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Show Students At Bryce Valley Honor Area War Veterans With Special Program TROPIC Students at Bryce Valley High School saluted area veterans on Friday in a special Veterans Day Program sponsored by the Bryce Valley Parent, Teacher, Student Organization (PTSO) and attended by all students at the school. The one-hour program briefly featured and acknowledged with applause veterans attending from the Bryce Valley area. Officially opening the event were four members of the Utah National Guard 222nd Service Battery field Artillery Unit Preston White, Beaver, Wes Peterson, Cedar City, Burke Fullmer, Panguitch and Matt Wilden, Beaver, who conducted the presentation of the colors. Senior class president Slate Stewart gave the welcome and introduction with a brief background and symbolism on the American flag. Kay Dunham, PTSO president, largely responsible for this Veterans Day tribute, introduced the color guard and local American Legion Post Commander Ben Mathews. Mathews who served as a marine from 1972-74 in San Diego, Calif, took time to introduce each vet who was present and shared their years and location of service. Mathews informed the audience that there were over 50 vets in the Bryce Valley area but that not all vets were in attendance. Vets included Obie Shakespear, 1942-45 in Queensland, Australia; Dean Wintch, 1943-46 in Europe; Kent Wintch, 1942-46 in the South Seas; Herb Baugh, 1965-67 in Korea; Sheldon Clark, 1942-45 in Europe; Stan Ott, 1943-46 in Korea; Jack Chynoweth, 1944-46 in Europe; Joe Hughes, 1951-53 in Korea; Bob Willis, 1943-46 in JL WWII and Merwin Dunham, a career vet serving from 1948 to 1974 in Okinawa, Korea, Japan, Germany and Vietnam. Guest speaker for the event was Hyrum Coleman of Boulder who shared his experience as a prisoner of war (POW) in Germany after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He was born in Boulder but reared in Escalante and married sweetheart Mary Ellen Heaps Mclnelly. Coleman was drafted in June of 1941, expecting one year of service but ending up with four years in the military. He trained in California, Virginia and North Caroline and shipped out from New York. He fought the French landing at Casablanca, Africa, traveled up through Africa, Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco. He went from there to Sicily, but Italy soon dropped out of the war, then on to Angio, broke the lines and went on to Rome, then to the south of France. They were taking it easy near Lyon, France and the French had captured three Germans and were going to hang them. The American officers in charge had Coleman and a couple others take the German prisoners off in a jeep on down the road. As they went around a corner, they were confronted on both sides of the road by Germans who immediately turned the tables, taking Coleman and others as prisoners. They were told to turn around in German and quickly searched. Coleman said it was terrible to be so scared that you are almost numb. They took the Americans back to a German camp and held them prisoner in a cabin. They sought to escape when the guard fell asleep but replacement guards came too quickly all night. The next day the guards were actually somewhat cordial, including the prisoners in their chow line and they stayed (See Bryce ValleyHonors Area Vets On Page 2-A) Bryce Valley Honors Area Vets from Page l-A there two or three days. The Germans then put the prisoners on trains back to Germany, but American bombers blew up the tracks causing much distress to the Germans. They kept the Americans packed, standing room only for five full days with no food and water while they tried to repair the tracks. Finally, unable to repair the rail lines they marched the prisoners through towns where they were spit upon and called "swine." They were held for six weeks with barely a cup of soup a day, infested with insects, worms, etc. and once in a while got a piece of brown bread. Next, near starvation, they were shipped out to northeastern Germany in the midst of winter. They were held with only a thin overcoat and one blanket each, dirty, filthy and miserable. They thought the cold was hard but Coleman said it was much worse when the weather warmed up and their bodies were infested with body lice. They were held in a camp of 100 men, counted each morning, with no hope of escape. One morning they could hear big guns far off in the distance so their captors lined them up and marched them east in the dreaded snow. They ran smack into Russian tanks that opened fire, killing many Americans. Finally they got the Russians to realize they were American prisoners. Immediately the Russians lined up the German guards and shot them right in front of the Americans. They were on their own then, just seven men in their small group -half starved, cold and hungry. They passed through town after town where the Russians had killed every last man, woman and child. Coleman said he had disliked the Germans but his dislike was far worse for the Russians. They headed across Poland ending up in Odessa, Russia. There they were fed a little better but their stomachs had shrunk so badly, they could each eat only mouthfuls. They had thought perhaps they were stuck for the rest of their lives in Germany or Russia but in a relatively short time, an English ship docked, and they saw the first Americans they had seen in 10 months. They boarded and headed on the Black Sea down through the Dardenelle, Turkey, Greece and Crete. They saw their first American flag when they entered Naples, Italy. After a few days of interrogation, they were put on a ship for home. Coleman said that as they sailed into New York harbor they truly knew what the Statue of Liberty stood for. They ended up sailing to (See Bryce Valley Honors Area Vets On Page 4-A) Vets Honored From Page 2-A Boston harbor because New York was heavily involved in loading ships for the war. He remembers it all so well because everything along the way was in bloom, bands were playing, etc. He went directly to Fort Mills, Mass. where they were fed so well, he still savors the memory. Five days later Coleman was in Salt Lake City, having come home (See Bryce Valley Honors Area Vets On Pace 5-A) Vets Honored From Page 4-A by train. When he arrived back in his home town, no one recognized him. People he had known all his life didn't recognize him. He had entered the service at 165 pounds and came out weighing less than 90. He remembers so well his arrival home, with no one expecting him. His mother, a teacher, was in school, and his sister, the only one who had recognized him, went into the school to announce his arrival. His mother could not believe it, as they had come to believe he had been killed in battle. Coleman expressed how great it was to be home and how there was no place like the United States in this whole world. He encouraged youngsters to respect and honor this country as the "best place in the world." |
