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27 °F Forecast | Road Cams Wednesday, January 12, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Opportunities Moving to Southern Oregon? MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend May 28, 2004 World War II Army veteran Ira Halford of Gold Hill says the national memorial is a fitting tribute to all those who made sacrifices during the war. Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli WWII vets express thanks for their national memorial By PAUL FATTIG Mail Tribune When the National World War II Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, Gold Hill resident Ira Halford will be there. But only in spirit. "I’m getting a little too old to travel much anymore — my feet are starting to give up on me," said Halford, 91. But Halford, a retired police officer who spent nearly three years fighting in World War II, firmly believes the massive memorial between the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial is well deserved, given the sacrifices so many made during the war. "It means a lot to me, a remembrance of what we went through," he said. "It was no fun being a soldier on the front lines for many, many days in all kinds of weather." Advertisement A tech sergeant with the Army’s 15th Infantry, 3rd Division, Halford fought in North Africa, Anzio, Italy, and the south of France. He fought through broiling summers and the bone-chilling cold of winter. "We did just about all the invasions except Normandy," he said, referring to the D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944. "We were bottlenecked at Anzio," he added. "When they went into Normandy and opened that up, that helped us a lot." Expecting an invasion, the Germans shifted troops from Italy to France, taking the pressure off the Allied troops, he explained. Like many World War II veterans, Halford will tell you that many people made sacrifices in that war, from the front lines to the homefront. While they won the war, their ranks have been thinned by a losing battle against time: of the roughly 16.4 million Americans who served during the war, fewer than 5 million remain alive today. They are dying at the rate of about 1,100 a day, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs. Many veterans and their loved ones say the memorial, approved by Congress in 1993, was a long time in coming. "I feel incredibly proud — I’m choked up just talking about it," said Central Point resident Brooke DeBoer who, along with her husband, Derek DeBoer, are currently in Washington, D.C., to see the memorial’s dedication. They are there with Brooke’s grandfather, John Q. Quinn, a decorated World War II veteran from Richmond, Va. A major in the Army’s 5th Armored Division, Quinn was in the D-Day invasion, and later fought his way to the Elbe River in Germany where he was among the Allied troops meeting Russians soldiers coming from the north. Maj. Quinn was awarded the Silver Star, two Bronze Stars for valor and a Purple Heart. "I have an amazing sense of love and gratitude for all these men and women (from World War II) who have done so much to provide us with the freedom we now enjoy," Brooke DeBoer said in a telephone interview. "And I feel incredibly honored to be close to someone like my grandfather, to be here to support him," she added. The DeBoers are among families from Oregon’s 2nd Congressional District attending a reception by Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., in conjunction with the memorial dedication on Saturday. The reception is open to Oregon World War II veterans, their families and friends. Central Point resident Doug Blair, 81, plans to watch the dedication via television. "I stood in line for two days at the Los Angeles recruiting office 10 days after the attack on Pearl Harbor," he said. A retired railroad employee, Blair was injured in Sicily when he was forced to jump from the top of a two-ton truck that was being strafed by a German warplane. A corporal in the Third Infantry Division, he suffered a concussion but continued on to see action in Anzio and Salerno. "I didn’t get any hero’s medals but I’m proud to have served," he said. Ashland resident Vaughn Davis Bornet, 86, who was in the Navy during the war, serving in the Pacific Theater, is also proud of his military service. He retired as a commander after 23 years, though much of that time was as a reservist after the war. "I haven’t given much thought to a memorial about the war," said the retired history professor from what is now Southern Oregon University. "I think I was adequately paid back with the GI bill. It made it possible for me to get a doctorate in history from Stanford University. "That’s enough of a memorial for me," he added. However, since there is a memorial, it should represent everyone who sacrificed in that war, from those in uniform to citizens stateside working to support the nation, he said. Halford, who survived infantry combat, agreed. Countless people served in a lot of unsung capacities in the war, he said. "Like just about everyone, I was glad to do my duty," Halford said. "I did it. But I was sure glad when it was all over." Dom will televise dedication ceremony WHITE CITY — The televised dedication of the National World War II Memorial on Saturday will be carried live on a big-screen television at the Department of Veterans Affairs Southern Oregon Rehabilitation Center & Clinics. The local event, which is open to the public, will be shown in the domiciliary’s theater. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., will be on hand, delivering a speech at 10:45 a.m. The broadcast will be from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Veterans interested in registering their names for a World War II Memorial Registry should arrive at 10 a.m. The first 50 World War II veterans to arrive will receive their choice of a Commemorative World War II Memorial cap or coffee mug. Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? 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