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(260) 749-5015 • 216 N. Rufus St., New Haven, IN 46774 www.whisperingcreekgc.com See our ad on page A19
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May 20, 2016
Memories soar aboard Honor Flight
By Garth Snow gsnow@kpcmedia�com
Honor Flight Northeast Indiana’s Flight No. 19 carried 83 veterans to the nation’s capital April 27. Ben Clay, of Fort Wayne, was not among those honored. Instead, Clay helped to honor 50 World War II veterans and 33 who returned from the Korean War. Clay made his ninth trip as an Honor Flight volunteer. He still regrets that he could not wear the uniform. “I tried to get in the Marines right out of high school and got rejected because of medical problems,” Clay said. “I have a son and a grandson, both in the Marines. I respect these veterans. They went through an awful lot. I can’t imagine kids today, 17 and 18, going off to fight like they did. They came back and never mentioned a word.” Like others who have
PHOTOS BY GARTH SNOW
Honor Flight Northeast Indiana board member Tom Meyers of Roanoke places a flag at the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., to honor Korean War veteran Eugene Esposito of Fort Wayne, who died in October. The flag was to be given to Esposito’s daughter, Karen Cappadona of Fort Wayne.
not been to war, Clay’s impressions come in part from documentary films. The veterans help him to match faces and names with those impressions. Some veterans will talk
about the war. Some will not. “They keep pretty quiet,” Clay said. “You don’t want to pry. If they want to talk, they’ll talk. And some get pretty emotional.”
“I knew one that was a survivor of the [USS] Indianapolis,” he said, referring to the July 1945 torpedo attack that claimed 879 lives. “He was married seven or
Dennis Bridges of Kendallville serves as a guardian for World War II and Korean War veteran Jack Bridges, of Leo. The Honor Flight veterans and guardians visited the Korean War Veterans Memorial and other memorials in Washington, D.C.
eight years before his wife found out that he was a survivor of the Indianapolis. They just came home and went back to work, and that was it.” The memorials and honors are long overdue, Clay said. “They made the country safe and they
didn’t get any credit,” he said. “They just went back to their farms, went back to their businesses, like nothing happened.” Some shared their stories. Like the 83 veterans, no two stories See HONOR, Page A5
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FILE PHOTO BY RAY STEUP
Crowds fill downtown New Haven for Canal Days 2015. This year’s festival is June 7-11. For more photos of last years’ festival, visit infortwayne.com/2015-new-havencanal-days.
Canal Days to celebrate New Haven’s 150th New Haven’s annual homecoming event, Canal Days, which welcomes between 15,000 and 20,000 residents, former residents and visitors from throughout the area and across the state, kicks off Tuesday, June 7, and
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For a list of June celebrations throughout the area, see the Community Calendar, Page A11. memorabilia will be available for festivalgoers to learn about New Haven’s colorful See DAYS, Page A10
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wraps up five fun-filled days of food and entertainment Saturday, June 11. The family-friendly festival will be a dual celebration this year because the city will also be marking its 150th anniversary. A special tent featuring historical photos and
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