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Former Ohio Senator Meshel speaks of honoring those who made ultimate sacrifice
By Sarah Lehr
STRUTHERS
Every Nov. 11, Ray Ornelas of Struthers recalls spending Christmas Day 1951 in Korea.
Ornelas, a Korean War veteran and a former commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars District 8 post, was one of more than 50 people to attend a Veterans Day service Friday at a memorial in Struthers, near the high school.
“I remember,” Ornelas said. “Things come back to me.”
Former Ohio Sen. Harry Meshel, a recipient of two bronze Battle stars, spoke of honoring those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
“Those of us who were fortunate enough to go and come back owe a special debt of gratitude to the men above and to all of you who’ve supported us over the years,” he said.
Before entering politics, Meshel was a serviceman with the Naval Construction Battalion from 1943 to 1946.
Meshel shared memories of his time serving in New Guinea and the Philippines during World War II, including how his mother displayed American flags in her window to honor her sons. Meshel said he used to communicate with his brother in letters by using Anglicized versions of Greek words. They were able that way to work around the U.S.’s military’s restrictions on soldiers sharing their locations, he said.
Meshel commended law-enforcement officials, first-responders and teachers and said, “We don’t care about elections. This country will still be great no matter what, and so we don’t ever, nor should we ever, introduce that issue of politics into our patriotism for this great nation of ours.”
At one point, the former Youngstown State University trustee seemed to praise the university’s programming for veterans, but then criticized YSU President Jim Tressel.
“We tried to put together a big proposal on how to go out and recruit our GIs and bring ’em in, and unfortunately my dear friend the president didn’t agree with me, and so I’m angry at him and really have no respect for him,” Meshel said, as members of the crowd reacted audibly. “I don’t mind saying that publicly. You can print it if you want to, but Jim Tressel really doesn’t understand what it is to take care of veterans.”
YSU Spokesman Ron Cole declined to comment on Meshel’s remark, but referred to a news release about Military Times including YSU on its “Best for Vets: College 2017” list.
The university in 2014 completed a five-year endeavor in dedicating its Veterans Resource Center, the first such facility at an Ohio university. The 6,000-square-foot center next to the Pollock House on Wick Avenue is dedicated for the use of YSU military and veteran students. Tressel said then that YSU has always had a close affiliation with the military. The Pollock House next door, where Tressel and his wife, Ellen, live, housed the campus’s ROTC headquarters from 1950 to 1982.
Also in attendance at the Struthers event were Ohio Senate Minority Leader Joe Schiavoni of Boardman, D-33rd, and state Rep. John Boccieri of Poland, D-59th, a member of the Air Force Reserve.
Struthers students spent the morning hearing stories from veterans at an assembly.
Brennan Baber, 12, a member of Boy Scout Troup 101, said the students learned how they could honor veterans. It could be as simple as giving up your spot in line at the grocery store to a veteran, Brennan said.
Another Boy Scout, Will Morris, 14, added, “They kind of talked about their stories and like how freedom isn’t free and how they fight for our freedoms so we can go to school.”