Honoring America's veterans 2009 style

MILLER CITY - At various times in American History, our military has declared some wartime equipment and material stored in several places around the country to be surplus and offered it to veterans’ organizations and civic groups for display purposes on their property. This was especially true after World War I. Around 1947; the army listed some artillery pieces to be surplus. So Miller City American Legion Post 172 applied for an M-5 gun.

When the application was approved, the Legion sent Harold Barlage to Port Clinton’s Army Surplus Depot at Camp Perry near Lake Erie to transport the M-5 to Miller City. Several other county veterans’ organizations also obtained similar military surplus equipment n the same way. Harold used his dad’s truck to pull the gun down public highways, placing the gun n front of Miller City village hall.

A few years later, the Miller City village council announced they needed to build a new town hall and would have to have the land n front of the hall where the M-5 was on display. This meant that the gun required a new home and had to be moved to other property. The only other available public land owned by the village was being leased at the time to the Sportsmen’s Club, and if moved to a site there, the gun would have to share space with the Sportsman’s lake site. An agreement was made and the gun was relocated to the lake site.

In a later response to this action, however, the Army felt the gun would have to be moved from the lake to a more public spot, making it more visible to the general public. Ever since the move from Camp Perry, the gun sat out n all kinds of weather, and was rusting, which would make another move a very difficult and delicate one. Subsequently, the Palmer Township trustees were very gracious in offering a new site along SR 108 on the north edge of the village. This move just had to be attempted.

Once the above information circulated around the area, some very helpful individuals and business owners, sympathetic to the cause of the American Legion, pitched n to expedite the gun’s move. Kahle-Verhoff, a local construction company, proved to be the crucial key to getting the gun moved from the Sportsmen’s Club, across the railroad track and to its proposed new home along SR 108 at the north edge of the village. Then Kahle-Langhals provided concrete to make a permanent base for the gun display, another demand by the army which brought on further complications. Following that, B-K Concrete offered to “Stamp” a design on the concrete top, thus enhancing the appearance of the base.

Palmer township trustees and township employee Clarence Verhoff and his sons, joined n after their own working hours and gave their time, labor and skills towards completing the job. In addition, John Alt, a many with many years of construction skills and experience also came forward to give a tremendous boost towards completion of the project. John worked many hours and his ideas and expertise gave the Memo0rial a special touch of perfection. As a further gesture of kindness, the township provided a means to flood-light the memorial for nighttime viewing.

This memorial was intended from the start to honor all area veterans and their families. But to list all the names of area veterans would be an impossible task. Even though the names of all local veterans couldn’t be listed on the board, the Memorial stands as a mighty symbol of our thanks to all who have served when they were needed.

When America called, you stepped forward to answer the call and with an unselfish display of courage, you showed the world what the American spirit is really like. You certainly lost your privacy. You may have missed family gatherings at Christmas or Thanksgiving. You may have experienced the loneliness, the danger and isolation n a foxhole on foreign soil so many miles away from home. There may have been funerals of family or friend while serving our country. Then, other personal things may have been missed also because you were in other parts of the world battling the enemy n the hot sands of Africa, or the Middle East, the danger skies over Europe, or forbidding waters of the North Atlantic and Pacific, the hot and steamy, malaria-infested jungles of southeast Asia, or the bitter cold of Korea or Europe. America and the world should never forget.

As a tribute to all American Veterans, high school student Matt Dickman selected the Memorial as a project to be updated as a way of earning credit towards the Eagle Scout Award. He s now n the process of planting shrubs, installing a brick-lined border and sandblasting rust and paint from the M-5 gun, the centerpiece of the Memorial. Former servicemen will readily recognize the gun’s newly-covered pant as the O.D. (olive drab) so many times use on military vehicles of past years.

Prior to Matt’s starting his Eagle Scout upgrading project, another high school student, Jared Kern, for several months, contributed very helpful advice and important maintenance work at the Memorial.

When you pass through the village, you might wish to stop at the Memorial and reflect on what these veteran did for us and reinforce that what for many families have already learned “Freedom is not free.”

Today, this Memorial stands as strong evidence of our gratitude toward all veterans, especially those names listed on the Memorial Board who were wounded or lost their life in saving freedom for this nation.

(Frances Kern is the Commander of Mller City Demer-Dobmeyer American Legion Post 172. Tom Wenzlick is the 1st Vice-Commander.)