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Last Updated: Mar 31, 2009 - 2:29:20 PM |
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World War II veteran Stanley Kovar walks towards the charter bus that will take him and 17 other veterans to see the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. The group left from the Williamsburg Rec. Center during the early morning hours on Monday with a police and fire department escort. Mitch Traphagen Photo
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WILLIAMSBURG - “What happened to all the bodies?” Stanley Kovar asked. “I’ve always wondered, did someone pick them up or did they go out with the tide?”
Kovar was asking about something that few people could ever imagine - something fewer still would want to imagine.
Sixty-four years ago, the world looked much different to Kovar than the peaceful lifestyle that is taken for granted, sometimes maligned, here in rural Iowa. On June 6, 1944, Kovar was part of the Invasion of Normandy. As he was sent from his ship towards the bloody scene of death on shore, the landing craft he was in literally pushed away the floating dead bodies of the comrades who went before him. The water was full of them, he said.
“What happened to them? Did someone eventually pick them up?”
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The sun had not yet come up as the Williamsburg High School band played patriotic tunes in the Williamsburg Rec. Center. Outside a charter bus was idling, inside dozens of people gathered to bid a group of heroes farewell. Eighteen area veterans of World War II were preparing to travel to the nation’s capitol to see the monument built in their honor. Speeches were made - Williamsburg Mayor Frank Murphy spoke of his admiration of these and all veterans, Greg Johnson from Congressman Leonard Boswell’s office read a letter to the men from the Congressman, himself a veteran of Vietnam; a prayer was solemnly uttered; the national anthem was sung and everyone cheered when organizer Marsha White proclaimed the time had come - “We’re off!” she said.
Stanley Kovar made a joke about the last time he had to board a bus with a group of guys.
The last time, of course, he was shipped off to war.
The day was long in coming for White and the many members of the Iowa Honor Trip committee. Together a group consisting of Sheri Wetjen, Donna Witte, Larry Driscoll, Lou Ann Martinson, Carisa Driscoll, Mike White, Bruce Doehrmann, Philip Jones, Joy Fry, Marry Terril, Ed Ficken and Sandy Ficken worked to ensure the area’s WWII Veterans could see for themselves the World War II Memorial that had opened in 2004, 59 years after the end of the war, 60 years after Kovar and thousands of other Americans were sent ashore at Normandy. The committee worked to raise the money to make the trip possible. They then worked overtime to organize and arrange this, the next mission for these men, a mission for memories and of honor.
“When it mattered most, an entire generation of Americans showed the finest qualities of our nation and of humanity. On this day, in their honor, we will raise the American flag over a monument that will stand as long as America itself,” said President George W. Bush as he dedicated the World War II Memorial on May 29, 2004. “These were the modest sons of a peaceful country, and millions of us are very proud to call them Dad. They gave the best years of their lives to the greatest mission their country ever accepted. They faced the most extreme danger, which took some and spared others, for reasons only known to God. And wherever they advanced or touched ground, they are remembered for their goodness and their decency.”
A group of Victor area veterans posed shortly before boarding the bus for Washington, D.C. From left are John McGarry, Dale Noyes, Wilbur Rusk, Robert Murtha, Stanley Kovar and Robert Demeulenaere. Mitch Traphagen Photo
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On September 29, 2008, eighteen modest sons of a peaceful country boarded a bus bound for Washington, D.C. Ray Garringer of the Williamsburg Police Department and a truck from the Williamsburg Fire Department escorted the men out of town. There were smiles and hugs all around but the cheers were gone. The men on that bus never sought glory, they have never thought of themselves as heroes. They answered their nation’s call, went to war and then returned home as victors to continue showing the finest qualities of our nation by building America into the greatest country the world has ever known.
To a man, they are heroes. The organization making it possible was the Iowa County Honor Trip committee - the word ‘honor’ does not refer to the veterans on the bus - the 18 men and all of those who served had long ago earned their honor. As a grateful nation, it is our honor. They have honored us with their dedication, their courage, their sacrifice and by setting examples and standards that all subsequent generations should strive to attain. We are honored to call them ours.
World War II veterans Leonard V. Zigler, Jay Dee Roller, Reno H. Walter, John L. McGarry, Robert W. Murtha, Wilbur A. Rusk, Harvey Van Ahsen, Max A. Grant, Jim Welsh, Vernon Sandersfeld, Lynn M. Kolosik, Dale H. Noyes, Robert C. Demeulenaere, Stanley E. Kovar, George E. Stahl, Marvin W. Doschadis, Milford Collingwood and Ivan Edwards are currently traveling to Washington, D.C. with several stops along the way.
They are scheduled to visit the World War II Memorial on Thursday before returning to Williamsburg on Saturday, Oct. 4, at approximately 5:30 p.m.
It would not be possible for the men to know what awaited them in Washington. But true to the name of the mission, it was all about honor. The East Iowa Herald will provide further coverage next week.
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