this is a chance for them to open up.” He mentioned the opportunity the travel-ing Vietnam wall offered for veterans to get together and finally talk about their war-time experiences.

• Veterans of Foreign Wars - Delbert E. Brim-mer VFW Post 6842 start-ed in Ludington in 1987. As the name indicates, mem-bers have served in wars around the globe. Veterans must have had “boots on the ground” said Pat Lange. Those who were in the armed services during war-

time but were not in com-bat zones are not eligible to join, but may join the Am-vets or American Legion. Meetings are held monthly at the American Legion. To join or for information call Commander Stan McCullen, 845-8587.

• Custer VFW Gold Bar Post has its own clubhouse in Custer on Route 10. Membership requirements are the same as those for the Ludington post. Social events open to the public such as steak dinners and Thursday night dances are fundraisers for the post. In addition there is an auxilia-ry for those who have a par-ent or grandparent who was a veteran. For information call Commander Jeff Peters, 757-9665.

• Amvets - The name stands for American Veter-ans and was founded after WWII and chartered by Con-gress in 1947. William Cha-rette Post 82 was founded locally in 1982 and named after the local Navy Medal of Honor winner. Unlike the American Legion or VFW, membership is open to any honorably discharged vet-eran who served from WWII to the present in any branch including National Guard. Meetings are held at the

American Legion. For infor-mation contact Commander Lou Wolven, 843-2718.

VEtERANS ENDoWmENt fUND

In 2009 Budde Reed and Rick Plummer, both Viet-nam veterans, established the Veterans Endowment Fund, which is adminis-tered through the Commu-nity Foundation. Since then Michelle Hemmer and Gary Ferguson have also become board members. Accord-ing to Hemmer, the fund helps veterans and their families who have “fallen through the cracks” and have been unable to obtain help through other agen-cies. Funds are available for emergency needs to Ma-son County veterans “fast-er and with less red tape” than through some other sources said Hemmer. Mon-

ey for the fund is raised pri-marily through donations, but two recent events. the Lake Jump and the travel-ing Vietnam wall, have also helped to increase the en-dowment. Each year the Lake Jump chooses a char-ity or group to receive the pledges and this year it was the Veterans Endowment Fund. Hemmer said there was money left after meet-ing all the costs of the wall and that money was also given to the endowment fund.

If you wish to donate, or if you are a veteran in need of help, contact Michelle Hem-mer, (231) 690-5845 or Rick Plummer, (231) 852-0685 or email [email protected] or [email protected]

Local organizations for veterans

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one wall touched so many

JEff KIESSEL | daiLy newS PhotoSLance Christensen, a Vietnam veteran, reaches out to the wall as he cries — an emotion many had during the time the traveling Vietnam Wall was in Ludington.

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100 years after WWI, poppy lives on BY SYLVIA HUIaSSociated PReSS

LONDON (AP) — William Sellick pinched the tiny scarlet petals with deft ease, turning them into paper poppies and pressing them into a wreath.

The flowers are a potent symbol of remembrance and patriotism that sprang up in the aftermath of World War I to honor the war dead and raise funds for survivors. A century since the Great War, the pop-pies live on: They are hung as wreaths or worn on lapels across Britain — from Prime Minister David Cameron to X-Factor celebrities to countless commuters braving the blus-tery streets of London — as the nation prepares to mark Armi-stice Day on Nov. 11.

Each handmade flower evokes the image of poppies springing up from destruction and decay in Belgium’s Flan-ders Fields, home to many of the Great War’s bloodiest bat-tlefields. The haunting scene was immortalized in a war poem by Canadian army doc-tor John McCrae: “In Flanders fields the poppies blow/Be-tween the crosses row on row.”

McCrae noticed that the re-silient red corn poppy was the first plant to flourish in the churned-up landscape. The poem, penned in 1915 shortly after McCrae buried a friend, struck a chord around the world and started poppy sym-bolism in the English-speaking world.

For Sellick, who suffered combat stress after an army tour to Northern Ireland in the 1970s, making poppies is a way to move on from a life shadowed by depression and

alcoholism. He doesn’t like to recall his army days, but every November he makes an effort to help plant crosses decorated with poppies outside London’s Westminster Abbey.

“Most of the time when we go out to plant the poppy field it’s wet and windy,” he said with a laugh. “But I always make sure I do the plot for my regiment.”

In this centenary year of World War I, the poppy is more ubiquitous than ever. At the Tower of London, a crimson sea of ceramic poppies floods the ancient moat in a stunning display titled “Blood Swept Lands and Sea of Red.” A total of 888,426 ceramic flowers — each representing a British sol-dier who died during the war — were planted over the summer, with the last one to be placed

on Armistice Day.Although the poppy is most

commonly worn today in Britain and Commonwealth countries like Canada, Austra-lia, and New Zealand, it was a woman from the U.S. state of Georgia who was responsible for turning it into a symbol of the Great War. Moina Michael, a teacher, was so moved by Mc-Crae’s poem that she vowed al-ways to wear a poppy as a way to “keep the faith with all who died.”

Michael started to give pop-pies to ex-servicemen in New York, where she worked, and the American Legion adopted her idea of selling handmade poppies to raise money for wounded ex-servicemen in 1918. A Frenchwoman soon brought the practice to Britain,

where the Royal British Legion began the tradition of a “Poppy Appeal” to help those return-ing from the war.

The British Army major credited with opening the first factory employing wounded vets as poppy makers had his doubts early on.

“I do not think it can be a great success but it is worth trying,” George Howson wrote in a letter to his parents in 1922.

To this day, the factory in west London’s Richmond makes the bulk of the 45 mil-lion poppies, wreaths and crosses sold across Britain. Full-time workers like Sellick assemble each by hand year round, though most of the poppies don’t appear until late October, when they adorn war

memorials up and down the country and are sold on virtu-ally every street corner.

Many of the wreaths are fea-tured on Remembrance Sun-day, the second Sunday in No-vember, when Queen Elizabeth II leads an annual tribute at London’s Cenotaph to all those who died in World War I and later conflicts.

As time passes, veterans’ groups face the challenge to keep the poppy — and the memories it stands for — rel-evant and meaningful to a new generation.

Ann Butler, a teacher, was among the many parents who brought their children to see the poppies at the Tower of London.

“They know some of my rela-tives were in the war. For them to see this, to know that each

See poppY, pAGE 13

Ap pHotoSIn this photo taken on Saturday, May 3, 2014, wooden remembrance crosses with poppies are placed in front of the headstone of 15-year old World War I soldier Valentine Strudwick at Essex Farm Commonwealth Cemetery in Ypres, Belgium.

A red poppy wreath with an engrav-ing of a World War I soldier is left at the Menin Gate in Ypres, Belgium. The challenge for veteran’s groups is to keep the poppy relevant and meaningful to a new generation now that there are no survivors left of the Great War.

13


POW/MIAWHAT IF ITWERE YOU?

Your Freedom has been paid for by everyone who is or ever wore a uniform Big “K” Does it All!• Insulation• Drywall• Electrical

• Plumbing• Doors• Windows

• Siding• Decks• Additions

KennerMcKie231-845-6347

Cell231-233-5347•Fax231-425-3233

Serving Our Fellow VeteransVA Approved / Certified

Adaptive Housing Specialist*Ifyouareaqualifieddisabledveteran,pleasecontactforinfoonVAGrants.

MasterSergeantUSArmyretiredPhilKeilman.pkeilman333@yahoo.com1-231-690-5354

fRom pAGE 12

flower represents someone who died, makes it all more real,” she said. “As the genera-tions go on, there will inevitably be less of a connection.”

There are also those in Britain who avoid the tradition, saying the poppy has become too politicized and nationalistic, or even a symbol that glorifies war. Margaret MacMil-lan, a historian at Oxford University, said she once reluctantly pinned a poppy when appearing on television because producers insisted she do so.

“There is tremendous pressure for peo-ple to wear them,” she said. “Symbols can be useful but you need much more. There’s more to memory than popping it on once a year and forgetting about it.”

PoPPy: Some torn on the tradition of the symbol

Outside of London’s Westminster Abbey, dense rows of little wooden crosses bearing paper poppies are planted in the grass every No-vember to remember the lives lost in WWI, as well as more recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

POW/MIAWHAT IF ITWERE YOU?

Your Freedom has been paid for by everyone who is or ever wore a uniform Big “K” Does it All!• Insulation• Drywall• Electrical

• Plumbing• Doors• Windows

• Siding• Decks• Additions

KennerMcKie231-845-6347

Cell231-233-5347•Fax231-425-3233

Serving Our Fellow VeteransVA Approved / Certified

Adaptive Housing Specialist*Ifyouareaqualifieddisabledveteran,pleasecontactforinfoonVAGrants.

MasterSergeantUSArmyretiredPhilKeilman.pkeilman333@yahoo.com1-231-690-5354

14


“Freedom Is Not Free”Let us never forget the patriotism and courage of those who sacrificed everything for the sake of the country they so dearly loved. It is an honor to recognize the heroism and service of these great American heroes. They have forever earned a place in the heart of our grateful nation.

202 N. Rath Ave. • 231-845-5181 • ludingtondailynews.com

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Land of the freeBecause of the brave.

We proudly honor and remember those who served in the U.S. Armed Forces and the great sacrifices they made during the Vietnam War.


16

America’s Veterans: Standing Tall for Freedom

We proudly salute America’s veterans and active-duty military for their drive and dedication, contributions and courage. Their commitment to our country and our freedom has protected us for generations, and we owe them a debt of gratitude that can never be repaid. This Veterans Day, please join us in honoring the brave men and women of our Armed Forces who have fought, sacrificed and served their country with pride.

We thank you,veterans and soldiers.

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