Hailing War Heroes
By Sean Barron
BOARDMAN
When Devin Patton walked through a line to meet and shake hands with veterans of all military branches, he couldn’t help but think of his late uncle, Marty Patton.
“A lot of those people are heroes, obviously, up there,” the 17-year-old Boardman High School senior observed. “They need to know that what they do is appreciated.”
Devin, who’s also part of Boardman-based Boy Scout Troop 60, was among those who showed their gratitude to the veterans during Monday’s 113th annual Boardman Community Memorial Day program at Boardman Park’s Maag Outdoor Arts Theater.
Boardman Park and Boardman Kiwanis hosted the somber one-hour program.
Preceding the event was a parade that began at Boardman Center Intermediate School on Market Street and traveled about 1 mile to the park. Shortly beforehand, an Air Force C-130 plane engaged in a fly-over.
Marty Patton, who died a few years ago, served eight years in the Navy during the Vietnam War. He also was someone who felt honored to have fought for his country and never bragged about having done so, said Devin’s father, Detective Glenn Patton of the Boardman Police Department.
In addition, Marty passed on to his family the skills and positive life lessons he had learned, Glenn Patton continued.
The keynote speaker and parade grand marshal was Paul Poulos, an officer with the Boardman Police Department who served 10 years in the Army that included tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Poulos, who’s also Boardman High School’s resource officer, gave an emotional and personal account of a day in March 2004 in Iraq. He recalled having been part of a patrol unit that contained young, dedicated men willing to serve the U.S., many of whom were killed or wounded in a brief barrage of gunfire during an ambush.
“The unit was the best trained and ready for anything, but they wondered how this could have happened,” Poulos said in describing how devastated the survivors felt before they found the strength to fight the al-Qaida insurgency to bring peace to the region in and near Anbar Province.
Those difficult experiences also illustrate how people in this country can find the resiliency to overcome tough obstacles for the betterment of the nation, he continued.
“We have to get through trying times, ... and we have to laugh more and have more fun,” Poulos said, adding it’s imperative that veterans have opportunities to tell their stories and that people strive to set the kind of examples that would make those who have served their country proud.
Those who weren’t shy about expressing how proud they were of Poulos included his grandmother, Julie Schmidt, who drove from her Kingsport, Tenn., home to attend the program and hear his presentation.
“What else could we ask for? I’m so proud of him for what he’s accomplished,” said Schmidt.
“He’s just an all-around humanitarian,” added Poulos’ aunt, Valerie Gardner of Knoxville, Tenn., who came with Schmidt.
In addition, Poulos takes tremendous pride in supporting, guiding and offering helpful suggestions to the students, said his mother, Carla Penny of Homeworth. Poulos had always wanted to be a teacher, serve in the military or on the police force, and his position as school-resource officer essentially allows him to fulfill all three, Penny explained.
Kicking off the program was Mark Luke of Boardman Kiwanis, who provided a history of Memorial Day.
After the Civil War, the solemn holiday was known as Decoration Day. On May 5, 1868, Gen. John A. Logan, who led an organization for Northern Civil War veterans, called for a national day of remembrance later that month. Consequently, May 30 was selected as the day to decorate the graves of soldiers who died defending the country, Luke noted.
Beginning in 1971, Memorial Day was declared a federal holiday and was established on the last Monday in May, he continued.
The gathering also featured an Armed Forces salute, in which veterans proceeded to a nearby flagpole to be honored as their service songs were played.
Alexandra Morar, Boardman High National Honor Society president, placed a wreath to honor current military personnel after Jim Freeze, a retired Army veteran, had placed one to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
Freeze also asked attendees to remember the late Betty Harris, a World War II veteran who served in the Women’s Reserve Unit, and the Rev. Larry R. Johnson, a Navy veteran who was chaplain for the Boardman Police Department. Both also were active for years with the Memorial Day parade and program.