thedrifter
01-11-07, 10:28 AM
Veteran's walking sticks a tribute to Marines' sacrifice
By Brian Bowling
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, January 11, 2007
A block of basswood, a hardwood stick, a dowel and a plastic cap don't seem like much, but in the hands of Bill Howrilla they become a tribute to the sacrifices his fellow Marines are making in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The Franklin Park veteran said the 20 walking sticks he and two other Marine veterans are taking to the Wounded Warrior Barracks at Camp Lejeune, N.C., today are tokens of their appreciation.
"I just want to make them feel good, knowing that we care," he said.
Joe Wadlow, of Ohio Township, said the care packages he received while fighting in the Vietnam War were important morale boosters.
"They were things that really made a difference," he said.
Howrilla presented his first walking stick to Lt. Col. Tim Maxwell, a Marine officer who has overcome a severe brain injury suffered during combat in Iraq. Maxwell is still on active duty and oversees the injury support program at the Wounded Warrior Barracks.
Howrilla, Wadlow and Jerry Vanasdale of Penn, Butler County, are also taking copies of the book "Once a Marine" and T-shirts with an editorial cartoon showing a child holding a flag in front of a cross-shaped grave marker. The caption says, "Thank you."
Wadlow said Howrilla received permission from cartoonist Scott Stantis, of the Birmingham, Ala., News, to use the image after Howrilla sent Stantis a wood carving based on the cartoon.
Howrilla, who has been carving wood for about 11 years, has a picture of Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, holding two caricatures of himself that Howrilla carved.
He got the idea for the walking sticks from an article about the Eastern Oklahoma Wood Carvers Association, which has been making eagle-headed canes for injured Oklahoma veterans. With some modifications to the club's design, he began making the sticks by carving the heads from basswood and attaching them to sturdy sticks he had collected.
Howrilla said he rarely discards pieces of wood, even tree branches that fall in his yard.
"If I think I can use them, I save them and dry them out," he said.
So far he's made 21 walking sticks while another local carver, Jim Bianchi, made four. Howrilla said it takes about three to four hours to carve the heads, prepare the shafts and assemble the walking sticks.
The book the veterans will distribute contains 13 stories by veterans describing how becoming a Marine changed their lives. Wadlow, one of the owners of the eight Monte Cello restaurants in the area, contributed his story. Other contributors include judges, businessmen and retired FBI agent Chuck Latting, of Pasadena, Calif.
Brian Bowling can be reached at bbowling@tribweb.com or (412) 320-7910.
Ellie
By Brian Bowling
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, January 11, 2007
A block of basswood, a hardwood stick, a dowel and a plastic cap don't seem like much, but in the hands of Bill Howrilla they become a tribute to the sacrifices his fellow Marines are making in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The Franklin Park veteran said the 20 walking sticks he and two other Marine veterans are taking to the Wounded Warrior Barracks at Camp Lejeune, N.C., today are tokens of their appreciation.
"I just want to make them feel good, knowing that we care," he said.
Joe Wadlow, of Ohio Township, said the care packages he received while fighting in the Vietnam War were important morale boosters.
"They were things that really made a difference," he said.
Howrilla presented his first walking stick to Lt. Col. Tim Maxwell, a Marine officer who has overcome a severe brain injury suffered during combat in Iraq. Maxwell is still on active duty and oversees the injury support program at the Wounded Warrior Barracks.
Howrilla, Wadlow and Jerry Vanasdale of Penn, Butler County, are also taking copies of the book "Once a Marine" and T-shirts with an editorial cartoon showing a child holding a flag in front of a cross-shaped grave marker. The caption says, "Thank you."
Wadlow said Howrilla received permission from cartoonist Scott Stantis, of the Birmingham, Ala., News, to use the image after Howrilla sent Stantis a wood carving based on the cartoon.
Howrilla, who has been carving wood for about 11 years, has a picture of Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, holding two caricatures of himself that Howrilla carved.
He got the idea for the walking sticks from an article about the Eastern Oklahoma Wood Carvers Association, which has been making eagle-headed canes for injured Oklahoma veterans. With some modifications to the club's design, he began making the sticks by carving the heads from basswood and attaching them to sturdy sticks he had collected.
Howrilla said he rarely discards pieces of wood, even tree branches that fall in his yard.
"If I think I can use them, I save them and dry them out," he said.
So far he's made 21 walking sticks while another local carver, Jim Bianchi, made four. Howrilla said it takes about three to four hours to carve the heads, prepare the shafts and assemble the walking sticks.
The book the veterans will distribute contains 13 stories by veterans describing how becoming a Marine changed their lives. Wadlow, one of the owners of the eight Monte Cello restaurants in the area, contributed his story. Other contributors include judges, businessmen and retired FBI agent Chuck Latting, of Pasadena, Calif.
Brian Bowling can be reached at bbowling@tribweb.com or (412) 320-7910.
Ellie