sponsored content within
Our nation’s Armed Forces honor our freedom by fighting for it. With the help of former Green Bay fan favorite John Kuhn, we are honoring their sacrifice by learning what it was like for them as they served thousands of miles from home.
Help sponsor a Vet on a trip to D.C. Preorder trip memoribilia. Details inside.
Thank You Sponsors:
THERE ARESOME BATTLESNO VETERAN SHOULD HAVETO FIGHT. No one should have to fight to receive quality healthcare. Especially those who’ve served in our armed forces. Welcome to Bellin Health, where we’ve provided healthcare for veterans since 1907. We do so with pride and appreciation.
HONORING OUR FREEDOM | DECEMBER 7, 2016
2
A USA TODAY NETWORK – WISCONSIN PRODUCTION
Bellin Health honors Veterans at home and in-flight
When Bellin Health offered its employees a chance to accompany approximately 90 local Veterans as a “guardian” on a Never Forgotten Honor Flight to Washington, D.C., 28-year Bellin Health employee David Topel just knew that he had to submit his name for consideration. A coworker had told Topel about her experience of participating in an Honor Flight, but Topel never expected he’d have any like opportunity, until recently. He learned that Bellin Health was looking for an employee who also served in the military to accompany on their behalf, the Sept 12th Never Forgotten Honor Flight. After a few weeks of waiting and wondering, Topel was elated to learn he was chosen from a select group of Bellin Health employees. “I was lucky to be chosen,” Topel says. “My coworkers all came up to congratulate me. Some didn’t even know me, but they knew this was a great honor. My dad told me stories about what those gentlemen and women went through, that they weren’t treated with respect when they returned home. It was such an honor to be able to work towards addressing that.” Honor Flight guardian Topel is a Veteran himself, serving as a hospital corpsman in the United States Navy from 1986 to 1988. He comes from a long line of Veterans. His father served in the Navy for six years, and in his mother’s family of 17, all of the men served their country. The line continues through the next generation: Topel’s son served in the Navy for four years. The day of the Honor Flight itself was “a whirlwind,” Topel says. “We were always on the go. We
saw Veterans from four or five different Honor Flights there. We saw the war memorials and the Lincoln and FDR memorials, plus each bus had a tour guide who told us why the memorials were situated where they were.” George Kerwin, Bellin Health president and CEO, says that Bellin Health’s support of Veterans is an opportunity to give back. “We’re so pleased that Dave had the opportunity to experience this once-in-a-lifetime Honor Flight trip,” Kerwin says. “Bellin places a high value on the contributions of our many employees who are military Veterans, and we appreciate the unique perspective they bring to our organization.” Bellin Health became a sponsor of the Never Forgotten Honor Flight through their partnership with the USA TODAY NETWORK – Wisconsin’s series on John Kuhn’s Honoring Our Freedom because its dedicated staff sees the physical and emotional struggles our nation’s Veterans face each day. With a high concentration of U.S. Veterans in the areas served by Bellin Health facilities, the organization is in a unique position to address the needs of Wisconsin service men and women and their families. “I am very proud to be a part of the Bellin Health Leadership Team,” says Kim Evans, a United States Military Academy graduate and U.S. Army Veteran with a 19-year Bellin Health service record to boot. “Over the years Bellin has demonstrated great respect and gratitude for the service and sacrifices of Veterans. The opportunity to support the Honor Flight is one of many ways Bellin Health recognizes our contributions. They’ve stepped up to help and support various events that recognize our Veterans, and they
take care to recognize our Service men and women even beyond Independence Day, Memorial Day and Veterans Day, which is outstanding.” “Bellin Health understands, appreciates and celebrates our Veterans,” Evans says. The memories Topel made during his Honor Flight are sure to last a lifetime. “I became good friends with Bill, the World War II veteran I was ‘guarding’ on the trip,” he says. “We started talking and later exchanged calls and letters. It took me three or four weeks after the trip to be able to talk about it; even now, talking about it makes me emotional when I think of the stories those Veterans told us about their service.” “We can never do enough to support and honor our Veterans. I can’t thank Bellin Health enough for this opportunity of a lifetime,” Topel says. “I can’t wait to go back again—I wish every co-worker who applied would to get the chance to go,” Topel says. For Evans, Topel’s experience on the Never Forgotten Honor Flight is typical of Bellin Health’s ongoing support for America’s Veterans. “Bellin Health provides healthcare to Veterans and their families, provides employment to Veterans and their families, and provides much-needed funding to ensure that events recognizing Veterans are sustained,” she says. “All of those efforts are important to help ensure that our community does not loose site of the contributions made by our Veterans. And further, that each of us remembers beyond the special holidays we celebrate - that we need to pause, and express as often as we can, our sincere thanks to our Veterans for the freedom and liberties they provide.”
In advance for hosting the premier showing of the
2016 Never Forgotten Honor Flight on January 14th, 2017
Meyer Theatre in Green Bay 117 South Washington Street
A USA TODAY NETWORK – WISCONSIN PRODUCTION
3
HONORING OUR FREEDOM | DECEMBER 7, 2016
Honor Flights ensure that Wisconsin veterans are “Never Forgotten” Since their first mission on April 27, 2010, Never Forgotten Honor Flight has flown nearly 2,300 Wisconsin veterans to visit the memorials erected in their honor in Washington, D.C. Since that first flight, Never Forgotten Honor Flight has completed 26 missions to the nation’s capital. Never Forgotten Honor Flight was formed in 2009 to honor Wisconsin veterans for their service. The Wausau-based organization hosts four flights each year—in April, May, September and October— with 90-100 veterans on each flight. The organization is an affiliate of the national group Honor Flight Network, and serves 12 counties in Northern Wisconsin: Barron, Iron, Langlade, Lincoln, Marathon, Oneida, Portage, Price, Rusk, Taylor, Vilas and Wood. “Most veterans from World War II, Korea and Vietnam did not receive the welcome home that they deserve,” says Never Forgotten Honor Flight President Mike Thompson. “The Honor Flight provides that special event. Many vets begin to open up to their friends and families with their pride to serve and with stories of their service.” The only qualification for a veteran to be included in an Honor Flight is service in the United States military, in any capacity, during World War II (including Merchant Marines), the Korean War
HONORING OUR FREEDOM | DECEMBER 7, 2016
and the Vietnam Era. Through October 2016, Never Forgotten Honor Flight has carried 1,003 World War II veterans, 1,079 Korean War veterans and 356 Vietnam Era veterans, as well as 1,436 guardians who accompany the veterans on the flights.
wars until each and every man and woman who is willing and able to fly has had his or her ‘trip of a lifetime,’” Thompson says.
Never Forgotten Honor Flight, which is operated by an entirely volunteer staff, is supported by private donations as well as by local veterans and civic organizations, corporations, foundations, religious organizations and others. Volunteers arrange for travel to and from Washington, D.C., and to the various war memorials in that city, during these one-day trips. Veterans do not pay one penny toward the cost of the Honor Flight mission.
There are currently 21,000 service members in the U.S. on Honor Flight waiting lists. Some 20 percent of those on the waiting list are World War II veterans, 43.5 percent are Korean War veterans and 36 percent are Vietnam Era veterans.
Thompson says the organization will continue to reach out to their local communities to raise the money necessary to sponsor future flights. The cost of each flight is estimated at approximately $85,000, according to Thompson. Never Forgotten Honor Flight currently has a waiting list of four World War II veterans, 21 Korean War veterans and 847 Vietnam Era veterans. Priority is given to World War II and Korea veterans. Never Forgotten Honor Flight expects to fly 350-400 veterans in 2017, depending on the health of the veterans on each mission, Thompson says. “We will continue to recruit veterans of those
4
Honor Flights now depart from 130 cities in 42 states in the U.S.
Thompson says the veterans show their appreciation in many ways, mostly through newspaper editorials, emails and handwritten letters and cards. “They seem to sum up the gratitude and appreciation that they have for their day in the sun,” he says. In one such letter, Vietnam veteran Phillip A. Love, writes: “I could not help but reflect on my time in the Army and those I served with. Sadly, many of them did not make it home. In some way, I know they are remembered and honored because of what you did for us.” Love concludes his letter: “They, too, are ‘Never Forgotten.’ I still carry them in my thoughts and in my heart each day.” For more information about Never Forgotten Honor Flight, visit www.neverforgottenhonorflight. org.
A USA TODAY NETWORK – WISCONSIN PRODUCTION
Honor Flight photos from September 2016 A USA TODAY NETWORK – WISCONSIN PRODUCTION
5
HONORING OUR FREEDOM | DECEMBER 7, 2016
Many who have been following the John Kuhn’s Honoring Our Freedom series have written or called in comments to us at USA TODAY NETWORK – Wisconsin, that they would have liked to get to know more about the Veteran being featured – such as, where are they now? What have they been doing all of these years since returning home? You asked for the story behind the letter – the back story, and understandably so. If you recall the letter written home from United States Air Force Master Sgt. Dexter Paral, the gentleman who found out his baby was born while he was away serving his country (as if those of us state side these days could even imagine that) well, we reached out to his daughter for a follow-up interview and immediately following this paragraph, you will learn what came of that. To view the USA TODAY NETWORK – Wisconsin Collection of Letters Home as featured here, and in our John Kuhn’s Honoring Our Freedom series, please visit www.honoringourfreedom.com We at USATN-WI would like to thank our Sponsors, Bellin Health and Festival Foods whose deep roots in our communities and strong support of programs like John Kuhn’s Honoring Our Freedom, make our towns and cities better places to live, work, and thrive.
Sherry Christopherson on families’ sacrifices during wartime It wasn’t easy for United States Air Force Master Sgt. Dexter Paral to be away from his family during wartime, but according to his daughter, Sherry Christopherson, he felt that serving overseas to defend his country was “the right thing to do.” Sherry submitted a letter that Dexter wrote home in 1971 while he was serving in Thailand during the Vietnam War. He was a mechanic, servicing the airplanes that flew in combat. Sherry says the John Kuhn’s Honoring Our Freedom series made her think about those times, and those letters, and the sacrifices that her father, and the entire family made to help defend America’s freedom. “I kept it a secret from him,” Sherry says about submitting Dexter’s letter. “I was a little nervous about what his reaction was going to be. “But he’s really thrilled,” she says. “He spends his time watching over his uncle, who is a World War II veteran— now in his 90s—and my dad is involved in finding ways to honor his career at the moment. So I know this is the kind of thing that is important to our service men and women - it’s nice to do, to have your career honored.”
HONORING OUR FREEDOM | DECEMBER 7, 2016
Upon reflection, Sherry
6
found it interesting that at the time the letter was written, while her father was away, and serving overseas - for our troops it was one of the most tumultuous periods in American history, yet back at home in Green Bay, for the rest of us, life went on as close to normal as possible. Sherry’s mother, Rosalie, worked as a hospital nurse and raised three sons before Sherry, 44, was born. Dexter and Rosalie would go on to have another daughter after Sherry, for a total of five children. “When we were kids, I knew that he was serving, but they did this without making it a big deal,” Sherry says. “It was never like, ‘Oh my God, your dad is gone or at war.’” In Dexter’s letter, he describes missing his family—including newborn daughter, Sherry—and the northern Wisconsin weather. Understandably, he writes that he is counting the days until he comes home. When Dexter returned home in 1972, he worked for Atlas Cold Storage servicing refrigerators. Rosalie eventually left her hospital job and stayed at home for the kids. “They’re both hard workers,” Sherry says. “They’re not complainers. In that era, my dad came home and you had to slide right back into life. He had little kids to be with, to support.” Like many veterans, “Dexter didn’t talk much about his service to his family, and didn’t really think it was worth any fanfare,” Sherry says. “But he did show me the telegram he got from the Red Cross notifying him that I was born!” Dexter, now 75, served in the U.S. Air Force for 20 years, moving from Green Bay to Michigan to South Dakota, then home to Wisconsin. One of Sherry’s brothers also served in the Air Force. In addition to accompanying his uncle to World War II-related gatherings, Dexter takes part in local Veterans Day events and is looking forward to someday participating in an Honor Flight. His service, to this day, is having an impact on Sherry’s children. With his grandchildren, Dexter shares the knowledge A USA TODAY NETWORK – WISCONSIN PRODUCTION
and lessons he learned as a young man and veteran, not as some self-proclaimed hero, but as a down-to-earth, real, and genuine role model. “My dad had a shirt that he wore from his Air Force unit,” Sherry says. “He gave it to my son who admired it, and now my son wears it on Veterans Day in honor of his grandfather.” And though Dexter doesn’t seek any special recognition for his Air Force service, his knowledge does seem to attract a certain amount of celebrity at times. “Our family would go to the EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association) shows in Oshkosh in the summer,” Sherry recalls. “And there would be my dad, explaining to my kids how everything worked, where everything was laid out in the planes.” “Eventually, he would be answering a question or two and before you know it, a few more people would gather
around him to hear what he had to say!” Sherry says. “I have a great picture of my kids just staring at him in awe while he explained everything.” To Sherry and the rest of Dexter’s family, submitting this letter to John Kuhn’s Honoring Our Freedom means much-deserved recognition for their father’s sacrifice, and a special remembrance of everything Rosalie did to keep the family safe at home. “It’s just what they did, that’s how they felt about it,” Sherry says. “I think my dad is very proud of his days in the service, as he should be, but it’s not something that he needs to be putting ‘out there.’” The Honoring Our Freedom series, Sherry says, “Is a good reminder that we need to recognize our veterans for the sacrifices they made. They deserve great thanks for the freedoms they provide us.”
You’re invited to attend the
PREMIER SHOWING OF THE
2016 Never Forgotten Honor Flight A documentary honoring those that served
Saturday, January 14th – 7:00 PM Meyer Theatre in Green Bay Me 117 South Washington Street
Tickets are $5 each plus tax and service fees. To order, please visit: www.meyertheatre.org A USA Today Network – Wisconsin Production
A USA TODAY NETWORK – WISCONSIN PRODUCTION
7
HONORING OUR FREEDOM | DECEMBER 7, 2016
Honor Flight photos from September 2016 HONORING OUR FREEDOM | DECEMBER 7, 2016
8
A USA TODAY NETWORK – WISCONSIN PRODUCTION
Darlajo Williams-Altman honors her father, Roy Williams, for Honoring Our Freedom When Darlajo Williams-Altman sees the American flags that populate her local cemetery every Memorial Day, she is reminded of the sacrifice made by so many Wisconsin men and women in defense of our freedom.
submitted, Roy, then 28, writes of missing his family and the uncertain schedules of the troop trains. He also promises to wait to celebrate the end of the war until he returns home; indeed, he does so by asking Joan for a date.
It also reminds her of the sacrifice made by her father, LeRoy “Roy” Williams, of Sheboygan, Wisc., who served as a corporal in the United States Army from March 1946 to July 1946—and then served in the Army Reserves until 1949. In the Army, Roy served as a construction foreman and carpenter, supervising in the construction of temporary military buildings such as garages, post offices and Quonset huts. He read blueprints, inspected the work and supervised the distribution of materials, among other assignments.
Submitting one of Roy’s letters for the Honoring Our Freedom series shows that the sacrifice that Roy made in defending our freedom overseas was matched by the sacrifice Roy’s family made at home.
Roy celebrated his 100th birthday on October 27. Darlajo, 76, has a stack of letters from her father to her mother, Joan, during his time overseas. She contributed one of them to the Honoring Our Freedom campaign so that readers could get a glimpse into what American service members—and their families—faced. “He and my mother wrote each other nearly every day,” she says. She submitted one of her father’s wartime letters because “it was such a nice thing to do to honor our vets,” she says. “They all went through so much, for us and for our country.” In the letter that Darlajo
A USA TODAY NETWORK – WISCONSIN PRODUCTION
Roy came from a large family, with five brothers and two sisters. “My Grandma Williams—Dad’s mom—had three of her boys in the service at the same time! That must’ve been hard for a young mother,” Darlajo says. “She lost one son while he was a baby, another son was killed in action in the Army, plus another son spent much time in a prisoner-of-war camp. Then her husband passed away in 1945, too.”
ter of fact, most of the relatives all lived in the same neighborhood, so we saw each other a lot.” The letters submitted for the Honoring Our Freedom series show more than what service men and women faced in wartime. They are also a snapshot of time in the United States. In this case, Darlajo recalls a trip to see her father while he was stationed in Anniston, Ala. “I was only five or so, but I’ll never forget that hotel,” she says. “It was dirty and smelly, and the toilets were backed up. Back then, the hotel rooms didn’t have toilets in each room, they shared. In the rooms we had a wash basin and a pitcher—a far cry from today’s hotels!”
Darlajo’s parents were married for five years when Roy enlisted. “They were still pretty much newlyweds,” Darlajo says. “I was pretty young— only five years old—so I wasn’t much aware that he was so far away and where he was. But I do remember my mom missing him very much.”
Roy returned from overseas in 1946. “He would tell you that he became ill over there and was sent to the hospital,” Darlajo says, “and by the time he got better, the war was over.” Roy spent the rest of his enlistment “cleaning up,” according to Darlajo. For his service to the United States, he was awarded the Victory Medal, the Asiatic Pacific Theater Ribbon, the Overseas Service Bar, the Army of Occupation Medal-Japan and the Meritorious Unit Citation. Joan Williams passed away in 2013.
“But back then,” Darlajo says, “relatives were very close and supported one another, so I had grandmas, grandpas, aunties and uncles in my life. Mat-
To read the John Kuhn’s Honoring Our Freedom – Letters Home Collection visit: www.wisinfo.com/appleton/honoringourfreedom/
9
HONORING OUR FREEDOM | DECEMBER 7, 2016
Honor Flight photos from September 2016 HONORING OUR FREEDOM | DECEMBER 7, 2016
10
A USA TODAY NETWORK – WISCONSIN PRODUCTION
Festival Foods Veteran helps Honor Flight participants tell their story Festival Foods, based in De Pere, Wisc., is a family-owned company. Founded in 1946 in Onalaska, the Festival family has grown to include some 6,500 employees across the state. As a sponsor of John Kuhn’s Honoring Our Freedom, Festival Foods was able to send one of its employees on a Never Forgotten Honor Flight as a “guardian,” to help other Veterans during their one-day visit to Washington, D.C. Joe Laufenberg, a 12-year Festival Foods employee and a United States Army Veteran himself, boarded the plane in the early morning hours of May 16 with 97 other heroes—and former Packers fullback (2007-15) John Kuhn. Before the Never Forgotten Honor Flight departed Central Wisconsin Airport, Kuhn said that he was honored to take the Honor Flight with these Wisconsin Veterans. Laufenberg felt the same way. “It was unbelievable,” he says. “It’s definitely one of the top five experiences of my life.” He says that interacting with the Vietnam Veterans, particularly, reminded him of his father’s experience after returning home. “With my dad serving in Vietnam, he never talked about it,” Laufenberg says. “So I only heard maybe two or three stories about it in my whole life, because it was tough for him to talk about it.” Spending the day as guardian to another Vietnam Veteran, Laufenberg says the experience reminded him of the level of sacrifice his own father made for his country. “I wouldn’t have understood it before” those times at war, Laufenberg says, “because my dad didn’t talk about it.” Like Laufenberg’s father, other Vietnam Veterans have a similar difficulty talking about that tumultuous time in their lives and in American history. This is where John Kuhn’s personality, compassion, and communication skills came in to play.
A USA TODAY NETWORK – WISCONSIN PRODUCTION
“I got a chance to sit across the aisle from Kuhn on the plane, and we talked,” Laufenberg says. “But what was unbelievable was that there was another Veteran there, who didn’t talk much at all, but when Kuhn addressed him specifically, he opened up. Having such a respected man, who understands the importance of comradery, and team, and heart, there helped this gentleman in particular be able to share his experiences. A third party, so highly regarded and genuinely interested in these Vets, and their stories got them to open up more than they even would have with family or friends.” Once the Honor Flight landed at Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., the Veterans were surprised at the reception they received. Before departing, Never Forgotten Honor Flight’s President Mike Thompson suggested to the Guardians the correct way to greet the arriving Veterans: For World War II and Korean War Veterans, it’s, ‘Thank you for your service,’ Thompson said. “For Vietnam Veterans, the correct way to greet them is, ‘Welcome home.’” “Those instructions alone make you really pause to think about what Vietnam Veterans like my dad must have faced when they returned home after serving their country, and why many still find it difficult to talk about it today. So when they got off the plane, and were greeted themselves, with this level of respect that they were not expecting that whatsoever,” Laufenberg says, “I’ve never seen so much emotion in one place before.” Laufenberg and his wife are raising two children in Green Bay. He says he is appreciative of the fact the Festival Foods afforded him the opportunity to be part of such an inspirational experience, something that gave him insight into his own family. He says that, even though the six years he spent as a U.S. Army Specialist were completely different
11
from what the troops of his father’s time endured, they do have some things in common. “I never had to go to war like my dad did,” Laufenberg says. “But we both cherish the relationships that we built with the other guys. At least once a year my dad gets together with other Vietnam Veterans, and I still stay in contact with the guys I served with as well.” That is one lesson that Laufenberg hopes to pass along to his kids and to all Americans whose freedom and security are due to the acts of those Veterans on the Honor Flight. “I want kids to learn and appreciate the level of sacrifice that was made—and continues to be made by our service men and women.” “It’s so important that the story is told, that it’s passed on,” Laufenberg says. “They hear about grandpa’s service and they are humbled, but without telling that story, they would never know.” That is why the Honor Flight was so instrumental in helping these Veterans tell their stories. “If you have a Veteran in your family, don’t wait, find a way to get them to go,” Laufenberg says. “It’s a lifechanging experience. You may have to push them a little to get them to go, because they have a lot of tough memories they may have to deal with, but it’s worth it.” Laufenberg sees that Wisconsinites are not shy about showing their appreciation every day in his Festival Foods stores. “When I see Veterans in my stores, and they’re wearing a World War II or Korea or Vietnam hat with their unit on it, I watch people go up and shake their hands and thank them for their service,” he says. “They really do appreciate it. I urge everyone who is following this series… please do offer your thanks when the opportunity presents itself, it means the world to these guys who sacrificed so much.”
HONORING OUR FREEDOM | DECEMBER 7, 2016
An American Company for Wisconsin Families
Festival Foods is a proud sponsor of John Kuhn’s Honoring Our Freedom.
For more than 70 years, Festival Foods has been proud to serve Wisconsin families. Our nation’s veterans have set the bar in terms of what it means to provide the ultimate level of service to others. Because of this, Festival Foods is proud to sponsor Honoring Our Freedom, to help tell the stories of service and sacrifice made by the men and women who fought in defense of the American way of life. Please join Festival Foods in Honoring Our Freedom and those who serve this Veteran’s Day.
HONORING OUR FREEDOM | DECEMBER 7, 2016
12
A USA TODAY NETWORK – WISCONSIN PRODUCTION