Those giant maples provided enough shade on Monday --- among the hottest Memorial Days on record --- to keep the crowd cool as panels commemorating Lucas County's war dead were dedicated at Veterans Memorial Park.
Entrance to the park this year was through the recently installed gateway, among Johnson Machine Works' contribution to the project. Eventually, organizers of the park hope, the entire area will be fenced with matching panels.
Guest speaker was U.S. Air Force Col. Harold Johnson, 82, of Blakesburg, who retired in 1987 after a long and distinguished career. Johnson, a former prisoner of war, was forced to eject over North Vietnam on April 30, 1967 --- his 93rd combat mission --- and remained a prisoner of the North Vietnamese until Operation Homecoming, March 4, 1973.
Relatives of some of the fallen were invited to assist in unveiling the two memorial panels --- including Jaynane (Braida) Hardie, whose cousin, 2nd Lt. Paul Pastovich, was killed on Feb 17, 1944.
The other panel was unveiled by a brother and nephew of Spc. Matthew K. Anderson, who was killed Sept 25, 1993, at Mogadishu, Somalia. Once the program was complete, they took a rubbing of Anderson's name from the monument.
I was feeling mildly smug going into the program, having devoted several weeks to compiling the lists of war dead --- knowing full well that someone would be overlooked since there were no master lists of fatalities. Then I discovered that I'd failed to include one of my own uncles, James M. Rhea, in the list of Civil War dead. Ouch. Pride, as they say, goeth before the fall. We'll see what can be done about getting him added.
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