Veterans Day in Owego; ceremony recognizes 100th year since the end of WWI

On Sunday, Nov. 11, a ceremony held at VFW Post 1371 in Owego marked the 100th year since the signing of the Armistice that ended the First World War. There was a display set up to highlight the 100 years, as well as representation from veterans from all branches of the armed forces. 

Jim Raftis Sr., Korean War veteran and Memorial Day chairman, was the emcee for the Veterans Day event, which began at the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month of the year, and for the very first time inside of the Post and in the Glenn A. Warner Memorial Hall.

Dean Morgan, of Post 401 Honor Guard, sounded the bugle proclaiming the Centennial of WWI Armistice.

 

In remembrance of the signing of the Armistice, and the anniversary of WWI, Mike Middaugh, service officer for the Tioga County Veterans’ Service Agency, read the names of 25 Fallen WWI heroes from Tioga County.

Barbara Bilbrey, Gold Star Mother, was then asked to recite Flanders Fields, a war poem written during the First World War by Canadian physician Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae.

Bilbrey’s son, 21-year-old Charles Bilbrey of Owego, whose goal was to become an Army Ranger, was among three soldiers killed in Saqlawiyah, Iraq when an improvised explosive device detonated near their vehicle on July 26, 2007. 

 

The poem reads as follows:

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

John Holton, service officer with the Tioga County Veterans’ Service Agency, read the names aloud of veterans who have passed away since Memorial Day of this year.

Dean Morgan, accompanied by Owego Town Supervisor Don Castellucci, read a proclamation marking the anniversary of the Armistice signing.

Following the presentation, 87-year-old Gerald Keene, of Waverly, N.Y., was honored for his continued and dedicated service. 

After he came back from troopship duty in Korea, Keene began a lifetime of service to veterans. He’s a past Owego VFW Commander (1995-1996) and past member of its Honor Guard. Equally important he’s the longest living commander of the Waverly Betowsky-Van De Mark American Legion Post 492, the Ball Skerpon Catholic War Veterans Post 773 of Sayre and Waverly Memorial VFW Post 8104. 

Keene, flanked by family members, was recognized during Sunday’s service and presented a plaque by Lawrence Osorio, VFW Post 1371 commander. 

Also recognized were Modern Warfare veterans Bill Reynolds, Brian Spencer, and Norm Reeder. Danielle Ingram, president of Chapter 9, Veterans of Modern Warfare of Desert Storm, Bosnia, Iraq and Afghaistan, presented the State awards to Reynolds and Spencer; Reeder was not at the event as he was serving his congregation at the Central Baptist Church in Greene, N.Y.

And Ingram is a Modern Warfare Veteran, having served herself in Iraq. When Raftis introduced Ingram, he talked about a chance meeting she had with Specialist Justin Donnelly a few years back.

As a retired Iraq War USAF Major Flight Nurse, Ingram dispatched Wounded Warrior and Purple Heart Recipient Army Sergeant Justin Donnelly of Owego from Kirkuk to Germany for medical treatment.

Neither knew each other until they met while marching in a Memorial Day Parade in Owego.

“From Owego and Candor, to Iraq and back,” said Raftis, adding, “The two met again in Owego.”

Also speaking briefly at Sunday’s ceremony was Marie Ward of Owego, who put together a scrapbook of newspaper clippings from the Gazette (1942 to about 1946) from WWII. The scrapbook was on display at the Historical Society’s Museum over the summer. 

Note: In a previous story we had mentioned that she was also the author of a book, “Letters Home.” We were erroneous in this information, it was another Ward, Mary Ward, that authored the book. Marie’s book, which is a scrapbook, is over at the museum and can be viewed. The scrapbook, according to Marie, contains a lot of photos, articles, and ‘other era news articles’.   

Unique to Sunday’s ceremony was a talk by Kevin and Denise Rung of the 137th Regiment on the Horses of War. According to Kevin, over two million horses and mules lost their lives during the civil war, and over 10 million during WWI. Both Kevin and Denise were dressed in Civil War Infantry regalia.

Talked about during the ceremony, as well, were the anniversary of the designation of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Highway of Valor in the fall of 2009, and the tribute ride that takes place, annually, and runs the entire stretch of the highway. This writer, Wendy Post, was honored to speak about the event, having covered it from day one, and participated in many of the tribute rides.

Along the way there are two heroes laid to rest – Lt. Terrance Graves of Groton and Specialist Robert Stryker of Auburn.

Both Congressional Medal of Honor recipients, Graves stayed behind in a combat zone so the rest of his unit could depart safely. He was subsequently killed in action.

Stryker threw himself onto an explosive to keep others out of harm’s way. Because of this heroic act, the Army Stryker vehicle is named in his and PFC Stuart S. Stryker’s honor (no relation).

Stops are routinely made at the memorial sites of Graves and Stryker along the 85-mile ride, which ends in Hannibal, N.Y.

Recognized on Sunday, as well, was Eagle Scout Ryan Trenchard, of Owego’s Boy Scout Troop 60. His Eagle Scout project identified, by GPS, burial sites of Fallen Heroes in Tioga County Cemeteries, a profile of each Fallen Hero, listings by community and cemetery, and WWII Fallen Heroes buried in overseas cemeteries, mostly in the European Theatre of Operation.  

According to Jim Raftis, Sr., this project was very important because previous records were lost in the flood of 2011.

The 14-year-old youth, a freshman at Owego Free Academy, has had his Eagle Scout project approved on the local level and is awaiting word from the national headquarters. An Eagle Court of Honor is forthcoming.

Following Sunday’s ceremony, guests were able to view a WWI display that was set up at the Post, and were able to present their own memorabilia.

Joan Gibbs, of Owego, brought a flag to Sunday’s ceremony that was first flown on Nov. 11, 1918, the date the Armistice was signed, bringing four years of fighting in the First World War to an end. According to Gibbs, the flag belonged to her grandmother, Clara Beck, and was flown over her grain and feed business on Chester Street in Baltimore, Md. on that very day.

Held inside this year at the VFW Post for the first time, the ceremony better accommodated many of the veterans attending. Andrea McBride delivered the National Anthem, and sang, with guest participation, God Bless America at the conclusion of the ceremony. Sister Mary O’Brien, of Tioga County Rural Ministry, delivered the Invocation and the Benediction.

The veterans would like to thank the Tioga County Historical Society for WWI pictures and the Newark Valley Historian for WWI memorabilia. The veterans would also like to thank Gordon Ichikawa for setting up a special sound system and Boy Scout Troop 60 for setting up 200 chairs in Warner Hall.

 

 

 

 

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