Struthers residents search for names of veterans

By EMMALEE C. TORISK

etorisk@vindy.com

STRUTHERS

Capt. Pat Bundy wonders how many people have unknowingly walked past the 48 names encased in wood that hang in the lobby of Struthers High School.

Bundy, of the Struthers Police Department, can remember doing just that as a student there in the 1970s, though the plaque then was displayed in a hallway of the old building. It was moved, along with most everything else, into the new building more than a decade ago.

But if, for some reason, that plaque disappears, what goes with it are the names of those Struthers residents who left the city to serve in World War II and the Korean War — then didn’t come back.

“It really is all we have,” Bundy said. “There should be more than one plaque on the wall for them.”

So, Bundy, along with Denise Collingwood and Dick Dale, both of Struthers, are attempting to compile a more-thorough list of the men and women of Struthers who died during military service — and during anything from the Civil War to present-day conflicts overseas.

Their names somehow need to be recorded before they’re lost forever, Bundy said, though he explained that he’s not quite sure in what way they will be preserved. He noted that though some work already has begun on the project, it will start in earnest over the summer.

They don’t necessarily have a timeline and are willing to extend the research process for “however long it takes,” Bundy said.

Bundy added that he’d also like to find out more about those servicemen and women, including who they were, how they lost their lives and even where they’re buried. That’s why he recruited the help of Collingwood, who has spent much of her time since retiring last year researching her family’s history.

Though brought into the project only recently, Collingwood already has a plan of action. She intends to start looking online, and already has found a couple of websites that list “veterans from all the wars,” sorted by their hometowns.

“We definitely need to decorate those people,” Collingwood said. “They need to be recognized in some way.”

Bundy encouraged anyone with information on those lost during service in the military to contact him at the Struthers Police Department, 330-755-9849.

He’s also heading a care-package campaign through the Struthers Fraternal Order of Police, and is searching for the names of any Struthers-area men and women currently serving with the armed forces in Afghanistan and Iraq. Donations are not being accepted at this time.