Nov. 11 is a couple months away. Im starting work on an annual assignment and always my favorite that after a couple decades may be my last: the Veterans Day special edition. Im looking for a few good men and women who have served honorably in Americas armed forces during war or peace. Ive written about soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and a Coastie. Ive yet to find a guardian, which I understand is the title for those serving in the Space Force.
At the moment Im a sort of an after-the-fact recruiter; rather than seeking men and women to serve in our armed forces, Im looking for those who have served and whose stories are yet to be told. The approach for the special edition is a simple one: if you served honorably in any of our nations armed forces, you have a story to tell that our readers would like to read. Whether you served in peacetime, wartime, or both, here in CONUS or overseas, you paid your dues to our nation.
If you dont want your veterans story told for whatever reason or for no reason I respect that. But I know Ive missed some good stories from vets who didnt serve in wartime and think they have no story to tell. But let me say it again: you paid your dues. Many of you served during the Cold War; consider that such service helped keep our nation out of a hot war. If you served at all, you have a story to tell.
Perhaps the cover of our Veterans Day edition of Nov. 11, 2015, says best what Veterans Day is all about: Honoring all who served in times of war in times of peace.
Many of our veterans didnt serve in wartime. Many who did had war thrust upon them: for example, our Greatest Generation, those American men and women who came of age during the Great Depression. They volunteered or were drafted after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, and pulled the United States into World War II. Two more of Americas wars that followed, in Korea and Vietnam, would again be fought by draftees and volunteers.
Who would serve in our nations wars after that changed drastically with a paradigm shift in 1973: President Richard Nixon did away with the draft and stood up the AVF (All-Volunteer Force). The AVF would fight on-going wars in the Gulf, Iraq, Afghanistan and the war on terrorism.
The 2010 edition was noted to be A Special Tribute to the All-Volunteer Force. It remains a favorite of mine. I got to know the late retired Air Force Col. Jeff Boulware and tell his story Brookings man remembers Big Ugly Fellow about serving in the Air Force from 1975 to 2001 and flying more than 4,000 hours in a B-52 Stratofortress bomber (aka BUF, which translates to a bit cruder name than that cited above) helping keep the peace in Cold War days.
In retirement here in Brookings, the colonel owned and flew a 1972 Nanchang CJ-6 military trainer that was once in the inventory of the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army Air Force. I flew with him once in the skies over Brookings in the most exciting ride of my life: I well remember a barrel roll and loop-the-loop, both of which got my attention. Jeff Boulware was 63 when he died in 2015. May he rest in peace.
I see a touch of irony in the 2015 special edition, with its cover reference noted above: Honoring all who served in times of war in times of peace. All the stories were about World War II veterans, all since gone: Richard Wahlstrom (Rolling with Patton: retired prof recalls World War II service); Harold S. Bailey, Jr. (Pharmacist serves in both Europe, the Pacific: Tech sergeant to college dean); George Dale Wagner (Tales of a tin-can sailor: Brookings man sees close-up action in the Pacific); and James Bailey (Veterans and veterinarians: Father, son served in Army during world wars).
Let me share a few random headlines from veterans stories in past special editions: 2005, for example British veteran remembers Forgotten War. Gordon Lee was the only veteran I ever wrote about who did not serve in one of Americas armed forces. He served in the British Army as a National Service conscript. He was a combat infantryman during the Korean War. As a widower, Lee came to Volga in 1970 to be near a daughter and her husband. He was a humble man and a devout Catholic who frequently attended daily Mass at St. Thomas More (also a Brit) Parish.
For this police lieutenant, its all in the family The 2011 edition told the story of Brookings PD Lt. Joey Collins, a Gulf War veteran who served in Airborne Infantry with the 82nd Airborne Division. His grandfather and late brother had also served.
On the police department, he found the same sort of camaraderie he had found in the Army. After he left the PD he would go on to public service as a Brookings city councilor. And hes got one helluva sense of humor.
If I were asked to name the most moving Veterans Day story of all those I remember it would be a love story in the 2012 edition: Still in love with pin-up girl was the story of former World War II Navy officer and veteran Louis Skubic and his wife Mary Ann. At the time I told their story they had been married 66 years and had four children and six grandchildren. Then following more than 71 years of marriage, they both died in 2018: she in February, he in October. At the time I wrote about them, they both admitted to still being madly in love.
Readers, as the headline notes, Im again looking for a few good men and women who served their nation in uniform and are willing to tell their stories. They deserve a BZ (Bravo Zulu) for a job well done.
Help me out by giving me some names. (At moment, my email here at the Register is down. I invite you to call me at: 605-692-6271.
Have a nice day.
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