The Freedom Township Historical Society rounded out a year of celebrating Freedom Township’s Bicentennial by hosting a Veterans Day Exhibit Open House last Saturday at the FHS Building at 7276 State Route 303.
“Hopefully, it is very impactful,” FHS Member Judy Thornton told The Weekly Villager. “We had a Vietnam Veteran and his wife come on Tuesday night, we had not seen them before but because of what we had done and the publicity, they came and that was very nice. The daughter of a 98-year-old World War II vet who is still alive, she came.”
The FHS held an exhibit on Nov. 11, which coincided with the day of their monthly meeting, but Thornton said that the exhibit was so well-received that they decided to host an open house on Saturday.
The exhibit featured a large number of printed biographies on laminated sheets of papers of Freedom Township residents who served in the armed forces with some of them containing a photo of the veteran on the back. According to Thornton, the names span almost 200 years of wars, starting from the American Revolutionary War, which originated in 1775, to the Vietnam War, which started in 1955.
Between the starting and ending points, the veterans featured also served in the armed forces during other wars including the Civil War, War of 1812, World War I,the Korean War and World War II.
Thornton said that it was a joint effort between her and Bicentennial Committee Member Connie Evans to find the names of veterans, most of whom are buried in either the Freedom West or Drakesburg Cemetery.
“She went to Find A Grave and I have a cemetery book of who is buried at the Freedom West and Drakesburg up through about 1992,” she noted. “The genealogical society compiled all of those names, so I went through that and pulled out all of the ones who have World War II markers, Civil War markers or whatever.”
Thornton said that during that time, serving in the armed forces was a duty that Freedom Township residents all took seriously.
“It was just what you did back in the day,” she added. “That was what you did; the chances are that your dad or grandfather served, it was expected that if you were of age and the war came, you would be off to enlist.”
In addition to several laminated sheets of paper that list the names of veterans, Thornton said that Evans also created a PowerPoint presentation listing the remaining names of veterans that the FHS could not find any biographical information about
Thornton acknowledged how surprising it was to find such a large number of veterans from Freedom Township who were members of the armed forces.
“I was amazed at the number of soldiers and sailors who enlisted during these conflicts,” she said. “I don’t know what our population was but now we are under 3,000 and there are over 100 or more from World War II.”
Another highlight of the Exhibit was the inclusion of World War II and Vietnam War uniforms, donated to the FHS by the families of three veterans.
One uniform was donated by the family of Leland Jewell, who served in the United States Army Air Corps and was stationed in the Pacific.
The family of Roger Winchell donated two uniforms, one that was his service uniform and another that was his fatigues, which he wore while serving in Germany during World War II. He currently has a son and daughter-in-law who are active members of the armed forces.
In addition to having two uniforms of Winchell’s, Thornton noted how each uniform carries a blue star with a red outline on the sleeves, which indicates that Winchell was a member of the United States Army Special Forces.
The other uniform that was displayed belonged to Richard Knerem, who served in in the United States Army as a sergeant during the Vietnam War.
“I think they add a lot because otherwise we have biographies and pictures and here you have something that is more visible,” Thornton said.
Thornton said that the Exhibit not only honors fallen veterans of the Armed Forces but also recognizes the families of those veterans, who endured so much and held down the fort while their loved ones served.
“You don’t know whether if they are alive or wounded or what,” she said. “It has been helpful to connecting the dots of families.”
