thedrifter
05-11-06, 06:35 PM
Memories for Memorial Day
Published May 14, 2006
Sun-Sentinel
Robert Gries was a first lieutenant who flew 20 missions over Germany with the 392nd Bomber Group in World War II.
When Gries died in December, his wife, Marilyn, was presented with an American flag at the funeral. But except for a Web site on the bomber group's exploits and the meticulous scrapbook Gries kept, his distinguished military service might have been relegated to history.
It won't be this year.
On May 29, Gries and at least 20 other veterans who lived in Lakeridge Greens will be remembered in a special Memorial Day ceremony behind the gates.
"We were sitting around and talking about how Memorial Day is coming around again, and people barbecue hot dogs and hamburgers, but there's no pomp or circumstance," said Mickey Fieger, 86, who landed on Utah Beach on D-Day with the Special Engineer Brigade, which unloaded the ships. He was 24.
The ironic thing is that Mickey wasn't active in veterans' affairs like his dad was back in the Bronx, N.Y. He was too busy making a living and raising his family. But when he read in the papers how fast World War II vets are dying, it did something to him.
"We are a fading breed," agreed Mickey's friend Bob Fein, 79, who joined the Merchant Marines just after his 17th birthday and served all over the world.
Bob thought there would be plenty of interest in a Memorial Day ceremony in the development, west of Boynton Beach.
"We have a lot of guys here walking around with their combat and service medals. Some still have a piece of their uniform," he said, adding there are also Korean War vets and one Vietnam veteran who he knows of living there.
Bob hasn't been active in veterans' affairs, either, but he has kept a poem on his desk for years: "Have you forgotten yet? Look down and swear by the slain of the war that you'll never forget."
When another friend, Mike Cohen, helped arrange for an honor guard from the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, that cemented plans for the observance. Mike is a radio dispatcher with the sheriff's Citizen Observer Patrol program, but he said anybody can request an honor guard.
Memorial Day "is a time to reflect on the sadness of war, not its gory glory," said Mike, 80, who was a radio operator-gunner on a B-17 bomber when he was 18.
The three organizers posted a notice of the event in the community's newspaper and on the in-house TV channel requesting the names of veterans who had lived there and have passed away, Mickey said. "The names kept coming in," he said.
So the plans came together, and the Lakeridge Greens Memorial Day observance will be held at 11 a.m. at the flagpole in front of the clubhouse. They will raise the flag, the honor guard will lead the Pledge of Allegiance, Bob will read a poem befitting the occasion and Mickey will read off the names of the men who served their country in war and then ask for moment of silence. Mickey said he plans to mention the number of men and women who have died in the Iraq war, too.
Marilyn Gries says she is grateful her husband and his distinguished war record will be remembered on Memorial Day, a day set aside for remembering, but instead has been relegated largely to meaningless picnics.
"I'll be there. I think it's great," she said. "It's personal."
Marci Shatzman writes about the adult communities west of Boynton Beach, Lake Worth and in Wellington. You can reach her at granddame@adelphia.net.
Ellie
Published May 14, 2006
Sun-Sentinel
Robert Gries was a first lieutenant who flew 20 missions over Germany with the 392nd Bomber Group in World War II.
When Gries died in December, his wife, Marilyn, was presented with an American flag at the funeral. But except for a Web site on the bomber group's exploits and the meticulous scrapbook Gries kept, his distinguished military service might have been relegated to history.
It won't be this year.
On May 29, Gries and at least 20 other veterans who lived in Lakeridge Greens will be remembered in a special Memorial Day ceremony behind the gates.
"We were sitting around and talking about how Memorial Day is coming around again, and people barbecue hot dogs and hamburgers, but there's no pomp or circumstance," said Mickey Fieger, 86, who landed on Utah Beach on D-Day with the Special Engineer Brigade, which unloaded the ships. He was 24.
The ironic thing is that Mickey wasn't active in veterans' affairs like his dad was back in the Bronx, N.Y. He was too busy making a living and raising his family. But when he read in the papers how fast World War II vets are dying, it did something to him.
"We are a fading breed," agreed Mickey's friend Bob Fein, 79, who joined the Merchant Marines just after his 17th birthday and served all over the world.
Bob thought there would be plenty of interest in a Memorial Day ceremony in the development, west of Boynton Beach.
"We have a lot of guys here walking around with their combat and service medals. Some still have a piece of their uniform," he said, adding there are also Korean War vets and one Vietnam veteran who he knows of living there.
Bob hasn't been active in veterans' affairs, either, but he has kept a poem on his desk for years: "Have you forgotten yet? Look down and swear by the slain of the war that you'll never forget."
When another friend, Mike Cohen, helped arrange for an honor guard from the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, that cemented plans for the observance. Mike is a radio dispatcher with the sheriff's Citizen Observer Patrol program, but he said anybody can request an honor guard.
Memorial Day "is a time to reflect on the sadness of war, not its gory glory," said Mike, 80, who was a radio operator-gunner on a B-17 bomber when he was 18.
The three organizers posted a notice of the event in the community's newspaper and on the in-house TV channel requesting the names of veterans who had lived there and have passed away, Mickey said. "The names kept coming in," he said.
So the plans came together, and the Lakeridge Greens Memorial Day observance will be held at 11 a.m. at the flagpole in front of the clubhouse. They will raise the flag, the honor guard will lead the Pledge of Allegiance, Bob will read a poem befitting the occasion and Mickey will read off the names of the men who served their country in war and then ask for moment of silence. Mickey said he plans to mention the number of men and women who have died in the Iraq war, too.
Marilyn Gries says she is grateful her husband and his distinguished war record will be remembered on Memorial Day, a day set aside for remembering, but instead has been relegated largely to meaningless picnics.
"I'll be there. I think it's great," she said. "It's personal."
Marci Shatzman writes about the adult communities west of Boynton Beach, Lake Worth and in Wellington. You can reach her at granddame@adelphia.net.
Ellie