July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
A well-deserved honor
Editor's Mailbag
By To the editor:-
To the editor:
Saturday, July 17th at 1 p.m. in Muncie City Hall, I was honored and privileged to be in the presence of greatness. Yes, the Honorable U.S. Congressman Mike Pence was there, as was The Mayor of Muncie, Dan Canan. However, this was not the source of the greatness of which I speak. The purpose of this ceremony was to recognize some truly great men whom I was in awe of. Congressman Pence was there for the purpose of presenting these men with a Medal from the Governor of the French Region of Normandy.
One by one they came up to the lectern to be awarded a Medal from two grateful nations. Many were assisted by canes and walkers and even steadied by loving and proud family members, but one by one up they came. Some were not able to answer the roll call of their names, you see, they had passed on to their eternal reward before they could receive the Medal in person, but was presented it posthumously. Several Jay County veterans were awarded medals, and some had passed on, and had family members there for them. One such Veteran had his medal awarded to a very proud Grandson.
As they came up to the podium amidst the applause of the all too few people there, a brief recap of their service was read. The men served in the battle campaign known as Operation Overlord, which we all remember as D-Day, June 6th 1944. Some of them had 4 and 5 Bronze Stars, and almost all had Purple Hearts and even a couple had Silver Stars to their credit. Not one of them seemed to be aware of the magnitude of this, and some even downplayed the awards they had been given. One gentleman, when pressed by Congressman Pence as to just how many Bronze Stars he had, said "only five."
These truly great men and real life heroes were given their medals and quietly slipped away, back into their own lives, which will be over soon, no doubt. We all owe them everything that we enjoy in this great nation, as does the nation that awarded them the medal they received. I only regret that there were no members of the press there to document this ceremony. No newspaper articles, no satellite television trucks to be seen. I can only say that I was truly in awe of the presence of these great men, and regret that we could hold this ceremony in such a small venue. The public should have came in such numbers to witness this, that we could have filled up a large auditorium to capacity. A couple of hours on a beautiful Saturday summer afternoon is a small price to pay to honor these men who gave so much to all of us, and are passing on all too fast.
Respectfully submitted,
James D. Fulks III,
Dunkirk, American Legion
5th District Department of
Indiana Public Relations Officer
(Editor’s note: The event Mr. Fulks refers to was featured in a page 1 article with photos in The Commercial Review on Monday, July 19.)
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Saturday, July 17th at 1 p.m. in Muncie City Hall, I was honored and privileged to be in the presence of greatness. Yes, the Honorable U.S. Congressman Mike Pence was there, as was The Mayor of Muncie, Dan Canan. However, this was not the source of the greatness of which I speak. The purpose of this ceremony was to recognize some truly great men whom I was in awe of. Congressman Pence was there for the purpose of presenting these men with a Medal from the Governor of the French Region of Normandy.
One by one they came up to the lectern to be awarded a Medal from two grateful nations. Many were assisted by canes and walkers and even steadied by loving and proud family members, but one by one up they came. Some were not able to answer the roll call of their names, you see, they had passed on to their eternal reward before they could receive the Medal in person, but was presented it posthumously. Several Jay County veterans were awarded medals, and some had passed on, and had family members there for them. One such Veteran had his medal awarded to a very proud Grandson.
As they came up to the podium amidst the applause of the all too few people there, a brief recap of their service was read. The men served in the battle campaign known as Operation Overlord, which we all remember as D-Day, June 6th 1944. Some of them had 4 and 5 Bronze Stars, and almost all had Purple Hearts and even a couple had Silver Stars to their credit. Not one of them seemed to be aware of the magnitude of this, and some even downplayed the awards they had been given. One gentleman, when pressed by Congressman Pence as to just how many Bronze Stars he had, said "only five."
These truly great men and real life heroes were given their medals and quietly slipped away, back into their own lives, which will be over soon, no doubt. We all owe them everything that we enjoy in this great nation, as does the nation that awarded them the medal they received. I only regret that there were no members of the press there to document this ceremony. No newspaper articles, no satellite television trucks to be seen. I can only say that I was truly in awe of the presence of these great men, and regret that we could hold this ceremony in such a small venue. The public should have came in such numbers to witness this, that we could have filled up a large auditorium to capacity. A couple of hours on a beautiful Saturday summer afternoon is a small price to pay to honor these men who gave so much to all of us, and are passing on all too fast.
Respectfully submitted,
James D. Fulks III,
Dunkirk, American Legion
5th District Department of
Indiana Public Relations Officer
(Editor’s note: The event Mr. Fulks refers to was featured in a page 1 article with photos in The Commercial Review on Monday, July 19.)
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