Category Archives for Veterans

From Detroit to Pawtucket, and back again: The journey of a WWII footlocker

Published on January 13, 2025 in RINewsToday

“There and Back Again.” originating from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, is an expression that means a complete round trip to a place, including the journey back to where you started.

The journey of my late-father’s military olive-green footlocker began last June, after I was notified by a Detroit couple, Michael Shannon and his girlfriend Cetaura Bell, that it had been found cast away on a sidewalk for anyone to claim. The long-lost trunk that I never knew existed, had been stored in a vacant garage for over 60 years, ultimately ended up on my front steps, delivered almost 700 miles by FEDEX from Detroit to Pawtucket.  

Shannon, a 55-year-old retiree of Detroit’s wastewater facility, and Bell, a retired teacher, didn’t have to seek me out to return the footlocker to the family. They could have just kept the vintage military footlocker for use as a coffee table, or could have sold it at a flea market or on eBay.

But they offered to give me my father’s footlocker, as a gift, asking me for nothing in exchange. Shannon told me that he was just glad it could end up with the family of its rightful owner instead of being dumped in a landfill or another stranger’s home.

After the footlocker arrived, I closely examined a faded mailing label on its top.  By enlarging the label, filled out by my father, Lt. Frank M. Weiss, with Photoshop, my graphic designer was able to identify his  Detroit mailing address, 16841 Wildemere Avenue,  (which matched the address in his military records) on the label.  It was like winning a million-dollar lottery. Now I was convinced that this trunk was owned by my father.   

The footlocker, meantime, sat in my basement. Although it was empty when it arrived, I placed a folded American flag, given to my family at my father’s funeral, his military memorabilia, scrapbook of faded photos of his comrades in arms and assigned military bases from his long-ago days during WW II, and military documents for safe keeping.

What a story to share?  

In a crazy world where people don’t care about strangers, but an act of kindness returned a WWII veteran’s lost military footlocker to a family member.  My article, published here, and in the Blackstone Valley Call & Times, detailing Shannon and Bell’s kindness, was picked up by the Cranston Herald, Warwick Beacon, Senior Digest, and then later by Columnist Neal Rubin, of the Detroit Free Press, a Gannet publication, in both their digital and print editions. Then other Gannet papers, including the Providence Journal, the Cincinnati paper and the Indy Star, reprinted Rubin’s column. Perhaps the biggest connection, though, was made Military Reporter, Corey Dickstein, with Stars & Stripes – the US military’s independent news source with a circulation of over 1 million readers, reported on this story.

There and Back Again

After a talk at the Hope Historical Society (HHS) about my father’s footlocker’s return to Rhode Island from a street curb in Detroit (a most appropriate topic for a monthly meeting scheduled around Veterans Day), Fred Faria, a retired professor at Johnson & Wales and one of HHS’s founders, asked me how this footlocker would be protected after my passing away.  Being over age 70, this question induced me to act.

So, I reached out to the Washington, DC-based Smithsonian Institution’s’ National Museum of American History, offering to donate this military heirloom with a unique background story. 

“The footlocker indeed has a wonderful story but at present time this item is outside the scope of our current collecting plan. Might I recommend your state history museum or the National WW II Museum [in New Orleans] as worthy homes for this piece?” said Frank A. Blazich, Jr., PhD., Curator, Military History, Division of Military and Society, responding to my offer.   

Following up Blazich’s referral, this is a response off the New Orleans-based Museum. “We would be happy to have the contents of the footlocker for our collection; however, due to the number of footlockers that we already have and the size of these items, we are not able to accept the footlocker itself,” said Assistant Curator Brandon Daake, Assistant Curator.

 “If you are interested in keeping the footlocker and its contents together to tell one story, I would suggest reaching out to the Michigan’s Military Heritage Museum (MMHM), or another museum in the Detroit area,” suggested Daake, recognizing the fact that my father was a Detroit WW II veteran.

And that I did…

Small military museum takes possession of military footlocker 

After several phone calls, a conversation with Scott Gerych, MMHM’s Chairman, the deal was quickly sealed.  My father’s military footlocker, with its Detroit, Michigan ties, would return to Michigan to become a unique addition to their growing collection of military artifacts.  

In a message left on my Apple iPhone, Gerych, a 25-year veteran who served in the U.S. Army and a noted author, said: I am just dropping a line to say how neat it was to receive your father’s trunk with items from his service in WWII. What a joy! To have it go from Detroit to Rhode Island and now back to Michigan is certainly a great story to tell and to ultimately have it reunited with the items your dad saved from his wartime service is just awesome!”

“We are proud to have received it and will be getting it, all cataloged so we can eventually work it into an exhibit here at the MMHM. We love to see these stories saved and get them out on the public eye for all who are interested to see. Once again, thank you for thinking of us here at the museum,” said Gerych.

From its first home, at the Coe House Museum in Grass Lake, MMHM set up a one-room display showcasing uniforms and original artifacts of veterans highlighting their military service.   

With a growing reputation and growing number of supporters and donations of historical military items, MMHM found a larger home, a 3,300-sf building in Grass Lake. After its five-year lease ran out, the small military museum found new location near the site of Camp Blair, a former 11-acre Civil War Union camp in Jackson. The military camp was an assembly point for  new recruits and a discharging station for soldiers after the war’s end.

The collection of military artifacts grew and in 2021, the 3,600-former store-front in Jackson, Michigan, MMMH, opened its doors (now open half days, four days a week or by appointment.). This permanent location would allow MMHM to showcase thousands of military artifacts and large military vehicles,  including  three military jeeps, a Spanish-American War ambulance wagon,  a WWI Model T ambulance, a replica of a M3 Lee tank and even four cannons.  Specifically: a 1831 6lb cannon from the Mexican War and then used by the Confederates in the Civil War; a WWII German Pak 40, a standard antitank gun; and a WWI US M1905 gun.

Getting MMHM Off the Ground

The idea of starting a Michigan military museum started off with questions posed to a small group of friends who later helped to establish the MMHM.  That is, “what happens to all these individual collections when we are gone?”  Most of the original group were collectors of some type of militaria and all were interested in seeing the stories preserved.

That question was asked in 2013 and their idea would be answered by filing articles of incorporation with the state and later establishing a 501 C 3 nonprofit corporation in 2016.

As the group grew, meetings were held, partnerships created with the local historic society.   After Liam Collins, who was knowledgeable about Michigan history and archaeology and an original member of the group passed away, the group not only preserved the memory of Liam by sharing the stories of the state’s veterans.

According to the nonprofit military museum, its mission is to tell the stories of “Great Lake State” military veterans through interpretive displays of artifacts, pictures, and written and oral histories.  “Our state has currently two aviation museums and a museum dedicated to Medal of Honor Recipients and Astronauts,” says Gerych but nothing for the average service member who sacrificed and endured so much for our freedoms. We will be that institution,” he says.

The museum served as the headquarters for Michigan’s World War I Centennial. During 2019 and 2020, the museum participated in the 75th Anniversary of the end of  WW II.  

The nonprofit’s Board members, all extremely interested in Michigan’s military history brings different skills to the table, says Gerych, noting that one has a master’s  degree in history and museum studies, another is an archivist who has decades of experience, as well as a Distinguished Fellow in the Company of Military Historians. “No one is paid,” he adds, saying that all are actively involved because of their love for history.

Gerych estimates that 5,000 to 8,000 visitors come to see the museums exhibits and learn about the personal history of everyday veterans.  “Our records indicate that these visitors come from more than 30 countries and all 50 states,” he says.

From Detroit to Pawtucket and back again. Now my family’s military heirloom has truly come home to become part of the MMHM’s growing military artifact collection.

Watch a JTV television commercial advertising MMHM. Go to https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1079607069959492

For more information about the MMHM, 331 N. Wisner, Jackson, MI 49202, call  (517) 926-6696.  Or email mmhminfo2020@gmail.com.

 

In the coming years, generations of older Veterans will be leaving us

Published in RINewsToday on November 13, 2023

Of the 16.6 million living veterans, serving in World War II to the Global War on Terror, one half of these veterans are age 65 and over.  The graying of America’s veterans is well-documented in a U.S. Census Bureau report released last July. 

Taking a Look at America’s Aging Veterans

The Census Bureau report,  Aging Veterans: America’s Veteran Population in Later Life, released in July 2023, examines demographic characteristics of the nation’s aging veterans who served in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam, 

According to the new census data, of the 16.6 million living veterans, 8.1 million, that is nearly one-half (49%) of all veterans in the United States, were age 65 and older. Of all veterans, 1 in 4 is 70 to 79 years old.  The largest group of older veterans (5.5 million) served during the Vietnam War.  World War II veterans made up the smallest group (183,000) of war-time veterans.

The Census data noted that living veterans are overwhelming men, especially those who are older than 70 years old.  The largest age groups of male veterans are 72-74 years old.  This has occurred as the result of the United States entering the Vietnam War in 1964, with soldiers 18-20 years old making up the core age group of draftees and enlistees. 

But census data also reveals that today there are an increasing number of living female veterans.  This is due in large part to changes made in the 1970s when the military transitioned to an all-volunteer force combined with Congress passing legislation that allowed woman to enroll in service academies. Now woman make up one 1 in 10 veterans, says the Census Bureau.

The 9-page report, based on data from the 2021 American Community Survey, reported that older veterans were less likely to be living in poverty and had higher incomes than other older adults.  These individuals were more likely to have a functional disability than other older adults. However, these individuals were less likely to have a service-connected disability compared with all veterans.

This Census Bureau report is based on data from the 2021 American Community Survey (ACS). The ACS is a nationwide survey designed to provide timely and reliable data every year on the demographic, social, economic and housing characteristics of the nation, states, counties and other localities. 

The Census Bureau researchers found that older veterans were less likely to be at risk of isolation than other older adults. About 43% of older veterans experienced at least one characteristic of isolation compared with 46% of older adults who never served. In contrast, veterans in general, regardless of their age, were more likely to have at least one characteristic of isolation than nonveterans (34% compared with 27%, respectively).

The Last Man Standing

As the living veterans grow older, we will witness the passing away of generations of these individuals. As the living veterans grow older, we will witness the passing away of generations of these individuals.  Wikopedia, a free online encyclopedia hosted by the Wikopedia Foundation, details two of the following examples. 

In the 1950s, we saw the passing of the last Civil War veteran.  Wikipedia reported that on August 2, 1956, Albert Henry Woolson, 106, was the undisputed last surviving Civil War veteran on either side.  The drummer Boy in Company C 1st Minnesota Heavy Artillery Regiment, serving in the Grand Army of the Republic, had  enlisted in 1864 to fight in the nation’s bloody American Civil War, also referred to as the War Between the States.   The last verified Confederate soldier was Pleasant Crump, who passed away on Dec. 31, 1951. 

Over 13 years ago, a veteran of World War I was nationally recognized, like Civil War Veteran Woolson, for being the last of his generation of veterans to pass away.  Frank Buckles, 101, was reported to be the last  survivor of 4.73 million Americans who fought in the War to End All Wars.  In 1917, the 16-year-old, who would ultimately leave military service as a corporal, had enlisted in the U.S. Army and was assigned to drive  ambulances and motorcycles near the front lines in France.

As we celebrate Veterans Day, there are fewer aging World War II veterans attending ceremonies held throughout the country to honor their military service.  With their medium age now pegged at 93 years, many of the “Greatest Generation,” are frail, and their numbers are dwindling.  The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs estimates that out of the 16.1 million soldiers who served in World War II, 183,000 are still alive today. Over 1,200 of these veterans reside in the Ocean State. 

By 2040,  America’s last living World War II veteran is expected to pass away like Woolson and Buckles.  The last surviving veterans of Korea and Vietnam will mark an end of an era.  When this happens, their stories can’t be shared to us personally, but only told in our history books or by television documentaries or movies (like Saving Private Ryan) or by historians and academics at universities and colleges. 

Like many I know, I failed to ask my father, the late Frank M. Weiss, to share his World War II experiences.  All that I have now are his scrap book, filled with faded pictures of his military service, yellowed letters and military memorabilia, his medical and discharge papers, sitting in a red Neiman Marcus box in my basement.  The names of his comrades, activities and state-side base locations captured on film no longer have any context to me with his passing. 

Two days ago, on November 11, 2023, Veterans Day ceremonies and activities were being held throughout the Ocean State and across the country to honor those who are serving or have served in the U.S. Armed Forces. By 2025, the Department of Veteran Affairs estimated that there will be a couple of hundred World War II veterans, over 1,600 Korean and 14,000 Vietnam veterans still alive in Rhode Island.  In the coming years, frailty and health issues will keep these elderly veterans’ from attending Veteran Day celebrations and even at their reunions.     
 
As a generation of Civil War and World War I veterans vanish right before our eyes in 1956 and 2011, we must cherish the surviving older veterans.  In the next thirty years, we are poised to see new generations of veterans who fought in three wars die out of right before our eyes. I say, cherish them as long as you can. Urge those who fought in World War II, Korea and Vietnam to share their personal stories and oral histories for the sake of America’s future generations. They have so much to say and  America’s younger generations has much to learn from them.  

Remember, don’t miss the opportunity to thank any living older veteran you meet in your daily travels. Thank them for their service to our country.  

Today’s commentary is dedicated to my father, Second Lt. Frank M. Weiss, who died in December 2003, in Dallas, Texas, at 89 years old.

Campaign reminds Veteran caregivers to “Take Care of Themselves”

Published in RINewsToday on January 17, 2022

Since 2011, AARP and the Ad Council have launched public service announcements (PSAs) encouraging America’s caregivers to care not only for their loved ones, but also for themselves. Over the years, these PSAs s have targeted women aged 40 to 60, male caregivers aged 35 to 60 and Hispanic/Latino and African American/Black caregivers with an emphasis on women ages 35 to 60.The partner-driven ad campaign directs viewers to AARP’s Family Caregiving site, where caregivers can find free care guides, self-care tips, planning resources, legal and financial guidance and more.

Now AARP and the Ad Council’s have released the PSA, “Roxana’s Story,” on Dec. 9th. The latest evolution of the Caregiver Assistance campaign aims to acknowledge the unique challenges that military veteran caregivers face and provide them with free resources from AARP to better care for their loved one and themselves.

Roxana Tells Her Caregiving Tale

In 2003, Roxana, a full-time student, became the full-time caregiver of her husband, Victor. In the PSA she recalled receiving a 4 a.m. phone call where she learned that her husband had been wounded in action in Afghanistan, having received a moderate traumatic brain injury. Roxana was suddenly thrust into the role of caregiver to Victor, through his initial recovery process, and then having to adjust to his injury for the rest of their lives.

Reflecting over the last 18 years, Roxana stated in the PSA the realization that one of the most important components of being a caregiver is taking care of yourself. “I didn’t want to forget that I also had goals, and a life,” she said, noting that she asked Victor to “meet me halfway.” With assistance from his therapists, he was able to help with everyday chores.

The PSA, the first-ever targeting caregivers of veterans and current members of the military, addresses the unique caregiving challenges facing these individuals, reminding the more than 6.5 million military veteran caregivers that there are resources available to them. The PSA is recorded as either a :30 or 60-second message, was filmed and directed by military veterans from the veteran-owned creative shop Gig line Media (the production arm of We Are the Mighty).

Military veteran caregivers experience unique challenges when providing care. For many in this group, their caregiving journey starts earlier in life (85% are under 40) and lasts longer, according to Caregiving in the U.S. 2020, a report by AARP and the National Alliance on Caregiving. They deal with challenges that civilian family caregivers don’t normally face, including unseen injuries and wounds. They also consistently experience worse health outcomes, greater strains in family relationships, and more workplace problems than non-caregivers. Many also spend more time helping with emotional support or social interaction due to mental or behavioral health diagnoses.

“Oftentimes those caring for veterans and current member of the military experience a high emotional and physical toll, including consistently worse health outcomes and greater strains in family relationships compared to other caregivers,” said Bob Stephen, vice president of family caregiving and long-term care at AARP in announcing AARP’s lates PSA campaigned targeting military veteran caregivers. “Through this campaign, AARP will continue to recognize and provide resources to support these valued caregivers who play such a vital role for veteran and military families,” he says.

For caregivers who are unsure about seeking help because they think it’s selfish or a sign of failure, the PSA campaign reminds them that they can’t care for their loved one without also caring for themselves.

The PSAs direct viewers to AARP’s Family Caregiving site at www.AARP.org/Caregiving and www.AARP.org/Cuidar, where caregivers can download a free military veterans Caregiving Guide for self-care tips, planning resources, legal and financial guidance, and more in English and Spanish as well as AARP’s new Veterans and Military Families Health Benefits Navigator, a one-stop-resource in English and Spanish to help make the process less confusing and overwhelming when it comes to available options for U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs (VA) health benefits, military Tricare, Medicare, private insurance and Medicaid.

“Taking care of a veteran in your life often means that you start younger and care for longer. In many cases, this means you’re forced to manage situations other family caregivers aren’t forced to face,” said Michelle Hillman, Chief Campaign Development Officer of the Ad Council. “We’re humbled to continue this campaign to remind the millions of military veteran caregivers that they do not face these unique challenges alone.”

For more information about caregiving resources, please visit AARP.org/Caregiving or call 1-877-333-5885 or www.AARP.org/Cuidar or call 1-888-971-2013 for Spanish resources.