Veterans added to 'wall of honor'

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A lot of proud heritage filled the room at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 9515 on downtown Main Street in Portales Wednesday night.

The VFW honored six local World War II veterans by making them the first to be placed on their “wall of honor.”

link Staff photo: Alisa Boswell

World War II veteran Joe Blair, second to left, stands with his family Wednesday night as he is honored by Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 9515.

The wall is designated specifically for Roosevelt County World War II vets, according to VFW post member Col. Mike Woolley, who said inspiration to make the wall one to honor veterans came after Portales Boy Scout Troop 18 refurbished the wall, and he realized how bare it looked.

“We have all these World War II vets and we have over 400 of them in Roosevelt County,” Woolley said. “There was a history of World War II in Roosevelt County, and I just got to thinking about it, and I knew what we were doing with this wall.”

Eagle Scout Curtis Utley, 17, took it upon himself to make the project his community project.

“My parents are both veterans, so I do appreciate every veteran out there, so when the VFW came up to me and they said, ‘hey, we have a project for you,’ I automatically put attention into it, because I knew it would be for them,” Utley said.

Woolley said another person who voluntarily put great time and attention into the wall was Sergio Martin, a Chippewa Indian out of northern New Mexico, who is a painter by trade.

Woolley said Martin’s father was a Vietnam Air Force veteran, so Martin was all for helping with the wall, which he and Woolley spent four days working on.

Portales resident Joe Blair, who recently celebrated his 90th birthday, was the only living World War II veteran out of the six honored Wednesday night.

“I think it’s real great,” Blair said. “I’m up there with real esteemed company.”

But after heading his annual American Legion ceremony earlier that morning and being honored that night, “I’m going AWOL (Absent Without Leave) tomorrow,” Blair joked.

“I’ve had about all I can handle,” he said. “Tonight and tomorrow, I’m hiding out.”

David Stone and other members of his family accepted the honor for his father, Douglas B. Stone.

“I was overwhelmed. It’s more than I ever expected,” Stone said of the honor for his father. “He would have been humbled by it. He was the least arrogant, least assuming man I ever knew.”

Another unique family heritage that was part of the night’s festivities was that of World War II veteran Bennie Arvizo, who was one of the original Navajo code talkers.

Arvizo’s grandson, Mike Begay, attended the event to share with everyone the Navajo Code Talker coin his grandmother had been given in honor of her husband.

Begay said his grandfather lied about his age to be able to join the U.S. Marine Corp. at 17 years old as one of the code talkers.

“He used to tell us about how in the middle of the night, they used to sneak over the enemy lines to see where they were at,” Begay said. “He came back with a lot of stories, but I don’t want to talk about a lot of it, because it hurts.”

“My grandpa never got a chance to see that,” Begay said of the coin. “He passed away before (it was given). They gave that to my grandma. When my grandma passed, my mother gave it to me to keep and take care of it. I’m really proud of my grandpa.”

The following are the six World War II veterans who were honored Wednesday, along with a brief biography of their military service:

• Douglas B. Stone, for whom Post 9515 is named after, entered the U.S. Army in February 1942 and was sent overseas two months later where he served in the European Theater as a pilot. He fought in the battles of Anzio, Cassino and Kasserine Pass. He was discharged in September 1945 as a first lieutenant.

• Frank C. McDermott was Roosevelt County’s first soldier killed in action in June 1918. The Portales News Journal reported that he had written a letter to his parents two days earlier where he joked that “I feel good and must be in pretty good health to stand six days and nights without rest.”

He also wrote that he had been involved in heavy fighting in France and was looking forward to a “leave of absence we have been due for about six months.”

• Deward H. Reed entered the U.S. Army Air Corps in July 1942 and left overseas in April 1943. He also served in the European Theater, fighting in the battles of Sicily, Tunisia, Po Valley, Rhineland and more. He was discharged in November 1945 as a captain.

• Johnny D. Morgan entered the U.S. Army in March 1941 and left to serve in the European Theater in August 1942. He served with tank destroyers at Rome-Arno, Southern Ardennes and Po Valley.

Morgan spent over three years overseas with two of those years being on the front lines. He was discharged in September 1945 as an Army corpsman.

• Joe M. Blair entered the U.S. Navy in October 1942. He fought in the battles at Kiska, Attu, Tarawa, Hollandia, Palau, Truk, Saipan, Guam and Okinawa. He served on the USS Farragut and the USS LSM 443. He was discharged in February 1946.

• Burl A. Brewster entered the U.S. Army in March 1941. He served with the 200th Coastal Artillery at Bataan and was captured by the Japanese, spending almost four years as a prisoner of war. He was discharged in 1946 as a sergeant.