“Why don’t you just get over it; that was a long time ago?” “Does that stuff still bother you?” “What’s the matter, you act like you’ve seen a ghost?” “Why are you so afraid of the dark sometimes?” Did you see dad jump when you slammed the door?” “I don’t know why you want to [...]
By Randy Ark I couldn’t wait for the new HBO mini-series The Pacific to begin. After having viewed Band of Brothers, the HBO mini-series that followed Easy Company of the 506th PIR through WWII in Europe, I was more than ready for the Pacific theater. While the scenery and the combat footage were graphically and [...]
Once every month I meet with a men’s group at Villa Springfield on Villa Road, in Springfield, Ohio. I have been volunteering to do this for nearly two years now. There are a few regular attendees that are brought to me each time, and occasionally there are some new faces in the group. Today, there [...]
I was at the Springfield Clinic yesterday here in Ohio, sitting in a designated waiting area, soon to be called for testing. Never content to sit in silence, I struck up a conversation with a woman who was waiting there also. As we were conversing, an elderly gentleman was helped into the room by a [...]
Does Anyone Else Have Problems With Corruption In New Jersey Or Ocean County? How far up does Government Corruption go in New Jersey? Does it reach up to the Senate? The Governor? Who is it that oversees the Office for the Public Guardian? Dear, Americans! Help! My Father, a Vietnam Vet with a Purple Heart, [...]
This past Friday, on February 19th, I traveled to a gathering of WWII vendors in Louisville, Kentucky. It was called “The Ohio Valley Show of Shows”. By invitation, I went with my wife’s cousin, his daughter, and a friend of hers. I had the opportunity to speak with many people (mostly veterans) and there were [...]
He was getting old and paunchy, And his hair was falling fast. He sat around the VFW, Telling stories of the past. Of a war that he once fought in, And the deeds that he had done. In his exploits with his buddies; They were heroes, every one. And ‘tho sometimes to his neighbors, His [...]
Tonight was the viewing for Sammie Baisden, an 88 year old WWII veteran. Sammie was a volunteer at Villa Springfield where I volunteer also, heading up a men’s group there. He was also a member of the Purple Heart Chapter 620 and we meet on the third Thursday of each month. I thought I would [...]
The Stranger by Randy Ark, Staff Writer It wasn’t very long ago, that a stranger passed this way He said he used to live ‘round here’, when he had a place to stay I asked him what his business was, his eyes they looked so clear He said, "I’m here for a special birthday, to [...]
by Randall Ark, Staff Writer My wife and I planned a trip to New City, New York for a long-overdue visit with her cousin and her cousin’s husband. Her cousin emailed me before we left and asked if I would mind spending one afternoon of our visit with a friend of theirs, as he was [...]
After 40 years and 3,000 miles of highway, I found myself standing at the doorstep of 85 year old Eleanor Kitchen. by Randy Ark, Staff Writer On June 7th, 1969, 40 years ago, Eleanor’s son David died in South Vietnam. It was mid-morning in Lai-Khe, when Jesse Fugate approached me with red, tear-filled eyes. Something [...]
In May 1945, as the war in Europe drew to a close, two great prizes remained. The first, Berlin, was almost completely in the hands of the Soviets. The second, Berchtesgaden, home to Adolf Hitler’s famous mountain retreat, remained to be captured. The winners in the race to seize Berchtesgaden were quickly forgotten in the [...]
. “Oh my,” he said. He became choked up and tearful as he spoke of the wounded sailors, civilians, and other military personnel. It was easy to see that he had vivid memories of these past events. On Sunday after church, my wife, Sharon, often visits her mother at Oakwood Village, a retirement village [...]
by Randall W. Ark, Staff Writer While they were not supposed to take part in combat, black Marines serving on Iwo Jima played a significant role in defeating and killing the attackers. Over the past three years, I have become friends with many African-American veterans of WWII and Korea, and my first encounter with one [...]
by Randy Ark, Staff Writer While in high school, my daughter, Kara, was employed at a little restaurant on Derr Road, called Suzi’s. One night she came home and told me that I just had to meet this older gentleman who came in frequently in the afternoons to eat. Knowing my interest in WWII veterans [...]
I initially wrote this as a reply to a letter I had read in the Springfield newspaper but my letter was not printed. I was hoping to say something to the poor woman that wrote this letter. She was upset at the time because of all the attention that WWII veteran’s were getting in the [...]
by Randy Ark, Staff Writer When I retired, I promised myself that I would not volunteer or commit to anything that was not of my choosing, and yet, on April 24th, I found myself at a table with four complete strangers, all volunteers at Villa Springfield, a Health & Rehab Center in a suburb of [...]
Joe Henson was born in Portsmouth, Ohio, on June 3, 1925, so he will be 83 years old this year. Joe attended all his school years in Portsmouth and recalls hearing about the bombing of Pearl Harbor when he was about a sophomore or junior in high school. He thinks he was probably in church [...]
by Randy Ark, Vietnam 1968-69, Medical Corpsman, 1st Infantry Division Mother’s Day Poem As a man who’s taken on some years, I look back upon my time.And though weathered by experience, My thoughts are more defined. Of all my life’s amazements, And there’s more than just a few.There’s something in particular, That amazes me anew. [...]
I was never that much interested in the invasion of North Africa, Sicily, or Italy, until I met a man who participated in all three and more. Harold is now 93 years old, and I have visited his wife and him many times since our first meeting. Harold was in [...]
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