Heroes Unnoticed, Part II
EDITOR’S NOTE: Columnist John Ostwald will submit daily columns for the two weeks prior to Veterans Day. The columns cover a variety of armed forces issues. The information in the columns comes from interviews with veterans and family members, research and John’s perspective as an educator and veteran.
••• As I suggested in a previous column there are many who support the total effort of the military. They are often unnoticed and I feel compelled to recognize their efforts.
There are three examples of important contributions to the “war effort” that I have learned about recently. One came as a result of research on WW II, another during an interview and the third just by chance.
The Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP), called “Women’s Army Service Pilots” was a paramilitary aviation organization formed in WW II. They were trained to fly “the Army way” by the U.S. Army Air Forces.
The women were not trained for combat. The WASP were stationed at 122 air bases across the U.S., assuming numerous flight-related missions, and relieving male pilots for combat duty. Women in these roles flew almost every type of aircraft flown by the USAAF during World War II.
Thirty-eight WASP fliers lost their lives while serving during the war, all in accidents. Because they were not considered military under the existing guidelines, a fallen WASP was sent home at family expense without traditional military honors or note of heroism. The army would not allow the U.S. flag to be placed on the coffin of the fallen WASP.
On July 1, 2009,President Barack Obama and the United States Congress awarded the WASP the Congressional Gold Medal. President Obama said, “The Women Airforce Service Pilots courageously answered their country’s call in a time of need while blazing a trail for the brave women who have given and continue to give so much in service to this nation since. Every American should be grateful for their service.”
During an interview with Thomas Dingley, he said that he spent most of his thirteen years in the Navy in San Diego, California. He mentioned that he was in Iraq in 2006. His contribution in the military became clear as he described his job there. He had administrative duties that involved keeping track of the whereabouts of a SEAL Team. In addition, this included reporting the related injuries and sometimes deaths of sailors in this unit. On one occasion he had to accompany the executive officer to the family residence of a SEAL who died in the line of duty. I believe that this morbid task deserves mention because of the courage required to provide such traumatic information to a stranger and not knowing what kind of reaction might follow.
Matt Rogwicz is an Associate Producer at WMHT in Troy, New York. I met him at a military panel discussion at the television station. These are his words. “When I was told to come up with ideas for a local companion documentary to Ken Burns’ mammoth Vietnam War documentary, I was filled with questions and concerns. What should our focus be? Thirty minutes is not a lot of time. What could I possibly convey in thirty minutes that would build upon what Ken has done, and hopefully serve our community? There was no need to touch upon historical details and the timeline of the war. Burns has that covered. Instead, I decided to focus on a couple of powerful local stories, and most importantly, use those stories to open up about grief, PTSD, and healing.
Who would talk to me? I’m a 27 year old who learned about the war in high school. I was concerned that even if I did get veterans to talk to me, they still wouldn’t open up like they would to someone their age. Ultimately, I was happy to discover that I was wrong about those apprehensions. Many veterans did want to share their experiences. They want their stories heard. After all, telling your story is one of the ways to begin to heal the wounds of war. If anything, I hope my documentary, The Wounds We Feel at Home, was able to connect with somebody out there dealing with grief or PTSD.”
Noncombatant female pilots, an administrative clerk in Iraq and an associate producer at a television station? From my perspective, those mentioned above exhibit unique courage that goes unnoticed and yet contributes to the overall mission of the Armed Forces of the United States. John R. Ostwald is a professor emeritus from Hudson Valley Community College, a newspaper columnist, Vietnamera veteran and author whose work has been presented on TV, radio and at national conferences.