This coming Friday marks the original Memorial Day—May 30th. While we now observe Memorial Day on the last Monday in May, our post took part in several events this past week to honor and remember the brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.
One of the most special events took place at Windham-Ashland-Jewett Central School, where we spent the day with students from Pre-K through 3rd grade. Personally, this is one of my favorite events of the year.
A heartfelt thank you goes out to all who joined us to honor our fallen heroes. We performed the official VFW cemetery ritual for the students.
Due to inclement weather, the ceremony was held in the school gym on Thursday, May 22. I was incredibly impressed with the students' respect and participation.
Each VFW officer had a student assistant and I had the privilege of working with a very special Pre-K student, Hanna Lacombe. Hanna was the cutest helper ever.
As Post Commander, I had the honor of placing a flag at a symbolic monument. Hanna placed the flag, and together we stood and saluted—paying tribute to those who gave their lives for our freedoms.
On Monday, we visited several local sites to pay our respects. We began at Ashland Cemetery, honoring Sgt. James F. Carty at his grave.
We then visited the grave of Gordon Larson, where we recognized his service with the help of his daughter, Daniele Larson, who took part in the ceremony by placing a blue flower on the grave.
From there, we proceeded to Windham Cemetery to honor former United States Marine and Vietnam Veteran Larry Stead. We concluded our day at the Hensonville WWI monument. Following the ceremonies, we gathered for a luncheon in recognition of the day's meaning and fellowship.
Over the past few weeks, we’ve also enjoyed running bingo, and we salute everyone who has joined us for the fun. Our next bingo night will be Wednesday, June 5th at 6:00 PM—we hope to see you there!
Finally, this Friday, our post will be hosting a golf outing at Christman’s Windham House. We’re looking forward to another great community event.
Thank you to all who continue to support our veterans and our mission of remembrance.
In keeping with honoring the Soldiers, Airmen, Sailors and Marines who gave their lives for our country, this week we honor U.S. Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Donald W. Sheppick, 26, of Roscoe, Pennsylvania, killed during World War II.
In March 1944, Sheppick was assigned to the 320th Bombardment Squadron, 90th Bombardment Group, 5th Air Force and deployed in present day Papua New Guinea. On the morning of March 11, Sheppick, the navigator onboard a B-24D Liberator bomber called "Heaven Can Wait," departed Nadzab Strip #1, Papua New Guinea, as part of a bombing mission against enemy positions at Boram Airfield and Awar Point, Hansa Bay, located along the northern coast of New Guinea. Observers from other aircraft in the formation reported seeing flames erupting from the bomb bay, spreading to the tail quickly. Heaven Can Wait was seen pitching up violently before banking left and crashing down into the water. It is believed anti-aircraft fire hit the plane, causing un-dropped ordnance to explode. Several aircraft circled the crash site in hopes of locating any possible survivors, but none could be seen.
Between 2013 and 2017, the family of 2nd Lt. Thomas V. Kelly, Heaven Can Wait's bombardier, undertook a dedicated archival research effort to collect historical documents and eyewitness accounts of the loss of the Heaven Can Wait crew. The family worked with Dr. Scott Althaus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to complete this effort and provided this documentation. In October 2017, Project Recover, a DPAA partner organization, located the wreckage of a B-24 aircraft in Hansa Bay while making sonar scans as part of a unilateral remote sensing survey effort. In 2019, a DPAA underwater investigation team conducted several surveys of the wreckage, performing visual inspections and clearing the site of any unexploded ordnance.
From March 9 through April 13, 2023, an underwater recovery team excavated the crash site, where they recovered possible osseous materials and material evidence, to include life support equipment and identification tags. The recovered evidence was sent to the DPAA Laboratory for review and analysis. To identify Sheppick’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis, as well as material and circumstantial evidence. Sheppick will be buried in Belle Vernon, Pennsylvania, on a date yet to be determined.
Marc Farmilette, PDC – Commander Post 1545
Marc Farmilette with Hanna Lacombe @ WAJCS
Daniele Larson at Father Gordon Larson Gravesite
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