1
February 6, 2015 VOLU M E 1 4 | I SS UE 1 1
CentennialCitizen.net A R A P A H O E C O U N T Y, C O L O R A D O
A publication of
‘ Tw i l i g h t o f t h e
W W I I g e n e r a t i o n’ Red Cross volunteers saving the fading memories
By Jennifer Smith
PART 1 OF 2
jsmith@colorado communitymedia.com Lt. Col. Ken Yaphe recently retired from the Air Force, and now he’s giving back to those who marched before him — and getting an earful in return. “It’s an education, and I feel like I’m contributing,” he said. Yaphe is volunteering with Mile High Red Cross on the Library of Congress Veterans History Project of the American Folklife Center, on a mission to “collect, preserve
and make accessible the personal accounts of American war veterans so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand the realities of war,” according to the Red Cross website. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, approximately 492 World War II veterans pass away every day in the United States, more than one death every three minutes. “The sad fact is that we are at the twilight of the World War II generation, and
Picking up the pieces
Yaphe says that without fail, the veterans he’s interviewed have been modest about their service, whether overseas in battle or on American soil, keeping the gears of war oiled. “It’s tempting for the public to believe that the only experience in war is in the infantry,” he said. “But this is giving exposure to the machine that supported the tip of the spear.” Colorado Community Media spent some time with four of the Holly Creek veterans. We bring you two of their stories this week and two more next week.
‘8 hours on, 8 hours off ’
Robert Stong retrieved crashed aircraft around Norfolk, Va., for most of his World War II tour of duty. Photo by Jennifer Smith Seaman First Class Robert Stong spent most of his World War II service at Naval Station Norfolk in Virgina, picking up pieces of planes that practicing pilots crashed. “One time, I recall, the pilot was lying on the wing getting a suntan when we got there,” said the native of Layfayette, Ind. — “a little drinking town with a football problem,” as he calls it. He never saw an injured pilot, as they were taken away before he and the team he led got to the crash site. Once there, they’d load the plane onto a trailer — whatever was left after the nearby farmers got enough aluminum to fix their chicken
within a few short years, their stories will be lost forever,” said Chuck Montera, a publicist for Holly Creek Retirement Community in Centennial. That’s where Yaphe spent Jan. 27, visiting with some of the 50-plus World War IIera veterans who live there and recording their stories. The videos will live in perpetuity at the Library of Congress, and will be given to the vets to share with family and friends. To be included in the project or to volunteer, contact the American Red Cross at 303-607-4785.
coops — and head on down the highway back to the base. One guy would have to stand on the plane’s tail to raise power and phone lines up high enough to pass underneath. It didn’t always work, said Stong, and they’d joke that they were probably yanking people’s phones right out of their walls. “It was a lot of fun,” he said. Today, Stong appreciates the discipline he gained from serving in the military. “It does a lot of good for a lot of kids,” he said. — Jennifer Smith
World War II veteran Keith Burnham, 88, is interviewed as his wife, Rheta, 80, listens. On the table in front of Burnham are stacks of newspaper articles and documents that recount the time he spent in the service. Photo by Christy Steadman Keith Burnham, 88, joined the service two days before his 18th birthday in December 1944. He was deployed in June 1945 and ranked as a fireman first class in the Navy, assigned to the USS Burleson. Aboard the ship, Burnham was assigned to the boiler room with the job of regulating the amount of oil to the amount of air to make a smoke screen, he said. “Everything was eight hours on, and eight hours off,” Burnham said. And if the eight hours off fell during the daytime, there were other chores, such as cleaning, to be done. “I did my fair share of peeling potatoes.” Most of the ship’s assignments came
two at a time, he said, and included two trips to retrieve discharged troops returning home. Eventually, the USS Burleson was assigned to take animals to nuclear testing at Bikini Atoll. There were all sorts of animals, Burnham said, and the ship became known as Noah’s Ark. Burnham described his experience in the service as fortunate. “The war was about over before I got into any real battles,” he said. He added that he’s grateful he “got to join the Navy rather than being drafted in the Army.” — Christy Steadman
School district safety panel begins to drill down LPS group plans half-day workshop at end of month By Jennifer Smith
jsmith@colorado communitymedia.com Members of the Littleton Public Schools Safety and Mental Health Advisory Committee began to lay out their priorities on Jan. 28. After hearing during their last meeting from Guy Grace, LPS director of security and emergency planning, the committee’s focus
was on security issues. “It takes a community to keep the schools safe,” Grace told the 30 or so members of the committee, formed to tackle questions raised in the aftermath of the 2013 Arapahoe High School shooting. The members — culled from educators, elected officials, mentalhealth professionals, students and the community at large — will spend the next six months looking for gaps in systems already in place. Emerging themes include whether student resource officers are being used to their fullest capacity, how to stay current on
best practices, proactive vs. reactive approaches, and whether and how to engage students. Robert Reichardt, who lost a bid for a seat on the school board last November, expressed frustration with the process, and wants to hear from more students than just the three on the committee. “I feel like I’m supposed to be making recommendations on the safety of our students, and I don’t know what the problems are,” he said. But some mothers in the group School continues on Page 12
Littleton City Councilmember Bruce Stahlman ponders priorities during a meeting of the Littleton Public Schools Safety and Mental Health Advisory Committee on Jan. 28. Photo by Jennifer Smith