Friday, May 28, 2004
America's WWII vets are dying at the rate of about 1,000 a day.
By WILLIAM K. ALCORN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
Local World War II veterans, along with hundreds of thousands of their peers, are gearing up to celebrate the dedication of the national monument to their war Saturday in Washington, D.C.
A number of Mahoning Valley veterans and family members and friends, including a busload leaving from Newton Falls, are planning to make the trip to the nation's capitol to see the dedication.
"It will probably bring back memories. I'd like to see it before I pass on," said 83-year-old WWII veteran Faustion Rapczak of Newton Falls.
Rapczak, who drove an ammunition truck off a landing barge into the water at Omaha Beach four or five days after the invasion of Normandy, picked up five Bronze Stars and a Silver Star during his war years in Europe.
"WWII vets are dying left and right. I'm active, but I feel like I'm living on borrowed time myself," he said.
Dying at high rate
Rapczak is right. America's WWII vets are dying at a staggering rate -- 1,056 a day, the Veterans Affairs Department estimates. Only about 4 million of the original 16 million WWII veterans are still alive.
The memorial is "way overdue," said William Amendol, 78, of Austintown.
Amendol, who served in the Army's 151st Ordinance Co. in the British West Indies and Port of Spain during WWII, is the Ohio American Legion's official representative to the WWII Memorial dedication ceremony.
Amendol, Ohio American Legion Chaplain, was named the Ohio Legion's representative by Joe Vrable of Poland. Vrable is commander of the Ohio American Legion and a Korean War veteran.
"I'll be there [in Washington, D.C.], but he [Amendol] is a WWII veteran and is the official representative," Vrable said.
The WWII Memorial is extremely important for these guys, Vrable said.
"They were born in a tough time, went through the depression and were thrust into WWII. They did everything they were asked, but never really got recognized in Washington for what they did," Vrable said.
Symbol of life
Steve Shepas of Poland said the memorial symbolizes a large part of his life. Shepas, 86, spent 30 years in the military including during WWII and the Korean War. He enlisted July 30, 1940, in the Ohio National Guard's 37th Division, and retired July 13, 1977.
"The monument is a symbol of our dedication to our country that will never fade away," Shepas said.
"We've been wanting this for 50 years. But, we figured carrying on with our lives was more important at that time than a memorial. The only time I thought about it was when they put up the Korean and Vietnam memorials," he said.
Alexander Kish of Newton Falls, a Korean War veteran, organized the bus going to Washington.
Kish said he "needed to be there" at the memorial dedication because he had four brothers in the service during WWII -- John, Joe, Louis, and Stephen Kish, who was at Pearl Harbor when it was bombed by the Japanese.
Only John is still alive. He wanted to go to see his name and his brothers' names on the World War II Registry of Remembrances, but he is unable to go to because of medical problems, said Kish, past commander of VFW Post 3332 and American Legion Post 236, both in Newton Falls.
Local events
For those who can't make it to Washington, there are some local events organized to observe the dedication.
A WWII prayer breakfast is from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday at the Maronite Center, 155 Meridian Road, Youngstown. The breakfast is free to all WWII veterans.
At 12:30 p.m. Saturday, York Drexler VFW Post 5532 in Washingtonville will have an informal reception/luncheon for local WWII veterans, also in conjunction with the WWII Memorial dedication. WWII veterans are invited to bring memorabilia and stay to watch the dedication on television beginning at 2 p.m.
Whether they celebrate and remember at home or in Washington, it is, as Vrable said, about the WWII veterans' "getting their due."
"They didn't complain. They came home, went back into society and built this country up. Personally, I'm going just to be with these fellows, to see them get their due, and to kind of say goodbye to them," Vrable said.
alcorn@vindy.com