The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Group names U.S. 6 for soldier who died in war
Mitiwanga native, U.S. Army Sgt. Theodore ‘Ted’ Ward was killed in action during war
Part of U.S. 6was named for Mitiwanga native, U.S. Army Sgt. Theodore ‘Ted’ Ward who was killed in action.
A stretch of highway west of Vermilion has been named in honor of a native son who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving his country.
On Sept. 19, family, friends, veterans, lawmakers and members of the Daughters of the American Revolution organization gathered to honor U.S. Army Sgt. Theodore “Ted” Ward.
He arrived in Vietnam on April 14, 1969, and served on 25 missions before was killed in action May 8 of that year. Ward was 20 years old.
Dozens turned out for a ceremony with details about the life and death of Ward, who grew up fun loving, full of life, bright and compassionate in Mitiwanga, the seaside vacation community on U.S. Route 6 between Huron and Vermilion.
“It’s been 50 years since we lost Ted and some say the honor is long overdue,” said Ward’s sister, Nancy Cornthwaite. “But for me, it means more than ever because now I know there are people out there that have never forgotten my brother.”
She presented a shadowbox with Ward’s military decorations to Art Shull, commander of the AMVETS Post 22 outside Vermilion. The post’s name includes a tribute to Ward.
The highway memorial was a project of the Firelands Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. DAR member Susan Kishman, who knew Ward in high school, suggested the commemoration and led the effort with DAR Regent Laura Kirby.
The honorary signs were made possible with assistance from state Sen. Theresa Gavarone, R-Bowling Green, whose district includes Erie County. She and state Rep. D.J. Swearingen spoke at the ceremony.
Bright smile, bright heart
The gathering was held in the yard of Kathy and George Eybs, longtime family friends who lived just down the street from the Wards. Kathy Eybs said she was 6 years old when Ward was killed in Vietnam.
The Ward family arrived there in the early 1900s, when Ward’s grandfather, DeForest Ward, built the Wild Waves Motel on 10 acres of Lakefront property.
In the next generation, Bill and Martha Ward had three children: Ted, Nancy and their youngest sister, Elizabeth “Betsy” Ward Kahoilua, who now lives in Hawaii.
Cornthwaite said Ward was the best big brother ever.
“Ted had a big, bright smile and a heart to match,” she said. “He was gregarious and outgoing and he was always anxious to meet people and make new friends.”
A lover of the outdoors, Ward was an avid sailor and strong swimmer. When not at the beach, he spent time in the woods south of U.S. 6.
At a summer camp, Ward learned marksmanship at age 13. He loved guns but had no desire to hunt, so he would plink tin cans on the beach.
Ward played baseball and ice hockey and was a member of the Vermilion High School football team.
Ward loved cats and dogs and “had an appreciation for all things reptilian,” his sister said.
Newspaper clippings showed Ward worked as a Lorain Journal carrier and won a trip to Brazil through Family Weekly, a Saturday supplement publication included with the newspaper.
In the service
After high school, Ward went to the Oklahoma Military Academy and won an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point.
But Ward realized most of his academy peers were being sent to Vietnam.
“In Ted’s way of thinking, he couldn’t let that happen,” Cornthwaite said. “He felt that he had the training and the ability and that he had the duty to his country and to his family and friends. So he turned down the appointment to West Point and went with his buddies.”
Cornthwaite said she wished he made another decision, but understood that he followed his heart.
In the Army, Ward rose to the rank of sergeant and was an airborne ranger and squad leader. Cornthwaite read details from a letter he wrote to their grandmother.
Vietnam was “hot, dirty, hard and dangerous. It’s pretty rough and the North Vietnamese Army is a pretty tough bunch.”
She read from the Army’s letter describing how Ward led his men into a fortified bunker complex. He moved the squad forward and “repeatedly exposed himself to deadly fire” while pointing out hostile positions to his men, until he fell victim to enemy fire.
“That happened over 50 years ago, and today it makes me proud and happy to see Ted’s name on the signs that frame a little stretch of highway that runs through the place Ted loved the most,” Cornthwaite said.
Phil Kirby, husband of Laura Kirby, read a letter that Ward wrote to his father on May 6, 1969 — two days before he was killed in action.
He described some gruesome details of combat, but also expressed a desire to grow closer to his father upon returning home. Ward asked his father to send him college applications to Ohio State University and Otterbein University.
“When I get home, boy, am I going to be happy, because I’ll have done my part and spent my time in hell,” the letter said. “You don’t know how good it makes me feel to know you guys are at home waiting for me.”
Ceremonial details
Savannah Hildebrandt, 17, of Vermilion, president of the Firelands Society of the Children of the American Revolution, led the Pledge of Allegiance at the ceremony.
Linda Osterhouse, registrar of the Firelands Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, also presented the chapter’s Community Service Award to Janice O’Neil.
Among many community projects, O’Neil may be best known for decorating the Vermilion Lighthouse during the Christmas season. O’Neil also credited the service of her husband, Army veteran Jim O’Niel, their son, Coast Guard veteran Doug Hardesty, and grandson Joshua Hardesty, a senior at the Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina.