By Leah Sander
InkFreeNews

WARSAW — North Webster American Legion Post 253 Commander Larry Burkhart and Goodwill Industries of Michiana Inc. have received awards for their military and community service and service to veterans respectively.

The two received the awards at the annual joint Veterans Day ceremony between American Legion Post 49 and the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1126 held on Friday, Nov. 11. The event took place at Legion Post 49 in Warsaw instead of at Center Lake Pavilion as in years past due to the latter being renovated.

Burkhart received the 2022 Order of Kosciuszko “for exceptional service to God, country and others,” and Goodwill received the 2022 Meritorious Service Award for its support of veterans through military stand downs. McHatton-Sadler Funeral Chapels sponsored both the awards.

Ken Locke, corps administrator envoy with the local Salvation Army, Legion Post 49 member and military veteran, presented the award to Burkhart, giving some details about his life.

Burkhart is an Air Force veteran, having served from 1973-1993. That included participating in Operation Babylift at the end of the Vietnam War, transporting children to safety out of South Vietnam.

“By the final American flight out of South Vietnam, he had helped evacuate over 3,300 infants and children,” said Locke.

Later on, Burkhart “participated in support missions for Taiwan and Korea” also searching for prisoners of war and those missing in action, said Locke.

Locke mentioned how Burkhart still serves others through the Legion, with his activities including transporting fellow veterans for medical help. “He’s been a Baptist minister since 1978,” said Locke.

“I’m very humbled,” said Burkhart after receiving the award. “I know there’s a lot of other people that probably deserve this more.”

“I want to just say this: I have been to places that I prayed that my brothers and nephews and nieces would never have to go,” he added. “I’ve seen things that I am so glad that they never ever had to see. I stood with men and women that would give their life for you in a heartbeat. I served with some of the best officers in the world … I’ve gotten to meet all different types of diplomats. I got to meet presidents. I’ve got to meet senators and governors, but the most important thing that I’ve ever met in my life is my wife (Gale) that has stuck with me for 47 years.”

“Eighteen years in the service I drug her around and I left her by herself for 12,” he said, talking more about the sacrifices military families make.

Burkhart said he thought he may not “come back home once or twice, but by the grace of God, that He kept His hand of protection upon me.”

“I love this country. I love it with all of my heart. This is a crazy statement, but I cried the day that they told me I couldn’t reenlist because I thought that whenever I walked away from the service that I wasn’t doing my duty,” he said. “It’s taken me many years to get over that, but now I have realized that I have a greater duty now than maybe what I did whenever I was in the service and that’s helping our veterans get back and forth to the hospital to taking care of those veterans that can’t take care of themselves, by just listening to someone on the telephone that is so far off to the side that you say to them: ‘I’ll stay on the phone with you, but if you want me to, I’ll come to where you’re at.'”

“I just want you to know that it was my privilege and honor to serve Kosciusko County,” he said. “Thank you so much. Again, I don’t know what I’ve really done to deserve this, but I appreciate it so much, so thank you.”

John Sadler, who recently retired from McHatton-Sadler, presented the Meritorious Service Award to Goodwill’s Veterans and Military Families Program Manager Jill Powers.

He cited the stand downs that Goodwill has had both through its Warsaw location as well as those in Elkhart, South Bend, La Porte, Portage and Plymouth.

Those events helped provide a meal and toiletries among other things to veterans as well as give them information on housing and employment. Warsaw’s stand down at Warsaw Municipal Airport this year served 140 veterans.

“Thank you for this lovely award,” said Powers. “Our veterans’ program at Goodwill is an incredible opportunity for me and for all of our staff to be able to work with area veterans and in all of our communities and help them get services that they need and/or just connect to your community. Not everybody needs utility assistance or things like that. Our stand downs are geared towards bringing those types of services, but we also just want to get our veterans out and have a great day. It’s a fun day for the stand downs to connect with other fellow veterans from the community, tap into services that are available in the community and get stocked up on … clothing and hygiene products.”

“Outside of the stand downs, I continue to work with the veterans on a one-on-one basis if needed, helping with whatever the other situations are that … need resolved,” she said.

Powers said next year’s stand down in Warsaw would be on Friday, June 30, at the airport, mentioning that there could be some “air show-style surprises.”

Special speaker

Attendees also heard from speaker Jerry Hogan, a Marine Corps veteran and member of Legion Post 49.

Hogan referenced his experience with post-traumatic stress disorder, mentioning that one doesn’t “have to experience dire combat in order to develop PTSD.”

One of his experiences that caused him to have it was following visiting a former concentration camp at the time of the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany.

He was there at the same time as coaches and members of the Israeli Olympic team and later had dinner with them. The next day as Hogan was preparing to leave, he “heard what sounded like firecrackers in the background.”

It was a terrorist attack brought by a Palestinian organization known as Black September that killed 11 of the coaches and members of the Israeli Olympic team.

Another incident that led to Hogan’s PTSD was seeing “the evacuation of Saigon of which I was a participant” at the end of the Vietnam War.

He had flashbacks later last year after watching “the bungled evacuation of Afghanistan” on TV.

“When I saw what was going on in Afghanistan it was just like I was back … seeing hundreds and hundreds of people trying to get out of that situation and knowing there was literally very little or nothing that I could do about it,” said Hogan.

He noted he’s now in treatment for it, though in years previous when he wasn’t dealing with it properly, he “self-treated” through too much alcohol and other unhealthy measures.

Hogan said “there’s over six million vets today who are living and suffering with PTSD.”

“There’s probably more because about half of them never seek treatment,” he said. “Every day of the year on average 21 vets commit suicide,” with more doing so on holidays.

He also referenced veterans’ struggles with alcohol and drug abuse. Burkhart encouraged veterans to seek out help and others to assist them with finding it.