SVM-SS4_07032014

Honoring Our Nation’s Heroes A Supplement of Sauk Valley Media 4HURSDAY *ULY

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Michael Krabbenhoeft/mkrabbenhoeft@saukvalley.com

After a Memorial Day observance along the Rock River, people came to Odd Fellows Cemetery on Emmons Avenue in Rock Falls, where a second ceremony was held on May 27, 2013.

Stories of service, from Pearl Harbor to today The Rewards of Military Careers

Parks Honor Sauk Valley Veterans

Lt. Col. Breck Woodard, a Sterling native, was at the helm of a withdrawal from Afghanistan. Meanwhile, a Rock Falls native is set to become a brigadier general in the Air Force.

From Dixon to Lyndon, and from Milledgeville to Rock Falls, parks honor the service of Sauk Valley veterans. They rely on the efforts of local volunteers and donors.

A Survivor’s Story

The Stars & Stripes Comes Home

From the SVM archives: WW II Navy veteran Roy Phillips Sr. shares his harrowing tale of surviving the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.

Named after Whiteside County, the USS Whiteside served from 1944 until she was finally decommissioned in Astoria, Oregon, on Jan. 30, 1958. The last flag to be flown on the ship now rests in Morrison.

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HONORING OUR NATION’S HEROES | THE IMPORTANCE OF LOGISTICS

Brilliant decision leads to many more Sterling native at helm of Afghanistan withdrawal

Philip Marruffo/pmarruffo@saukvalley.com

A highlight of Lt. Col. Breck Woodard’s 19 years in the Air Force was his role in strategizing a recent withdrawal of 31,000 military personnel and 610,000 pieces of equipment from Afghanistan.

BY CHRISTOPHER HEIMERMAN cheimerman@saukvalley.com

EXT

T

he best-laid plans are only as good as those executing them. And, no matter how many bases are covered, one variable can blow up those plans.

That concept is at the heart of all that Lt. Col. Breck Woodard has accomplished during his 19 years in the Air Force.

He is a celebrated logistics officer whose problem-solving prowess brought home 31,000 personnel and 610,000 pieces of equipment from Afghanistan.

But to rise to such great heights, Woodard had about a month to decide how he would handle being grounded.

He had dreamed of being a fighter pilot in the Air Force, but he was woken abruptly by a medical disqualification in 1998. “That point when they say, ‘You can’t anymore,’ it’s a tough thing to hear,�

Breck said. “But sometimes those points in life make you stronger. “That’s one thing I love about the military: It challenges you. It asks a lot of you. It really builds a lot of resiliency.�

Breck’s father, Terry, said his son was somewhat quiet while deciding whether to consider a different career path in the armed forces or get out. “It was a devastating experience for both him and me,� said Terry, who earned nine medals and awards as an Army medevac pilot in the Vietnam War. The young man consulted his mentors. He studied. Then he researched some more. And he decided to try his hand at logistics.

During a recent interview at Sauk Valley Media, Breck agreed that choosing logistics was the best decision he has made.

DECISION CONTINUED ON C4

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HONORING OUR NATION’S HEROES | THE IMPORTANCE OF LOGISTICS

Wife also commissioned officer, with 10 years’ active duty

‘‘

DECISION

In Iraq, we had a road that took us all the way down to Kuwait, and drove a lot of stuff down there.

Afghanistan is a land-locked country. It’s a lot harder to move stuff.

CONTINUED FROM C3

“Life dealt me a situation, and I was going to make the best of it,�

Breck said. “I can’t say it was that clean. There was turmoil and rough waters along the way.�

’’

Instant gratification It didn’t take long for Breck to be rewarded for his decision. As a young captain in Ellsworth, South Dakota, he was a strategic planner deploying B-1 bombers.

While he discovered his calling, he also found his bride, Gina. They were married Sept. 2, 2000, in South Dakota, a little more than a year after Breck recruited her into the honor guard he was leading. The pitch came at a birthday party. Gina arrived late, and the only seat left was across from Breck. Fate took over from there.

Also a commissioned officer, Gina served 10 years active duty, and they have two children, Tyler, 8, and Ryan, 5.

Breck has been deployed seven times, the last three to Afghanistan, Iraq and, most recently, Kuwait. The hostile territory might have nothing on the heartache of being apart from family. “It’s never easy to say goodbye. A deployment just has this heavy feeling about it,� said Gina, who’s been deployed once herself, and has opted to say goodbye to Breck at the house before someone else drives him to the airport, a tip she picked up from a higherup officer. “It’s always tough to be separated, but we also know this is the life we chose.�

Nonetheless, his rise was meteoric. Last summer, Gen. Francisco Espaillat personally requested that Breck deploy with him to Kuwait, where they would plan and execute a historic drawdown of U.S. forces. “When opportunity knocks, you jump right through that door, you

Lt. Col. Breck Woodard

Photo submitted

Air Force Lt. Col. Breck Woodard, a Sterling High School graduate, is photographed during a deployment to Afghanistan. grab it and you go,�

Breck said. “It was sort of one of those offers you can’t refuse.�

Relying on experience Breck used his deployment to Afghanistan in 2006 as something of a road map. At that time, he was leading an organization that trained the Afghan army in logistics.

Little did he know, learning the landscape would prove paramount.

Because, while helping draw down U.S. forces in Iraq in 2010 was an undertaking as massive as it was dangerous,

land-locked Afghanistan was a whole different animal. “I don’t want to take anything away from leaving Iraq,� Breck said. “That was difficult. But in Iraq, we had a road that took us all the way down to Kuwait, and we drove a lot of stuff down there.

Afghanistan is a landlocked country. It’s a lot harder to move stuff.�

And political turmoil compromised Pakistan, one of their chief lines of communication and a hub for moving out personnel and equipment.

The timelines and expectations for the drawdown were consis-

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tently challenged. So it was up to Breck and 24 fellow officers to get creative. He implemented an airlift system, reducing the number of times vehicles had to drive dangerous passages.

But perhaps his greatest brainchild was a mobile

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unit that helped pack and mobilize supplies, and allowed soldiers to focus on their contact with the enemy, not the need to prepare for withdrawal. “A commander in combat will never give up anything while he has troops in contact,� Breck said. “He or she doesn’t want to have to go back to a family and tell them, ‘We lost your son or daughter because we gave up our vehicles.’�

So Breck and his group found soldiers with specific skills. They moved people around, reaching to other countries to grab soldiers and assemble a group that mobilized a unit, then moved on to the next. “All of a sudden, we have 60 people who can move around and augment where needed,�

Breck said. “It helped out the people at the tip of the spear, who were taking the fight to the enemy.�

Relying on training No matter how brilliant Breck’s logistic mind might be, he could not read the minds of the enemy. “The enemy has a vote,�

Breck said. “Every plan is only good until you have

first contact with the enemy.�

So, no matter how many scenarios were discussed, there were many instances where allowing ingrained training to take over was vital to survival. “You find a calm, and it’s like your mind shifts into automatic,� Breck said. “Your training tells you what to do, and you’re just reacting.�

But decisions often must be made immediately. “Seventy percent now is better than 100 percent late,� Breck said. “You instinctively go, and it might not be the right answer, but you’re going and moving down the field. Then you adjust as things fall apart, and you keep adjusting until you’re out of there, and you have a moment to catch your breath and regroup.�

It’s a good thing that, 16 years ago, Breck caught his breath when medical disqualification tried to take the wind out of his sail. “He didn’t sulk. He could’ve had a pity party, but he didn’t,� Terry said.

Instead, he quenched his thirst to serve, and the Air Force named him its 2013 Logistics Staff Officer of the Year.

But before leaving the SVM office, he took a few minutes to emphasize that the award – not unlike the Pulitzer Prize of the Air Force – belonged to everyone who carried out the withdrawal, from his officers to the soliders on the front lines. “He’s always been such a team player, very conscientious of other people’s feelings,� Terry said.

And very aware of his calling, it turns out.

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4HURSDAY *ULY

HONORING OUR NATION’S HEROES | CLIMBING THE RANKS

Finding a ‘sense of purpose’ in service Rock Falls native nominated for rank of brigadier general in Air Force

BY MATT MENCARINI MMENCARINI SAUKVALLEY COM

EXT

It didn’t take Col. Walter Lindsley Jr. much time after enlisting in the U.S. Air Force in 1982 to realize he wanted to make a career of it.

Lindsley, 50, a Rock Falls native and 32 years into his military career, was nominated by President Barack Obama for the rank of brigadier general. His nomination, made in April, is awaiting Senate confirmation. “The Air Force and I got along really well,� Lindsley said when thinking back to the start of his military career. “I actually appreciate the discipline. ...

And you get a sense of purpose.�

Lindsley is stationed at Wright Patterson Air Force base, just outside Dayton, Ohio. His career has taken him to Louisiana, England, Italy, Korea, Arizona and Utah, among others.

‘‘

I have not done anything from the time I was 18 until now to make a name for myself,� he said. “... I love serving my country, and I love the Air Force.

’’

Air Force Col. Walter Lindsley Jr.

He was stationed at the Pentagon for 6 years, and was there on Sept. 11, 2001, working in the office of a three-star general.

Two people in the office were gathered around the TV that morning. Not aware of what they were watching, Lindsley told them there was work to do. By the time he got to the TV, he said, the second plane was flying into the second tower.

THANK YOU TO THOSE WHO SERVE!

They grabbed what they could off the boss’ desk and started to set up a crisis team in the Pentagon so they were ready to support the general and others. “The enemy wasn’t going to get us out of the Pentagon,� Lindsley said recently. “[The mentality was] we didn’t know who you are, but you’ve just made a big mistake.�

As they were setting up the crisis team, Lindsley said, the plane hit the Pentagon. “As they’re fighting the fires, most everyone is evacuating the building,� he said. “We did not. We always had the building manned. I remember all of that activity, and then I remember that as they were fighting the fire. ...

The fires continued to spread. The smoke and fire spread over the Pentagon.�

About the rank ! BRIGADIER GENERAL IS A ONE STAR GENERAL AND IS A RANK BELOW A MAJOR GENERAL TWO STAR GENERAL "RIGADIER GENER ALS WEAR A SINGLE SILVER STAR TO SHOW THEIR RANK

PURPOSE CONTINUED ON C7

Col. Walter Lindsley Jr.

Dates of Lindsley’s previous promotions .OV n SECOND LIEUTENANT .OV n FIRST LIEUTENANT .OV n CAPTAIN &EB n MAJOR !PRIL n LIEUTENANT COLONEL 3EPT n COLONEL

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HONORING OUR NATION’S HEROES | CLIMBING THE RANKS

Lindsley: Each promotion an opportunity, challenge PURPOSE

CONTINUED FROM C6

Eventually, the crisis team operations had to be moved out of the Pentagon, Lindsley said. He and another officer made their way to another facility to set up a temporary center, so operations could continue smoothly.

Those operations moved back to the Pentagon later that day, once the fires were under control.

Lindsley had gotten to work at 5 a.m. that day, he said, and didn’t get home until after midnight.

Walter Lindsley Sr., 76, who still lives in Rock Falls, isn’t surprised at the way his son handled the events and his duties of the day.

His son has always been a leader, he said.

“That is kind of the difference between the leader-type person and a non-

leader,” the elder Lindsley said. “In the time of crisis, they don’t think about what they’re doing.”

His father said he didn’t expect Lindsley to make a career out of the Air Force when he enlisted.

But after a first re-enlistment, Lindsley knew he had found his calling.

“I never expected him to go this far,” the elder Lindsley said. “I told him, when he went, to find a rank that he’s comfortable in and stay there. I didn’t think he was going to make a career out of it.”

But he said his son just keeps “climbing up in the ranks.”

“I’m very proud,” he said. “It makes me very proud.”

Lindsley’s 32-year career has been about service.

Each promotion, including the recent nomination, has been an opportunity and a challenge, he

said, for him to take on more responsibility and serve in a greater capacity.

“It’s not about me,” he said. “And it won’t be.

I’m just doing my job, and I found my niche in the Air Force.”

Lindsley credits the work ethic that was instilled by his father, and the people skills he learned from his mother, as major factors in his military success.

When looking back on his career, Lindsley said the Air Force has provided him with a lot, including an education, and an opportunity to see and do things he never thought a kid from Rock Falls would be able to see or do.

“I have not done anything from the time I was 18 until U.S. Air Force photo by Dennis Carlson now to make a name for Col. Walter Lindsley Jr. (left), 498th Nuclear Systems Wing commander, hands myself,” he said. “... I love Senior Airman Janarious Devine, 377th Security Forces Squadron, his lunch at serving my country, and I the Thunderbird Inn on Christmas Day in 2011. love the Air Force.”

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HONORING OUR NATION’S HEROES | REMEMBERING THE FALLEN

Marine Staff Sgt. Justus S. Bartelt, of Polo

Army Pfc. Norman L. Cain III, 22, of Mount Morris

Marine Lance Cpl. Alec E. Catherwood, of Byron

Sauk Valley portraits part of traveling exhibit STAFF REPORT NEWS SAUKVALLEY COM

EXT

SPRINGFIELD – An unusual and touching memorial to Illinois military members lost to the war on terrorism is available for groups to request to exhibit, or for viewing online. “Portrait of a Soldier� is an exhibit of hand-drawn portraits of Illinois military personnel who have been killed since Sept. 11, 2001, in the global war on terror.

The portraits are copies of the original, which has been given to the fallen soldiers’ next of kin.

The exhibit, which travels throughout the state, includes portraits of six of Sauk Valley’s fallen.

The project began in August 2004, when artist Cameron Schilling of Mattoon, then a student at Eastern Illinois University, drew a portrait of Army Spc. Charles Neeley, a Mattoon native who was killed in Iraq.

Schilling gave the

Army Sgt. Jessica M. Housby, 23, of Milan

2009, by a roadside bomb in Route Golden, Iraq. s !RMY 0FC .ORMAN , Cain III, 22, of Mount Morris, killed March 15, 2009, by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan. s -ARINE 3TAFF 3GT *UStus S. Bartelt, of Polo, killed in combat in !FGHANISTAN ON *ULY

2010. s -ARINE ,ANCE #PL Alec E. Catherwood, of Byron, killed during a combat mission Oct. 14, 2010, in Afghanistan.

Organizations are invited to request the exhibit for display. Call the Illinois Department or Veterans Affairs at 217782-0244 or go to tinyurl. com/PortraitOfASoldier to view the portraits or for more information.

Army Pfc. Scott Tyrrell, 21, of Sterling

Saluting

Our Nation’s Heroes

Welcome sketch to Neeley’s parents, to convey his sympathy. In October 2005, he decided to draw a portrait of every Illinoisan who has fallen in the war against terror.

Local service men and women represented in the exhibit include: s !RMY 0FC 3COTT 4YRrell, 21, of Sterling, died Nov. 20, 2003, of wounds received 6 days earlier in Tikrit, Iraq. s -ARINE ,ANCE #PL Andrew G. Patten, 19, of Byron, killed Dec. 1, 2005, by a roadside bomb in Fallujah, Iraq. s !RMY 3GT *ESSICA - Housby, 23, of Milan, assigned to the Army National Guard 1644th Transportation Company in Rock Falls, killed Feb. 9,

Marine Lance Cpl. Andrew G. Patten, 19, of Byron

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HONORING OUR NATION’S HEROES | VETERANS PARKS IN THE SAUK VALLEY

Veterans parks are works in progress Timing is everything for organizers

BY PAM EGGEMEIER peggemeier@saukvalley.com

EXT

DIXON – It was November 2001 when John Weitzel presented plans for a veterans memorial park on the west edge of Dixon to the city’s park board.

Weitzel was president of the Dixon Veterans Memorial Commission, a 10-person panel appointed by Mayor Jim Burke.

Weitzel promised that the funding would come exclusively from donations and an endowment would be established for site maintenance.

Armed with $2,000 from a Dixon Tourism grant, the commission embarked on its fundraising journey. Thirteen years and about $400,000 later, the work continues.

Several veterans memorial parks grace the area – some are completed, others have additions in the works, and another project planned for many years in Sterling has been tabled.

Although the area’s veterans parks vary in scale, all exist because of the tireless efforts of the fundraisers who have pounded the pavement for donations from businesses, organizations and individuals, and orchestrated countless raffles and pork chop dinners.

Dixon Veterans Park organizers were fortunate – much of the heavy lifting was done before the recession hit in late 2007.

PARKS CONTINUED ON C10

Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@ saukvalley.com

Rock Falls Veterans Memorial Park, at West Air Force veteran Jim Reubin paints the underside of the F-105D Thunderchief on Oct. 1, 2012, at Veterans Fifth Street and Galt AveMemorial Park in Dixon. Members of the Veterans Memorial Park Commission and local veterans worked to nue, has a walkway that includes legacy stones. spruce up the decommissioned jet that now is on display at the park.

Philip Marruffo/pmarruffo@saukvalley.com

Small towns, big efforts in Milledgeville, Lyndon

BY PAM EGGEMEIER peggemeier@saukvalley.com

EXT

MILLEDGEVILLE – In smaller towns, veterans park projects might not be as elaborate as the Dixon project, but that doesn’t mean they are going unnoticed.

In Milledgeville, ground was broken 2 years ago for its memorial park on a half-acre site near the high school at 100 E. Eighth St. The project’s price tag initially was estimated at $70,000, but inflation bumped it up to Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com $85,000. “The veterans of Lyndon are just as important as the veterans anywhere else,�

The Milledgeville Park said Fred Steele, head of the Lyndon Economic Advisory Panel that established District is leasing the land Lyndon Veterans Memorial Park, at 604 W. Commercial St. for 100 years, at a cost of

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$1 a year. “We offered to buy the land, but the park district said it would be better to lease it,� said Lee Gibbs, American Legion Post 553 commander.

The park was dedicated last Veterans Day, and while it’s still a work in progress, the accolades already are coming in.

The Milledgeville Memorial Park will be recognized July 12 at the American Legion State Convention in Springfield. The project has captured first place in the Commander’s Community Service Award.

EFFORTS CONTINUED ON C11

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4HURSDAY *ULY

HONORING OUR NATION’S HEROES | VETERANS PARKS IN THE SAUK VALLEY

Riverfront could be future site for park in Sterling PARKS

CONTINUED FROM C9

After the city acquired the title to part of the land at the site at state Route 2 and Palmyra Road from the Illinois Department of Transportation, construction started in 2003. The first legacy stones were unveiled in 2004, and the showcase items were gradually assembled.

A Cobra gunship that was shot down several times in Vietnam was added in September 2005, huge granite slabs with plaques in April 2006, followed by a 103,600-pound M60A3 Patton Tank in May 2006.

On May 17, Armed Forces Day, a Blue Star Memorial plaque was dedicated at the Dixon park. The project was part of a nationwide program started by National Garden Clubs Inc. The plaques can be seen near national cemeteries, parks, veterans facilites, and gardens that are along the Blue Star Highway system. “The Blue Star Memorial honors past, present and future men and women who served in any branch of the armed forces,� said Jim James, Dixon Veterans Memorial Commission chairman.

State and Dixon-area garden clubs were instrumental in the Blue Star project.

The work and fundraising never seem to end, as the planning committees move on to the next stage. “We’re in the process of the second phase in Dixon,� James said. “We’re working on sidewalks, lights, another flagpole for the Merchant Marine flag.�

Groundwork also has started for a museum project. A lot has just been

Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com

Dixon Veterans Memorial Commissioner Keane Hudson (left) and Dixon City Commissioner Jeff Kuhn unveil a new Blue Star Memorial Highway plaque May 17 at Veterans Memorial Park. cleared out and dedicated for a 5,000-square-foot building. James said they are just laying the groundwork at this point for a project he says won’t be finished for 5 years, even in a best-case scenario. “We have quite a bit of paperwork through the state to do, and we have to get nonprofit status for the project,� James said. “There is grant writing to do, and we have to get the donations.� He said they are looking for someone to work on the grants.

Plans are for the museum to house many artifacts that are donated by the families of area vets.

An education area with a theater would be designed especially for kids.

In the meantime, volunteers keep plugging away to honor Weitzel’s promise to keep taxpayers’ money out of the process. “We just finished a gun raffle, and there was a dedication cerermony for 18 more stones,� James said.

Sterling In Sterling, there has been talk of a veterans park for several years, but many factors have pushed the project to the back burner.

Mayor Skip Lee says the

project has been stalled by inability to choose a location, the economic downturn, and figuring out how a veterans park could fit in with overall plans to develop the riverfront.

Several years ago, American Legion Post 296 announced plans to build a veterans park next to Grandon Civic Center in downtown Central Park. “They had come to us with a proposal almost 3 years ago,� Lee said. “We went back to them with some refinement, and no location was chosen.�

City officials were concerned that the Grandon site wouldn’t offer enough acreage, especially with the municipal band needing concert space there.

Lee said nothing specific has been discussed, but the city has considered some alternate sites for the memorial park. “They could go to Grandon on a smaller scale, but green space on the riverfront might be a better option,� Lee said.

Another possibility is a small triangular-shaped park near Locust and Avenue B. Lee said there also is space near the American Legion post at 601 First Ave. “There is definitely

interest in the project, it’s just that no one has a good, solid feel for it yet,� Lee said. “Nothing has been concretely proposed or ruled out.�

The mayor also believes that the economic downturn might have been a factor in slowing the project’s momentum. “In 2008-2009, what was happening with the economy sent everyone scurrying in the charity world,� Lee said. “Fundraising and finding grant opportunities became much more difficult.�

While former Sterling Legion Commander Dick Cox says the park wouldn’t be of the same scale as Dixon’s, cost still is a problem. “We’re looking at somewhere in the neighborhood of $250,000, and our legion doesn’t have that kind of money,� Cox

said. “We have a capital fund, but that is used for our building.�

Another former commander, Mike Wolber, said the location has been the biggest stumbling block. While planners originally thought it would be appropriate to build the park near the Civil War monument, the project is likely to become part of the city’s riverfront development plans. The legion has about $1,500 in seed money from various organizations, but efforts to raise money stalled. “We haven’t pursued other fundraising efforts because people don’t want to donate without a location,� Wolber said. “Once the riverfront plans get going, then fundraising for the park can be done in earnest.�

Wolber said a riverfront site would likely be at the far west end near Avenue B. The original proposal called for illuminated clear acrylic walls for each military branch with logos. There would be retaining walls, benches, and landscaping done from a walking area to the walls. A memorial to MIAs and POWs would provide a more solemn type of sanctuary.

The city owns the land on the riverfront, and the original plans would have to be reworked. “We have no idea of the space available on the riverfront,� Wolber said. “We’d have to adapt the renderings for that site.�

Wolber believes that figuring out the logistics is the biggest problem, not the state of the economy.

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HONORING OUR NATION’S HEROES | VETERANS PARKS IN THE SAUK VALLEY

Lyndon site has continued to grow since 2010 EFFORTS

CONTINUED FROM C9

The award is given to small-town posts that aren’t able to compete for the Hall of Fame awards won by the larger cities.

The application process focuses on both the effort put in to make the project a reality, and the reaction from the community. Gibbs said the response from citizens has been remarkable.

“We have had a lot of support from the community,” Gibbs said.

“We have already put in 225 memorial bricks.

The fundraisers have been successful, and we were fortunate that several contractors donated labor to the cause.”

The pavers were part of the project’s first phase,

which also included concrete and flagpoles. The pavers were intially just to memorialize the locals who had served in the armed forces. Now they are available to everyone at a cost of $200 each.

The bricks surround an eagle that serves as a base and centerpiece.

Efforts were made to make the memorial inclusive of all branches.

“Each branch has its own monument, including the Merchant Marines,” Gibbs said.

Residents also are selling pavers for the memorial, on which people can recognize those who served. Originally, they were for Milledgeville residents, but now anyone can buy the bricks, after several out-of-towners expressed an interest in memorializing relatives who had local ties.

After raising about $40,000, volunteers still are busy fundraising, with hopes of eventually making upgrades.

“We have everything in that was originally planned,” Gibbs said.

“We just have some landscaping were’re finishing. There is room for additions, but we haven’t talked about exactly what we want to do yet.”

Lyndon In the tiny village of Lyndon, population 646, its veterans memorial wall shares a home with the municipal building at 605 W. Commercial St. The area of the village, perhaps best known for its annual Crow Festival, is less than 1 square mile, but its residents still wanted to find a way to honor area veterans.

The support continues to grow since the site’s dedication in July 2010.

“We’ve started putting the engravings on the back of the memorial because we were running out of room on the front,” Village Clerk Shelly Moore said.

Moore said the names, mostly of Lyndon natives, span from the Civil War to the present.

The names are engraved on granite blocks that are surrounded by an inviting gazebo and landscaping, a walkway, and two stone benches. One distinguishing characteristic helps account for the number of names on the blocks – there is no cost to put them there.

“We are doing really well with donations and fundraisers, so we can put the names up for

free,” Moore said. There are special blocks for entire families to consider that are sold for $125.

The Lyndon Economic Advisory Panel raised about $100,000 to install the wall and landscape the park.

Although there are no plans for additions at this time, the volunteers continue to raise money with an eye toward the future. The fourth annual Lyndon Veterans Memorial Ride is planned for July 26. At a cost of $10 a person, anyone can ride a vehicle of choice from Village Hall to the Lyndon Pub. Signup is from 10 a.m. to noon, and the party at the pub should begin at 5 p.m.

“There will be lots of food and raffles – it’s always a good time,” Moore said.

Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@ saukvalley.com

In Prophetstown Eclipse Square Veterans Memorial Park on Washington Street, donations helped build several stone monuments that honor local veterans, as well as EMS, police officers and firefighters. White crosses with the names of those killed in war border the park.

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HONORING OUR NATION’S HEROES | A SURVIVOR’S STORY

‘There was no time to be scared’ Como man lived through the bombing of Pearl Harbor STAFF REPORT NEWS SAUKVALLEY COM

EXT

Editor’s note: WW II Navy veteran Roy Phillips Sr., of Como, west of Sterling-Rock Falls, was among the survivors of the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor. Following is his story, as told

by Phillips, and culled from Sauk Valley Media archives.

COMO – Roy Phillips sat inside the steel belly of a U.S. Navy destroyerturned-minesweeper.

He had a stomach full of scrambled eggs, and no idea that dozens of other ships and barracks already were under attack.

The USS Trever, the 20-year-old Kentucky sailor’s home for most of his 4-year enlistment to that point, was moored at Pearl City, a military landing on the other side of a narrow channel from the primary target of the Japanese Imperial Army: the naval air base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, home to the U.S. Pacific fleet.

It was Dec. 7, 1941. A Sunday. Boilermaker 2nd Class Phillips’ favorite day. The Trever galley served all the eggs sailors could eat at breakfast and all the cold cut sandwiches they could handle for dinner. “I’d never go ashore on Sunday,� he said, his drawl still evident, nearly seven decades later.

That day, “we never made it to dinner. I just went above deck to get some air. ... It was a real nice day, ... when I saw the Japanese planes flying all over. It wasn’t much longer when they

called us to battle stations,� said Phillips, who’s lived in the Sauk Valley the past 50 years, since ‘64.

Although the USS Trever sat far across the harbor, the carnage was unobstructed.

Seeing bombs dropping spurred Phillips into action. He scurried to his battle station – Boiler Number One – where he remained during the rest of the attack. “It’s like being in a submarine,� Phillips said.

He went from the top deck through a manhole.

The fire room, Phillips said, was pressurized.

Without the pressure, opening the portal would have caused a backdraft.

There were four men stationed in the boiler room – two burner men; one water man; and one man in charge. They took turns seeing what was going on. “That lasted like what seemed like an eternity,�

Phillips said. “It’s something out of this world. It was like a horror movie or something.�

Watching that horror unfold, he said, “kind of puts you in a trance.� So the death and destruction didn’t have an immediate impact. But Phillips couldn’t quite acknowledge how the events affected him. “I don’t think it bothered me,� he said. “It never hurt my mental capacity.�

Remembering that day, though, is important to Phillips, who for many years made it his mission to speak publicly about “the date which will live in infamy.� Although he always came to speaking

Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com

Navy boilermaker 2nd Class Roy Phillips, then 88, holds a picture of the USS Trever, the ship he was stationed on during the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. engagements armed with laminated index cards, his words came naturally. “I’ve been doing it so long,� he said at an American Legion event in Sterling in Decem-

ber 2010, “I know it by heart.�

Phillips is one of about 84,000 Americans, military and civilian, who were attacked by the Japanese at 7:55 a.m.,

in an act of aggression most historians say precipitated the United States’ entry into World War II. About 2,400 sailors, Marines and soldiers

were killed at Pearl Harbor and other military installations on the island of Oahu in the attack.

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HONORING OUR NATION’S HEROES | A SURVIVOR’S STORY

Phillips was about 3 months from being discharged BOMBING

CONTINUED FROM C12

Nearly 1,200 were wounded, as were more than 1,000 civilians, most of them by U.S. anti-aircraft artillery shells landing in residential areas.

Only about 2,000 to 2,500 of the tens of thousands of survivors are still alive.

A Shaker upbringing Phillips’ childhood was an unlikely one for a man who would one day enlist amid the largest conflict in global history.

He was born to farmhands in a Shaker village in central Kentucky. The Shakers’ religious teachings emphasized hard work, a simple, celibate and communal lifestyle,

and pacifism.

The Shakers died out in 1923, his father lost the farm, his grandfather died, and Phillips went to live with his mother in Lexington, Kentucky.

It was there that Phillips went to high school and, right after, in 1938, decided to join the Navy.

There, he found work he was good at.

He made boilermaker by shimmying down into massive oil-burning fireboxes. He got promoted by being eager to learn.

The morning of Dec. 7, the Trever, which made regular trips between Hawaii and San Diego, had been tied up just off the Pearl City peninsula for a couple of weeks.

The USS Wasmuth, the USS Zane and the USS Perry, also destroyer/ mine sweepers, were docked nearby.

The USS Curtis, a battleship, was anchored a short distance away, and a little farther south, along the north shore of Ford Island, were the battleships USS Utah and USS Raleigh.

On the other side of Ford Island, less than a mile away, Phillips reckoned, was battleship row.

Here were anchored the USS Arizona, the USS Nevada, the USS Vestal, the USS West Virginia, the USS Tennessee, the USS Maryland, the USS Oklahoma, the USS Neosho and the USS California. On Ford Island was a Naval air station.

A cousin of Phillips’ was assigned to the Curtis, and the two had made plans to visit a mutual friend aboard the Arizona.

PHILLIPS CONTINUED ON C14

Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com

Pearl Harbor veteran Roy Phillips (left) of Como reads a poem during an American Legion ceremony in 2010 in Sterling marking the 69th anniversary of the attack on the Hawaiian naval base. Past Sterling American Legion Cmdr. Dick Cox holds the microphone. For many years, Phillips made it his mission to speak regularly about “the date which will live in infamy.� Although he always came to speaking engagements armed with laminated index cards, his words came naturally. “I’ve been doing it so long,� he said during the event pictured, “I know it by heart.�

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HONORING OUR NATION’S HEROES | A SURVIVOR’S STORY

Phillips’ ship, the USS Trever, sustained minimal damage PHILLIPS

CONTINUED FROM C13

‘No time to be scared’ Phillips was about 3 months from being discharged when the bombs fell. Although he could hear the sound of explosions and Japanese airplanes zooming overhead, he felt no fear or dread. “To be honest, I really didn’t think about it,� he said matter-of-factly. “There was no time to be scared.�

Holding a picture of the Trever, Phillips pointed to different parts of the ship.

There was the boiler room where he was assigned, there were the three large smoke stacks, there were the guns near the bow, and there were the depth

charges near the stern. “That ship was really a war dog,� he said.

In the end, the Trever sustained minimal damage, as did the other ships lined up along the peninsula. The Raleigh was damaged but remained afloat. The Utah sank. Across the channel, the Curtis was moderately damaged.

Phillips’ cousin wasn’t hurt.

On the other side of Ford Island, along battleship row, though, the destruction was terrible. Their friend aboard the Arizona went down with the ship and, along with 1,176 other Americans, was entombed on the bottom of the harbor.

All told, eight battleships were sunk or badly damaged, 10 other major ships were heavily dam-

After Pearl Harbor

Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com

Roy Phillips keeps a leave pass with a picture of his ship, a U.S. Navy destroyer-turned-minesweeper, the USS Trever. aged, and 165 airplanes were destroyed.

The Japanese lost 185 airmen and sailors, 29 aircraft, one large and five mini-submarines.

Phillips said he had once applied to be a diesel mechanic in the Navy, but hadn’t

received the assignment.

Many small diesel crafts were destroyed at Pearl Harbor, and many of the men assigned to them were killed.

He could very easily have been one of them. “Everything happens for a reason,� he said.

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For several weeks after the attack, the Trever was sent out into the Pacific on submarine patrol. In March 1942, after re-enlisting, Phillips was assigned to the USS Rigel, a repair ship. He had risen to the position of boilermaker.

The Rigel was sent to Midway in June of that year, and although the ship wasn’t involved in the battle of the same name, “it was in the area,� he said.

Phillips spent the rest of the war at such places as Australia, New Zealand and New Guinea.

He was discharged from the Navy in September 1945.

In 1987, he retired as a pipefitter at North-

western Steel and Wire. In addition to the increased pay, the move to Illinois in 1964 had been a blessing in other ways. “I met my wife here,� he said.

Beverly Phillips died in 1997.

When asked how he would assess his service during the war, Phillips referred to a story told about Harry Truman.

Truman, who was a major during World War I, a judge, a U.S. senator, a vice president and a president, said the greatest epitaph he ever saw was on a grave at Tombstone, Ariz.: “He done his damnedest.�

That, Phillips said, is how he wants to be remembered. “Is there anything better?�

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HONORING OUR NATION’S HEROES | THE STARS & STRIPES

Battle-starred ship took name from county Final flag flown on USS Whiteside comes home

BY CHRISTI WARREN cwarren@saukvalley.com

EXT

MORRISON – Almost 3 years to the day after Pearl Harbor was bombarded by enemy fire, the USS Whiteside was right there, ready to ship out on her maiden voyage as a newly commissioned naval ship.

It was Dec. 6, 1944, and, having arrived in Pearl Harbor from San Francisco about a month earlier, the Whiteside, an attack cargo ship, was on its way to participate in naval exercises in Maui.

On Sept. 2, 1945, when Japan formally surrendered to the allies at Tokyo Bay, the Whiteside was there.

Named after Whiteside County, she served from 1944 until she was finally decommissioned in Astoria, Oregon, on Jan. 30, 1958. The last flag to be flown on the ship now rests in Morrison, a gift from Arlo Ericson, a man who served on the ship during its Korean War service.

Ericson, now 86, was aboard the Whiteside for 16 months. He and his wife made the trip to Whiteside County at the end of June all the way from St. Joseph, Missouri, a town about 50 miles north of Kansas City.

Ericson has been putting together reunions for his crewmates for the past 10 years, and part of that duty also means taking care of – and holding on to – the last flag. Until now.

Before being decommissioned, the Whiteside made routine voyages back and forth from the West Coast to Japan, frequently stopping over in Pearl Harbor.

Her final round-trip voyage to Asia from the West Coast was completed on Feb. 28, 1957.

After being decommissioned in 1958, the Whiteside remained in the Pacific Reserve Fleet, often endearingly called “The Mothball Fleet� until serving one last final mission in the spring of 1971, when she was sunk as a training target.

During the Whiteside’s years of service, she earned six battle stars – two for World War II and four for the Korean War. After a reception during which Ericson donated the flag, the memorabilia was presented at the Whiteside County Board meeting.

County Administrator Joel Horn said he’s very excited to have this piece of history coming home to the county. “We’ve been talking about it for months,� he said.

The flag and photographs will be hung somewhere in the courthouse, Horn said, while the rest of the logs and artifacts will be stored by the county.

Photos by Philip Marruffo/pmarruffo@saukvalley.com

Arlo Ericson holds a record book from the USS Whiteside. Ericson, who served on the Whiteside for 16 months, has been organizing reunions for crewmates for the past 10 years.

Arlo Ericson (right) speaks with Whiteside County Board member and Army veteran Bill McGinn during an reception June 17 at the Odell Public Library in Morrison.

Ericson donated the last American flag to fly on the USS Whiteside, along with maps and record books from the ship, to Whiteside County during the reception.

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