Roy Exum
Dear Andrew,
Your mom and I attended the Veteran’s Bridge ceremonies yesterday, on Veterans Day, and it was the best Veteran’s Day I can ever remember. I am sure Anne felt the same way after we pooled our pennies and presented the tribute of a flag in your honor as a Christmas gift last year. Both of us still pop our buttons with pride after the four years you spent as a Captain in an Army Ranger unit and fully appreciate your dauntless service to our country during firefights in Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Your flag was raised on the eastern side of the bridge (think the side closest to the U.S.
Army Reserve Center where five servicemen were killed on July 16) and your flag waves on Pole E-7. If you jumped from the bridge where Pole East-7 is you’d end up tangled in some trees and bushes on Maclellan Island. You remember your elementary school art teacher, Harriett Chipley. Her husband Bill’s flag is right beside yours on East-8, and Pole E-6 represents all combat-wounded recipients of the Purple Heart. I know you’d love that.
The ceremony was really moving for me. Mayor Andy Berke did a fabulous job and you could tell it was tremendously meaningful to him after the tears he shed this summer because of our terrorist attack. His speech was fantastic and you’ll adore this: the five flags that were unfurled yesterday in memory of the four Marines and the Navy sailor whose lives were lost here this summer will be permanent.
I had no idea how emotional the ceremony would become. Obviously your mom and I were thrilled, and even touched, that an American flag will fly for six months in your honor and in celebration of veterans everywhere, but what made the day the best Veteran’s Day I can ever recall were three things that make me so proud I still shiver:
* -- The city of Chattanooga. This was by far the most wonderful celebration in our city I have ever attended and, again, Mayor Berke was absolutely spectacular. Andy presented every family with a Proclamation and the Mayor eloquently recognized each person represented by the 30 flags on the bridge. In his remarks, he noted how our July 16th tragedy “could have crushed us but instead we are stronger today that ever.”
* -- The unbridled love of the families who gathered to recognize their loved ones. Easily over 200 people were there. Add Police Chief Fred Fletcher and his command staff, the fire department’s brass, police officer Shane Lawson singing the National Anthem in the warm sun, and God giving us the prettiest November morning in history as we sat in Tony and Mary Portera’s Sculpture Garden.
* -- By far the most emotional moment for me – thank goodness for dark sunglasses – was when Mayor Berke read the names of the others who will be honored and be remembered for the next six months with you. It isn’t lost on me that this is the way a platoon or a boat crew comes together and I think knowing who the other members of your “class” are is what will mean the most to you as well:
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POLE E-15: Royce Kilgore, who dropped out of Howard High so he could help defend his country during World War II. He served with the 716th Medical Sanitary Company in New Caledonia, Guadalcanal, Luzon and Japan as a sergeant and was heavily decorated. He immediately passed the Civil Service exam after the war and, after retiring from a long career with the U.S. Postal Service, he was known for his wonderful family.
POLE WEST-12: Charles C. Hudson Jr. enlisted in the Navy at the age of 17 in 1944 and was immediately thrust into the War in the Pacific aboard the light aircraft carrier USS Monterey. A Seaman First Class, he survived Typhoon Cobra and collected numerous medals for bravery in combat. He retired from TVA after 39 years of service and “still enjoys and is thankful for every moment of every day.”
POLE EAST-3: Andrew Van Sickle is and will always be a United States Marine. An officer in the Corps, his service to his country, community, church, and family continues into his ninth decade on this earth.”
POLE WEST-15”: Col. Roger D. Ingvalson was a 26-year veteran of the Air Force. He was shot down on a mission in Viet Nam and spent five years as a prisoner in the infamous “Hanoi Hilton.” While he was a POW, his wife died of multiple sclerosis and one of his first duties when he got home was to visit the wife of his best friend, a fellow fighter pilot Wayne Fullam who lost his life flying in Viet Nam. Just like God had planned, within 10 months he and the beloved ‘Booncy’ were married with their four sons acting as Best Men. He created the famed Prison Prevention Ministries and earned so many medals you’d think he would tilt.
POLE EAST-10: Melvin Baker, who joined the Army shortly after he graduated from Howard High in 1964, earned his Master Sergeant stripes in Viet Nam. He came home to serve in the Army Reserve and, among the many who honor his memory, are his children, Melvelyn and Corland. He has many friends who also glory in the flag being flown in his memory.
POLE EAST-1: Dale Smith spend 26 years in the Air Force as a Chief Master Sergeant. He did two tours in Viet Nam with the Munitions Maintenance Squadron, one tour in Germany and one tour in Japan. He finally opted out to care for his mom, who died in 2007, and has become a “second father” to nieces and nephews, as well as grand nieces and nephews. He has served his country, his family and his God with honor.”
POLE WEST-1: During World War II there was no Air Force. It was called the U.S. Army Air Corps and George Richard Van Natten was a corporal, a Loran-radio Navigator and mechanic. He was stationed in Spinazzola, Italy with the 460th Bomb Group, 15th Air Force, 761st Squadron and flew in well over a dozen missions in a B-24 Liberator. He is today a devoted husband, father, grandfather and friend to many.
POLE EAST-4: Kenneth R. Bethune served as a corporal and paratrooper in the Army from 1950-1956. He almost lost his leg during two tours in Korea, earning the Purple Heart before coming back home. He was a successful business owner but his joy was his wife of 61 years, Charlotte. Together they had four children, 12 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren. He was loved.
POLE WEST 2 – Arch Trimble was a noted officer in the Marine Corps, which helped form one of the greatest backers of Chattanooga with his insurance business. Active in countless community projects and charities, he left enduring legacies to his sons, Arch IV and Reed. “As a husband and father, his presence cannot be replaced,” his family said after he died during a business trip last December, and lived the words of Winston Churchill: “We make a living out of what we get, but we make a life out of what we give.”
POLE EAST-8: William A Chipley, whose fabulous career as an athlete were interrupted by World War II and Korea, was a pilot for the Marine Corps, earning the rank of Major. He was a standout athlete at Clemson and, after World War II, excelled in sports and earned a degree from Washington and Lee. He played in the NFL for three seasons with the Boston Yanks, the New York Bulldogs and the Philadelphia Eagles. In later life, he regaled his friends with wonderful stories at the YMCA and, in the words of his family: “William Chipley can be summed up best as a man of faith, who loved his family extravagantly, was a steadfast friend to many, an eternal sportsman and occasional raconteur, and – always – the consummate gentleman.”
POLE EAST-11: Commander John C. Echerd joined the Navy in 1943 and served as chief engineer on LST 287 in World War II. He retired as Commander of Surface Division 6-75 in 1979. He taught school, serving as principal at Snow Hill and Westview Elementary and then kept teaching at TVA, where in the next 26 years he became Chief of Personnel Management Staff. Equally if not more importantly, he has been a Sunday school teacher and deacon at Ooltewah Baptist Church. He and his wife of 66 years, Sylar, have three children, four grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.
POLE WEST-11: Jack Gilliland was one of the first 30 to be honored with flags in 2014 but now one flies in the memory of the much beloved and fun-filled Marine Corps Colonel. He had a spectacular career after being a standout cadet at The Citadel and was quickly called to duty at the onset of World War II. He exemplified himself in North Africa and Italy, earning four Bronze Stars among many other medals. He was a prominent executive in the TVA Office of Power for 33 years, raising a great family on Signal Mountain and being very active in civic affairs. He was immeasurably proud of his children and grandchildren, although I personally would have loved to have heard Jack and son-in-law Scott Cook discuss politics, President Obama, and people like Nancy Pelosi with his award-winning grandson, columnist David Cook!
POLE WEST-9: Gunnery Sergeant Thomas J. Sullivan served nobly in the United States Marine Corps, with tours in Iraq and the Asia Pacific. A native of Springfield, Mass., Gunny Sullivan earned two Purple Hearts with gold stars and, on July 16, 2015, was killed by a terrorist while with Mike Battery at the U.S. Marine Reserve Center in Chattanooga. An American flag will fly from Pole West-9 in perpetuity in his memory.
POLE WEST-10: David Wyatt had been in the Marine Corps for 11 years and had been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, earning the rank of Staff Sergeant. He was Operations Chief for Mike Battery at the U.S. Marine Reserve Center on July 16, 2015, when he was killed by a terrorist. He is remembered as “a beloved husband, father, son, brother, nephew, uncle, mentor and friend” by all who knew him. An American flag will fly from Pole West-10 in perpetuity in his memory.
POLE WEST-8: Carson Holmquist was a sergeant in the Marine Corps with tours in Iraq and Japan before he served a Motor Transport Chief for Mike Battery at the U.S. Marine Reserve Center in Chattanooga. He adored his wife and children and loved cars, trucks and anything mechanical. He was killed by a terrorist on July, 16, 2015 and an American flag will fly from Pole West-9 in perpetuity in his memory.
POLE WEST-6: Randall Smith was a logistics specialist 2nd Class in the U.S. Navy and in the five years he served our country, he did a tour on the USS Wasp. A native of Ohio, he was then assigned to Mike Battery at the U.S. Marine Reserve Center in Chattanooga where he helped support supply management and operations. He was killed by a terrorist on July 16, 2015 and an American flag will fly from Post West 6 in perpetuity in his memory.
POLE WEST-7: Lance Corporal Squire K. “Skip” Wells, a high school athlete at Marietta’s Sprayberry High School, had been in the Marine Corps Reserves for about a year when he was assigned as Cannoneer for Mike Battery at the U.S. Marine Reserve Center in Chattanooga. A beloved son, grandson, nephew and friend, he was killed by a terrorist on July 16, 2015. An American flag will fly from Post West -7 in perpetuity in his memory.
POLE EAST-6: An anonymous donor has asked this flag fly in both honor and memory of combat-wounded recipients of the Purple Heart. Established by General George Washington in 1782 as the Badge of Military Merit, the award was revised by General Douglas McArthur in 1932 to recognize combat-wounded veterans. Some gave all, some gave some.
POLE EAST-13: An anonymous donor has asked this flag fly in hopes all homeless veterans will soon have a roof over their heads. Mayor Berke has signed an initiative to locate and identify homeless veterans and help them to find safe quarters. Further information can be obtained from the Mayor’s office at City Hall on East 11th Street.
POLE WEST-3: Lemuel R. (Bud) Jones served as a corporal for six years in the Marine Corps and, most notably, was deployed in the brief Bay of Pigs incident. He was active in motor-pool areas and served for 18 months in the assembly of Honest John rockets.
POLE EAST-9: James William Castle was with the Army infantry when our troops stormed the beach at Normandy in World War II and then fought all the way to Paris. He was awarded a Bronze Star after he ignored heavy enemy fire to transport ammunition to the front line on June 8, 1944, in the vicinity of Emondeville, France, he earned two more Bronze Stars to go with his EASME Theater Ribbon and other medals for valor.
POLE WEST-4: First Class Petty Officer Frank F. Kirbus – who you know better as the founder and owner of Aegis Machine Tools in Chattanooga -- was a submariner on the USS Lewis & Clark from 1973 to 1978, where he received a Captain’s Commendation and an Admiral’s Citation for “dedication and commitment to the United States Navy and the United States Submarine Force that was beyond reproach.” Active in The Navy League, “Frank’s commitment of honesty and integrity continues in business, service to his country, and community. His love for God, church, and his family continues on today.”
POLE EAST-5: David “Alex” Stevens served in the U.S. Army from 2005 until 2007, when Sgt. Stevens was killed after his vehicle struck an improvised explosive device while on patrol in Afghanistan. His love for his wife Megan, and his daughter Sienna, were well known by fellow soldiers in the 82nd Airborne and a scholarship has been endowed in his memory by the UTC Student Veterans Association.
Andrew, you’ll adore the quality of people who share this honor with you.
Love, Pops
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Several other flags were given anonymously. Those who would like to learn more about the Veterans Bridge Flag Initiative are urged to contact Caroline Chipley Johnson (yes, she’s Bill’s daughter!) in the Mayor’s Office. She coordinates the program and the cost to honor or memorialize a veteran for six months is $75, which includes a proclamation, the flag afterwards and is the best money you could ever spend.
royexum@aol.com