The Voice for Kitsap County’s Veterans, Active-Duty Personnel,
and their Families
Veterans Life
KitsapVeteransLife.com
IN THIS EDITION
June 2015
A top salute for local ace John T. “Mike” Wolf of Hansville and other fighter pilots awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, the nation’s highest civilian honor By RICHARD WALKER
rwalker@soundpublishing.com
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Former president at Bangor 6-7
Run to Tahoma 8
ANSVILLE — John T. “Mike” Wolf was 20 in 1941, getting close to graduating from Long Beach City College, a self-described Southern California beach bum. Then, Pearl Harbor was attacked. “After Pearl Harbor, everyone enlisted,” Wolf said. “Everyone ‘turned to.’ ” Wolf and his buddies decided to enlist in the Coast Guard, but the rail-thin Wolf was rejected as being too skinny. He enlisted in the Navy Air Corps and, with two years of college under his belt, was selected for cadet flight school. Within two years of completing training, he would down enough enemy planes to be designated an “ace” fighter pilot. In recognition of their war contributions in World War II and subsequent wars, three dozen American Fighter Aces — including Wolf, of Hansville — received Congress’ highest civilian award, the Congressional Gold Medal, during a May 20 ceremony in the nation’s capital. The war-time pilots, who earned the designation of “Fighter Ace” in multiple wars by shooting down at least five enemy aircraft in air-toair combat, received this national honor in a ceremony with congres-
World War II Fighter Ace Mike Wolf of Hansville visits with Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-Bremerton, at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. Wolf and Kilmer attended a celebration honoring Wolf and other Congressional Gold Medal recipients. At right, the medal. Office of Rep. Derek Kilmer / Contributed
sional leaders in Washington, D.C. with friends and family present.
The ceremony took place at 3 p.m. EST in Emancipation Hall
Teens help give new life to old fort building By LESLIE KELLY
lkelly@soundpublishing.com
FORT WARD, Bainbridge — To some it may look like a relic, not worthy of saving. But to a group of Bainbridge teens, it’s a piece of history they don’t want to lose. The teens, who formed the Fort Ward Youth Advisory
Committee, along with their advisor Sarah Lee, are the recipients of 2015 Blakely Preservation Leaders Award, for their work to restore the 1910 Fort Ward Bakery Building. The Blakely Awards have been given annually by the Bainbridge Historic Preservation Commission to
recognize significant contributions toward historic preservation in the local community. William Shopes, who nominated the teens, said, “They have shown remarkable poise and persuasive ability in presenting their project before the public and demonstrated awareness of and dedication to preservation of the history
and historical environment of their community.” See FORT WARD, Page 3
Students Erik Appleberry, Aila Ikuse, Kate Merifield and Mark Dettman were honored for their efforts to preserve a building at Fort Ward. Douglas Crist / Contributed
at the Capitol Visitor Center and was broadcast live over the web at Speaker.gov/live. “This medal is meant to honor the feats these men achieved and their sacrifices their families made to keep the skies — and the world — safe for democracy,” Speaker of the House John Boehner said before the ceremony. Convened by Seattle’s Museum of Flight, the May 20 ceremony recognizes the accomplishments of the 1,447 American Aces who achieved the elite designation. Only 77 Aces are alive as of this writing, and approximately 36 of them gathered in Washington, D.C. to receive the recognition in person. Each Fighter Ace received a bronze replica of the gold medal, which was given to the Smithsonian Institution to be See ACE, Page 2