Delco remembers the past, and looks toward the future
MEDIA >> While the focus of Wednesday’s Veterans Day parade never wavered from those who served in America’s armed forces, borough Mayor Bob McMahon said it is equally important to instill the same reverence in youngsters.
“What it’s really about, in my view, is the next generation,” said McMahon, a Vietnam veteran. “It’s the people who are going to carry these parades and ceremonies and activities forward. It’s the sons and daughters of the veterans, their grandchildren, they’re the ones that are going to carry this through.”
McMahon said it took him 22 years after returning home from the war to become involved in veterans activities and it might take that long for those currently serving to do the same. Meanwhile, he said, it is up to the younger generation to carry the torch.
To that end, the Delaware County Intermediate Unit and U.S. Veterans Legacy Project sponsored an essay contest for middle school students to speak with a veteran and write about the impact serving in the armed forces had on their lives.
First-place winner Joshua Heins of Garnet Valley Middle School, second-place winner Matthew Sparling of Springton Lake Middle School and third-place winner Samiha Zarin of Beverly Hills Middle School, each read their essays to the crowd of parade-goers assembled in Veteran’s Square Wednesday morning.
Korean War veteran Bob Dimond, co-MCing the event with McMahon, also wished a happy 100th birthday to World War II veteran and parade Grand Marshal Henry Eugene Vickers, who spent 35 straight days under constant kamikaze attack aboard the USS Paramount with the U.S. Navy.
“And his job at that time, because he was in such good shape, he just had to swat them away,” Dimond joked. “Funny now, but frightening at the time.”
U.S. Rep. Bob Brady, D-1, of Philadelphia, also presented a rifle his father took from a Japanese soldier at Iwo Jima to Ed Buffman, a World War II veteran and founding member of the Pennsylvania Veterans Museum at 12 State St.
Buffman, who was on the U.S.S. Missouri to witness the unconditional surrender of the Japanese following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, noted the museum where the rifle will be interred also celebrated its 10-year anniversary Wednesday and is working on a slew of coming attractions featuring veterans telling their stories.
Several other local and state politicians were also on-hand for the parade, including state Rep. Nick Miccarelli, R-162, of Ridley Park, who served in Iraq with the Pennsylvania National Guard in 2009.
“It means the world to me and it means the world to every veteran,” said Miccarelli of the day’s activities. “It always reminds me of the day we came home and we saw rows of Vietnam vets outside of our plane making sure we got the welcome home that they never got.”
One man responsible for that welcome, Robert Herre of American Legion Post 979, said he can make four or five calls and find a large turnout to greet returning troops. Herre said the transition to home life can be difficult, especially for those raised with the biblical ideology that “thou shalt not kill.”
“You come home and you sit in your bed at night and you go, ‘Oh God, what did I do?’” he said. “People don’t understand.”
Herre said he recently saw one young man who left the service a month prior crying on a street corner with no idea where to turn. He pointed him toward the Delaware County Department of Veterans Affairs with the assurance that they would be able to help.
“You want to sit there and hold their hand or give them a hug for as long as you can, or you want to even take them home until they get straightened out,” he said.
Though veterans more often than not do get the respect and help they deserve these days, Miccarelli noted many in the past did not receive the same treatment.
“I think during Vietnam, people got the troops and the people who sent the troops confused – you know, the people who started the war as opposed to the people who fought it,” he said. “And you have people (today) who feel differently about our foreign policy, but rarely have I ever run into someone who doesn’t appreciate veterans who are willing to put their lives on the line.”
McMahon said veterans returning from current conflicts should take the time to get their lives and families in order, then slowly become proud of their service.
“Everybody who served in Iraq and Afghanistan served honorably and completed their mission,” he said. “So you need to feel good about what you did. That will slowly come to you as years go by. For us, it was a long time. … But just be proud of what you did, remember your service overseas, remember the people that you met, remember the people that you served with. They’re a part of your life forever.”